February 1, 1896. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
357 
tural America, a rather big grain of salt had to be 
taken with descriptions of their introductions For 
instance, a Yankee firm advertised a Tomato as 
being twenty minutes earlier than any variety raised 
since the fall of Babylon. Asparagus as thick as a 
man's wrist, Blackberries as big as Plums, and 
other alleged acquisitions were among the hard 
things to believe. On the proposition of Mr. 
Weekes, Mr. Outram was thanked for his paper ; 
and a similar compliment was paid to the Chairman 
(Mr. D. C. Powell, of Powderham Gardens), upon 
the motion of Mr. Hope, the secretary of the 
Association. 
RARE MOSSES IN CORNWALL. 
Mr. Richard Hooper’s paper on Mosses in Cornwall, 
read at a recent meeting of the Penzance Natural 
History Society, made special mention of finds 
interesting to bryologists. Mr. Hooper’s ambition for 
the last two years has been to trace the Moss habitats 
of the late Messrs. Ralfs and Carnow, as given in 
their invaluable manuscripts lodged in the Penzance 
library. The name of the late Mr. Ralfs enjoys 
world-wide fame as an authority upon these matters. 
On Carn Brea, Redruth, the little Tetrapbis 
pullucida is said to have a habitat on the damp, shady 
rocks on the eastern side. The species is very rare 
in Cornwall, but at Carn Brea Hill Mr. Cooper found 
three or four which he sent away for identification, 
but they were lost in transit, being so minute when 
dry. It is contended that Carn Brea Hill, when 
properly searched, will yield as much interest to 
bryologists as it has of late years to anthropolo¬ 
gists. The neighbourhoods of Truro and Penzance, 
Mr. Hooper adds, abound with species of Moss which 
are considered to be very rare and valuable by the 
lovers of these plants, but close and continuous 
search is necessary to find them. While acknow¬ 
ledging that Messrs. Ralfs and Carnow's established 
list of 1882 seems to be almost, if not quite, ex¬ 
haustive,” Mr. Hooper thinks that it is not un¬ 
reasonable to suppose that it might be improved by 
new finds, especially of those species which are 
not supposed to be represented in Cornwall.— 
Western Correspondent. 
-- -■ » ? - «■ - 
READING & DISTRICT GARDENERS’ 
MUTUAL IMPROVEMENT 
ASSOCIATION. 
The first of the series of meetings for the New 
Year was held in the Abbey Hall on Monday, the 
27th ult., when the newly-elected president, Mr. 
Arthur Warwick Sutton kindly invited the members 
and their wives to a substantial tea at six o’clock, 
the party numbering 170. The tables were beauti¬ 
fully and tastefully decorated with Palms, Ferns, &c. 
Amongst those present at the tea and entertainment 
were Mr. and Mrs. A. W. Sutton, Mr. Leonard 
Sutton, Mr. Herbert Sutton, Mr. Neve, (the Chair¬ 
man of the Association), Mr. Burton (vice-chairman), 
Mr. J. Pound, Jun. (hon. sec), Messrs. Martin, 
Woolford, Bowie, Outram, Turton, Dockerill, R. 
Webb (Beenham), Townsend (Wellington College), 
Williamson (Wokingham), Wise (Blackwater), Dear- 
love (Burghfield), Barefoot (Mortimer), Johnson and 
Hatt (Englefield), Osborne (Sonning), Burton (Bex¬ 
ley Heath), &c., &c. 
After tea Mr. Neve rose and proposed that 
the best thanks of the members of the Association 
should be tendered to the president for his kind 
invitation, hospitality, and interest on this occasion. 
He went on to refer to the interest shown in the 
Association from its commencement by the firm of 
Sutton & Sons, of which their esteemed president 
was a member. This was seconded by Mr. Wool- 
ford, the ex-chairman, who corroborated in a 
suitable manner the expressions set forth by the 
previous speaker. The president, who was 
received by prolonged cheering, said letters 
had been received apologising for the unavoidable 
absence of the present and past members of 
Parliament for Reading, C. T. Murdoch, Esq , 
and G. W. Palmer, Esq., both vice-presidents 
of the Association. After which he expressed 
the very great pleasure it had given him to accept 
the post of president for the present year, and 
promised to do everything in his power to further 
the interests of the Association during the coming 
season. Mr. Sutton also promised to repeat his 
lecture on Potatos, read before the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society if the secretary cculd find a suitable 
evening for it. 
The room having been cleared of the tables, &c., 
the president then introduced ibe well-known 
entertainer, Mr. Spun, from the Egyptian Hall, to an 
audience which occupied every available space of 
the hall. Mr. Spun kept his listeners in rapt atten¬ 
tion from beginning to end, and well merited the 
applause that v as accorded him. His principal 
pieces were " How People Laugh,” " The Police 
Court," “ The Bazaar,” “Liberty Hall,” and last, 
but not the least, appreciated a recital accompanied 
by the zither, “ The Water Mill.” 
Mention must also be made of the songs rendered 
by Messrs. Martin and Bennett, and the piano solo 
by Mr. Lewis. “ God Save the Queen,” heartily 
sung by the audience, brought to a close one of the 
most interesting meetings ever held by the Associa¬ 
tion. 
LEGEND OF A BLUE CATTLEYA. 
As chance would have it we witnessed the unpacking 
of an importation of Cattleyas in the London 
Nurseries of Mr. P. McArthur, 4, Maida Vale, W., 
at the end of last week. They consisted of C. labiata 
and several distinct varieties or forms of it, often 
spoken of as if they were species. They were sent 
home by a well-known collector who had seen and 
marked many of the varieties while in flower. Many 
of them appeared distinct in having large and plump 
pseudo-bulbs, while others were short and varied in 
colour from pale green to a dark bronzy-red. There 
was not a dead plant amongst them. Vfe were 
particularly interested in a small consignment 
described as a Blue Cattleya collected on the Guarico 
Mountains, Venezuela, and for which the proposed 
name is C. labiata guaricoensis, in allusion to the 
habitat of the plant. Along with the consignment 
were some flowers which had been badly dried under 
unfavourable circumstances, but showed some traces 
of a distinct shade of colour. We read the collector's 
letter alluding to this variety, and the following are 
his own words:—“I guarantee that this has never 
been seen by any European collector before. It 
flowered in March, and has enormous flowers. For 
the first four days it is of a celestial blue, then 
turns to a light rose, and remains in bloom for three 
weeks It is found at an altitude of 2,500 ft., and 
consequently is suitable for the intermediate house. 
I had to swim across the enormous river to get these 
plants over, because of the Revolution. No people 
or mules to be had here. I have lost a few in the 
river ; all were landed over by me tied on large 
trees.” We understand that this consignment is to 
be offered for sale at the rooms of Messrs. Protheroe 
& Morris on February 7th. 
- 
HARDENING ||lSCELLANY. 
PHLOX COCCINEA. 
During August and September nothing looks brighter 
than a bed of this charming Phlox. In co’our it is 
rich vermilion, quite dazzling in its brightness. 
The flowers, though smaller than those of some of 
the more recent introductions, are of fine form and 
substance, and profusely set on well-formed spikes. 
It is an object of great beauty, and forms a splendid 
contrast to some of the whites mentioned in previous 
notes. There is a want of bright colours amongst 
late-flowering hardy plants, which the Phlox supplies 
in a most pronounced way, and none more so than the 
above variety, which well deserves, and will amply 
repay, a well-merited trial.— Coila. 
SPIRAEA THUNBERGII. 
This pretty little shrub comes in wonderfully well 
for growing in pots and flowering in the cool con¬ 
servatory in the early months of the year. It makes 
neat little bushes about 18 in. in height when treated 
thus, and when full of flower forms a very neat and 
pretty object. The leaves are linear lanceolate in 
shape, mere or less serrate, and glabrous on both 
surfaces. The flowers are rather small, white, and 
produced in corymbs, after the fashion of S. media— 
or to give it its more popular name, S. confusa. In 
S. Thunbergii, however, the corymbs are not com¬ 
posed of quite so many flowers. 
PROTEA CYNAROIDES. 
Numerous species of Grevillea may be seen in 
different establishments in this country, but seldom 
do we see any of the species of Protea from which 
the order Proteiceae is named. At present there is 
a plant in full bloom in the Heath house and a larger 
one in the Succulent house at Kew. Both have been 
raised from seeds in this establishment and grown to 
their present size. The larger plant expanded a 
flower, or more-correctly a cluster of flowers, some 
time ago, and two large buds are on the point of ex¬ 
pansion. The individual flowers are yellow and rosy, 
covered with a gray down and densely crowded in a 
head, roughly resembling a Globe Artichoke, a fact 
which is indicated in the specific name. This plant 
requires similar treatment to that which is accorded 
to a Heath, and there is no denying ihe fact that it 
is an uncommon and telling subject when in bloom 
The gray bracts surrounding the head are very 
conspicuous. 
GREASE BANDS FOR FRUIT TREES. 
The proper application of bands of grease to the 
stems of fruit trees in order to prevent the ascent of 
the Winter Moth cannot be too strongly impressed 
upon those who undertake the operation upon 
valuable trees. Some years ago Mr. Ernest 
Hammond, Pilgrim’s Hatch, Essex, when he first 
adopted the plan, was successful in so far that he 
secured a crop the following year, but was unsuccess¬ 
ful in other respects, as recorded in The Journal of the 
Essex Technical Laboratories. The grease employed 
was unsuitable, and owing to its being directly 
applied to the bark the latter was greatly injured and 
some of the trees died. This winter he has been 
using bands of grease-proof paper, 6 in. wide, and 
putting on the grease by means of paint brushes. 
He commenced operations early in October, but did 
not catch many of the moths till the beginning of 
November, when the females were caught in large 
numbers as they were ascending the trees. He gets 
from ten to fifty moths on one tree, and in some 
cases as many as a hundred. The number of moths 
on an acre of orchard trees must therefore be very 
great, and the advantage gained in trapping them 
proportionate. 
CHRYSANTHEMUM ULIGINOSUM. 
This plant, better known as Pyrethrum uliginosum, 
is a valuable late-flowering plant, and being white 
renders it more so. Few late hardy plants are of 
this colour. It comes into flower by the middle of 
October, and continues to bloom well into Novem¬ 
ber in most seasons, thus giving it a good claim for a 
place amongst hardy plants. Being a tall grower 
(5 ft. or so) is an objection which many have to it 
but if pinched at midsummer it will break freely 
into a bushy plant, and flower at the usual time.— 
Coila. 
PETASITES FRAGRANS. 
Those who are acquainted with the huge leaves of 
Petasites vulgaris, the Bog Rhubarb, or Butter 
Bur, as it is sometimes called, and which is 
such a conspicuous member of our native flora, 
will note a vast amount of difference between 
it and P. fragrans. This latter plant is very 
dwarf, and rarely exceeds 6 in. in height, whilst the 
cordate, slightly-lobed leaves are little more than a 
couple of inches in diameter. The flower heads are 
a dirty white in colour, and exhale a decidedly agree¬ 
able perfume. Originally belonging to soutii-western 
Europe, it was introduced to this country about the 
beginning of the present century, and has since 
become naturalised in several parts of Britain. A 
few plants of it in pots may, at the timo of writing, 
be seen in the greenhouse at Kew. 
EILEY DEANE 
By Evelyn C. Griffiths. 
(All rights reserved.) 
CHAPTER VII — Concluded. 
Eiley Leaves The Manor. 
“ Miss Deane is engaged,” said Lord Bewdley 
angrily. “ I am just speaking to her.” 
“ Her ladyship said I was not to return without 
Miss Deane,” replied the Frenchwoman, icily. 
“ She is ill, so I had better go at once,” Eiley said 
hurriedly to Lord Bewdley. 
“ But I will speak to you,” he answered. “ I will 
wait in the library until you come down.” He 
