August 1, 1896. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
765 
What is Fuchsia colour ?—We notice that one of 
the big morning papers, in describing a lady’s gown, 
declares it to be Fuchsia colour. Perhaps some of 
our readers can tell us what shade this is ? It is 
high time the practice of describing particular hues 
by such indefinite terms was discontinued, or colours 
will be in an infinitely bigger muddle even than they 
are at present. 
“ Cottage Gardening.”—A half-yearly volume of 
this periodical is before us, and contains a great 
amount of information such as would meet the 
requirements of cottagers. It contains illustrations 
of various plants which may be grown witbout the 
aid of glass, or in the windows of dwelling 
houses. Fruit, bees, poultry, rabbits, window 
gardens, town gardens, allotments, and vegetables 
also receive attention. The paper is issued weekly 
by Messrs. Cassell & Co., Limited., London. 
A botanical swan-song.—One of our contemporaries 
refers to a specimen of Agave americana now flower¬ 
ing in the great conservatory of the Royal Botanic 
Society, Regent’s Park. The stem is now about 20 ft. 
or more in height; and the final effort of the plant 
being to flower and fruit, after which it dies, this is 
described as the swan-song of the dyiDg plant. There 
are many plants which die after ripening their fruits, 
but no grander instance of it occurs than in the case 
of the Talipot Palm. The Agave in question is 
often described as the 11 century plant,” but that at 
Regent’s Park is reckoned to be only about 80 years 
old. 
An Extraordinary Shower occurred during the pro¬ 
gress of the recent show at Newcastle, and there 
ought to be a splendid chance for umbrella makers 
in that region. It seems that about 4 p.m. the 
local populace were inundated with printed mis¬ 
sives extolling the virtues of Sankey’s pots. The 
unusual circumstances naturally gave rise to an 
impression that these goods were coming down in 
the world, but we are happy to be able to assure 
our readers that this is erroneous, that the high 
reputation of the pots from the Bulwell potteries 
continue to enjoy the fullest measure of public 
esteem. When it occurred to their astute repre¬ 
sentative to take a trip, in the balloon, which was 
to make the gala ascent, he, so to speak rose to 
the occasion, and is to be congratulated on his safe 
arrival again on terra firma.— Gyp. 
Pot-pourri of Roses —Collect Rose petals as you 
get them, spread them out to dry, and sprinkle them 
with salt. As you get more add them to the 
previously collected lot, and mix the whole together 
so that the fresh lot may get the benefit of the salt. 
Instead of waiting till they dry naturally, you may 
put them in a vessel, and place them for a short 
time in an oven to hasten the drying process. Then 
get a small packet of pot-pourri powder from the 
chemist, and mix with the Rose leaves. You will 
then have a mixture that will retain its fragrance for 
a long time. Keep it in some porcelain jar or other 
ornamental vessel of Chinese or Japanese manu¬ 
facture, or in fact of any pattern, but the more 
antique the more appropriate. 
The Cheapest Flower Market in the World.— 
Although Covent Garden may lay claim to being the 
biggest, the cheapest flower market in the world 
must be sought for elsewhere. A turning off 
Hackney Road, known as Baxendale Street is 
credited with being the scene, the market where 
plants and flowers change hands at the lowest rates. 
Here on Sunday mornings numerous costers collect 
to dispose of their surplus stock which remains from 
the Saturday night sales, the greater part of which 
would be spoilt if kept until Monday. Consequently 
prices rule exceedingly low. A good Pelargonium 
may be purchased for a penny, and for the same 
modest coin three Heliotropes, or Cherrypies, as 
they are properly called may be obtained, whilst 
other plants fetch prices in proportion. It is a fixed, 
if unwritten, rule on the part of the vendors, how¬ 
ever, never to sell but to bona fide “ East Enders ” 
of the poorer classes. It is, therefore, but of little 
use for a well dressed would-be customer to pay the 
market a visit for he would to a certainty be told in 
language that would probably be more expressive 
than polite that they do not sell to such as he who 
can afford to go elsewhere. But to the hard-worked 
factory hand the chances of obtaining a few sprigs of 
bloom or greenery with the all-too-few coppers at 
their disposal are eagerly seized and many a squalid 
window and many an aching poverty stricken heart 
is cheered and brightened in consequence. 
A valuable plant.—The family tree.— Sniggs. 
A new use for Hops.—These have been employed of 
late, as an experiment, in the curing of bacon. A 
handful of them is mixed with the brine in which 
the bacon and hams are dipped. The flavour of both 
is said to be improved thereby. 
A blue and white Cypripedium.—One of our daily 
contemporaries has a series of tales about rare and 
remarkable Orchids, one of which has been seen by 
Europeans existing in myriads covering an acre of 
ground in the deep recesses of a Brazilian forest; 
but which cannot be approached by any human 
being on account of the awful, sickening and over¬ 
powering odour of the flowers. In another case a 
single specimen of a blue and white Cypripedium 
has been imported into England, but has not yet 
flowered. According to the story it was discovered 
by a collector named Ericcson. In searching for this 
he had to follow a path knee-deep in a muddy swamp 
for days and slept standing, propped against a tree. 
We have been trying to believe all this, but find it a 
difficult and trying task. 
Fruiting of Musa Ensete. —This Abyssinian Banana 
fruited recently in the cool temperate house or 
winter garden of M. le Baron de Columby at the 
castle of Baliros (Basses-Pyrenees). The tempera¬ 
ture in this house oscillates between freezing point, 
and 50° Fah., during winter, so that less heat is 
really needed for it than was at one time supposed. 
The plant sometimes survives the winter in the open 
air in Guernsey. The fruits when full grown attain 
a length of 4 in., and 2 in. in diameter, and contain 
about 15 well formed seeds each. They change to a 
beautiful apricot colour at maturity, and soon after 
begin to drop on the ground. The pulp which sur¬ 
rounds the seeds is also of an apricot colour, and is 
sweet, sugary, and even agreeable to the palate. The 
seeds must be sown while still quite fresh, otherwise 
they soon lose their germinating power. 
Shirley Gardeners’ Mutual Improvement Association. 
—The monthly meeting was held at the parish room, 
Shirley, Southampton, on Monday, 13th inst., there 
being a good attendance, the President presiding. 
Mr. J. Jones, The Gardens, Terrace House, Polygon, 
gave a very good paper on the ” Culture of the 
Cyclamen.” One of the chief points was not to keep 
on with the old corms, but to raise a batch of 
seedlings each year, Mr. Jones concluding that 
better plants can be got by treating them that way, 
and certainly the photographs shown by Mr. Jones, of 
plants grown by him that way, were very excellent. 
A hearty vote of thanks was accorded the donor of 
the paper at the close of the proceedings, to which 
Mr. Jones responded. The second annual outing 
took place on Monday, 20th ult., the route chosen 
being Hampton Court, and then on to Messrs. J. 
Veitch & Sons, Chelsea. About seventy members, 
and a number of the Botley Gardeners' Association 
travelled by special train from Southampton to 
Surbiton. Here they were met by Mr. A. Dean, 
who had most kindly saved the party an hour’s 
waiting by securing a number of omnibuses by 
which Hampton Court was reached. A capital 
dinner was supplied at the Castle Hotel, East 
Molesey, to which ample justice was done, and Mr. 
A. Dean kindly consented to preside. A vote of 
thanks was accorded to Mr. Dean for his kind¬ 
ness, to which he replied in a neat little speech, 
wherein he took advantage to point the use of gar¬ 
deners’ associations. A move was made to the Palace, 
and after looking at the various points of interest, 
not forgetting the old Vine and the carpet bedding, 
&c., the party moved on to Chelsea. Here they 
were met by Mr. Smith, and placed in charge of the 
foreman who very kindly showed everything worthy 
of interest, conducting the party through the houses 
most worth attention, the Orchid House coming in 
for special notice, though at the present time there is 
not much bloom on them. An hour and half was thus 
soon spent, and at the close of the visit Mr. Smith, 
the manager, in the absence of Mr. Veitch kindly 
entertained all those present. On the proposition of 
Mr. B. Ladhams, a hearty vote of thanks was 
tendered to Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons for their 
kindness, and the pleasure given the members by 
the visit. The party now dispersed, and speDt the 
remaining part of the day in visiting the various 
shows, returning from Waterloo by special train at 
12.15 midnight, having spent a long and interesting 
day. 
A Swell amongst Flowers. —A Dandelion. 
A thousand tons of soot settle every month upon 
the 118 square miles of area occupied by greater 
London. If collected, this would be possessed of 
wondrous energy as a fertiliser, although it is at 
present wasted to a large extent in choking the lungs 
of Londoners 
Rosa wichuriana.—The foliage of this trailing 
species is of a rich dark green colour, and the indi¬ 
vidual leaflets are small and neat. The flowers are 
single, white, and produced in great numbers. In 
the United States a large number of hybrids have 
already been effected between this wild Rose and 
cultivated garden forms. A double white one has 
been obtained by crossing it with a hybrid perpetual, 
and several others both single and double show how 
readily R. wichuriana will hybridise with garden 
Roses of varied character. Are British rosarians 
alive to the importance of this new type of Rose for 
securing a new garden race ? 
Lakes drying up.—Some twenry years ago 
Minnesota was distinguished amongst the other 
states of North America by the number and extent 
of its fresh water lakes. Since that time, however, 
many of these lakes together with the streams that 
fed them have dried up to a great extent, some of 
them having entirely disappeared.. This sinking of 
the waters is chiefly due to the diminished rainfall 
which has been brought about in a great measure by 
the deforestation of immense tracts of land. At one 
time these forests covered the whole of Northern 
Minnesota and Wisconsin. It is suggested as a 
remedy that the farmers throughout the State should 
plant groves of Scotch Pine which will thrive on 
soils where the deciduous element would perish, 
endures drought far better than harder wcods, and 
withal makes admirable timber. 
--J—- 
Chattings from tfjp JDnrlti 
of Science 
When Plants Grow.—Some interesting observa¬ 
tions made by a naturalist as to the time when 
plants grow the most have recently been published. 
The experimentalist divides the day and night into 
various periods, and gives the percentage of growth 
in each, which are as follows: —From 6 am. to 
9 a.m., 8g per cent, of growth ; from g a.m. to mid- 
day, ij per cent. ; midday to 3 p.m , no growth ; 
3 p.m. to 6 p.m., no growth ; 6 p.m. to 9 p m., i| per 
cent.; 9 p.m. to midnight, 3J per cent.; midnight to 
6 a.m., 83 per cent. From these figures it is con 
eluded that more than 90 per cent, of growth is made 
during the night. Numerous plants were used for 
these experiments, and the amount of growth varied 
according to the different kinds. 
Effect of Different Colours upon Vegetation. 
—M. Flammarion has been making experiments upon 
plants placed in glass boxes of different colours, 
namely red, green, blue, and ordinary colourless 
glass. The plants were allowed to grow for three 
months under the same meterological conditions, 
and after that time, the plants under the blue glass 
had not made any growth whatever. On the 
contrary, those under the red glass had grown 
fifteen times their original length. Those exposed 
to ordinary white light were dwarfer. Blue light, it 
would seem, is the retarding element of white light, 
seeing that the plants exposed„to the latter grew 
slowly, while those subjected to blue light did not 
increase their stature at all. 
A Flower Clock.— Gardeners should know that 
it is quite possible to so arrange flowers in a garden 
that all the purposes of a clock will be answered. 
It is said that in the time of Pliny forty-six flowers 
were known to open and shut at certain hours of the 
day, and this number has since been largely in¬ 
creased. For instance, a bed of common Dandelions 
would show it was five-thirty in the morning and 
eight-thirty at night, respectively, for these flowers 
open and shut at the times named, frequently to the 
minute. The common Hawk -weed opens at eight in 
the morning and may be depended upon to close 
within a few minutes of two in the afternoon. The 
yellow Goat’s-beard shuts at twelve o’clock noon, 
absolutely to the minute, sidereal time. Our clocks 
do not follow the sun, but are generally a few 
minutes fast or slow, according to the longitude of 
the place where they are. The Goat's-beard, how- 
