April 18,1896. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
525 
Remedy for nettle-rash, insect bites, and stings. 
Dissolve a small quantity of menthol in alcohol, and 
apply to the spots as a lotion .—Family Doctor. 
Birmingham and District Amateur Gardeners' 
Association.—On the 2nd inst. Mr. C. H. Herbert, 
Sparkhill, read a most interesting paper on " Ferns : 
their Propagation and Culture.” He said that Ferns 
were rightly placed at the head of the flowerless 
plants, for they were very varied and extremely 
beautiful Their culture and requisite treatment in 
greenhouses, in the open air, and in rooms, were 
amply dealt with. The reader was warmly thanked 
for his paper. Mr. W. A. Sarsons was accorded a 
special certificate for the best exhibit at the meeting. 
Royal Horticultural Society.—The next Fruit and 
Floral Meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society 
will be held on Tuesday, April 21st, in the Drill Hall, 
James Street, Victoria Street, Westminster, 1 to 
5 p.m. A paper on “ Pine Apples ” by Mr. H. W. 
Ward will be read at 3 o'clock. A point of special 
interest at this meeting will be an exhibit of several 
kinds of fruit and vegetables preserved in Messrs. 
DeLuca Hill & Co's patent self-closing bottles, 
which recently received an award of a Banksian 
Medal from the Fruit and Vegetable Committee. 
The fruits, &c. to be exhibited, will have been 
bottled last summer, and will be found in perfect 
condition, and the system is so easy, simple, and 
economical as to commend itself to all housekeepers 
and fruit growers, who wish to preserve fruit and 
vegetables for winter use. 
National Chrysanthemum Society.—The annual 
report and financial statement for 1895 of this society 
has now been published. The particulars of the 
case have already appeared in our pages. The 
schedule of prizes for 1896 forms the more important 
part of the publication, and the details of the grand 
jubilee celebration of the society in November will 
no doubt interest a large section of our readers. It 
will, for all practical purposes, consist of two shows, 
each of two days’ duration. The first will be held 
on Tuesday and Wednesday, November 3rd and 
qtb, when gold jubilee medals, silver gilt jubilee 
medals, and others, as well as money prizes, will be 
offered in forty-five special jubilee classes for flowers, 
fruits, and vegetables. Prizes are also offered by 
the society in nine classes The second half of this 
jubilee celebration will take place on Thursday and 
Friday, November 5th and 6th. when prizes will be 
offered in thirty-four classes for various exhibits, 
including the competitions for the Holmes’ Memorial 
Challenge Cups. The celebration will thus last for 
four consecutive days. 
Hereford and West of England Rose Society.— 
The annual meeting of this society was held on the 
1st inst., at Messrs. Jakeman and Carver's, High 
Town, Hereford, under the presidency of Mr. H. G. 
Sugden. The annual report and statement of 
accounts were presented by the hon. secretary, Preb. 
Ashley, and the report reads as follows: — "The 
committee beg to present to the subscribers and 
friends the report for 1895. They are glad to be able 
to report that the very serious deficiency, which 
amounted before the show of 1895 to something over 
£60, has been reduced to ^24 cs. nd., and the com¬ 
mittee have good reason to believe that, if supported 
by the county and city of Hereford, they will be able 
to clear off the rest of the debt after the show of 
1896. The show at Malvern was a good one, but did 
not turn out financially so successful as the committee 
expected. The committee record with gratitude 
their acknowledgement of the kind services and help 
rendered to the society by Colonel Heywood in con¬ 
nection with the show at Malvern ; and also to Lady 
Howard de Walden for her munificent gift to the 
society. The committee trust that the old supporters 
of this society will do their utmost to keep up the 
Herefordshire Rose Society in the future as in the 
past, and the committee are of opinion that, by care¬ 
ful management, the society will soon be free from 
debt, and able to pay its way, provided their friends 
•will help them by subscriptions and by their presence 
at the shows.—G. E. Ashley, hon. sec. ; T. Carver, 
assistant hon. sec.” The report was adopted, after 
which the officers and committee were re-elected. 
Mr. T, G. Chance was added to the committee. 
The date of the annual show was fixed for June 25th 
and will be held at Hereford. 
Potatos are cultivated in Ireland to the extent of 
about 117,000 acres. 
Asparagus was grown by Cato the Elder 2,100 
years ago, and apparently of larger size than modern 
cultivators can boast of. Pliny said that three heads 
of Asparagus grown near Ravenna in his time would 
weigh a pound. 
West Ham Hospital.—The fruit and vegetable 
salesmen of Stratford Market, being aware of the 
continually-increasing expenses necessitated in the 
working of this hospital, are patriotically pro¬ 
moting a flower, fruit and vegetable show to aid the 
funds. They have decided to hold it on Wednesday 
and Thursday, July 22nd and 23rd, and to give over 
£100 in prizes. We heartily commend our friends 
for this effort, and the royal and civic patronage 
bestowed should ensure a most successful show, and 
the addition of a good donation to the institution 
named. 
Extraordinary Brussels Sprout —Nature plays some 
curious pranks at times, but seldom do we meet with 
such curiosities as that shown by Mr. W. G. 
Cummins, gardener to A. H. Smee, Esq., The 
Grange, Carshalton, at the last meeting of the Royal 
Horticultural Society. The object in question was a 
fasciated plant of Brussels Sprout, which developed 
its sprouts in the usual way on the lower part of the 
stem, while the top of the stem was flattened, dilated, 
and divided at the apex into two curled or twisted 
points. On this flattened portion what should have 
been leaves were reduced to small bract-like and ex¬ 
ceedingly numerous organs. Needless to say, the 
sprouts on this portion were very small and valueless 
for kitchen use. The specimen occurred in a field 
of Brussels Sprouts in a market garden. 
Cultivating the Vine in Jadoo Fibre. — Extensive 
experiments have been carried on at Bordeaux, 
France, both in the rooting of vine cuttings and in 
planting out the rooted vines in Jadoo Fibre. Only 
a small quantity of the fibre has been used in the 
latter case for the purpose of giving the young vines 
a good start. Col. Holford Thompson, of Eastcliff, 
Teignmouth, has published a pamphlet on the 
subject in France. One of the chief advantages of 
Jadoo for this purpose, says the author, is that it 
will do away with the necessity for planting the 
cuttings in a pepiniere or nursery, as the certainty of 
the root action caused by the Jadoo will enable this 
process to be dispensed with. The cuttings push 
roots vigorously into the surrounding medium in 
their permanent positions. The increased vigour 
thus stimulated will enable the plants more effectively 
to resist insect attacks than if they were rooted in 
earth. Hops are likewise benefited in the same 
way. For vineyard culture in France it is reckoned 
that there will be a saving of half the quantity and 
the cost for manure, during the first four years, by the 
use of Jadoo Fibre at the time of planting, and liquid 
of Jadoo afterwards. The latter effects the chief 
saving. With ordinary manure 250 cubic metres 
are required per hectare (about 2J acres) at planting 
time ; after two years another 100 metres are required 
and, after another period of the same duration, 250 
cubic metres are required, making a total of 600 cubic 
metres in four years, and costing 7,200 francs, while 
Jadoo, solid and liquid, during the same time, only 
costs 3,600 francs. About 35,000 vines are planted 
on a hectare of ground. The flavour of forced 
Strawberries is greatly improved by the use of Jadoo 
in the pots. 
--=«*- 
DESTRUCTION TO OUR ENEMIES. 
The above are ever in our midst in many forms, 
such as green fly, black fly, thrips, scale, bug, red 
spider, &c., be the place ever so well kept at this 
time of the year. There is a great tendency of these 
pests to be on the increase. How many of my 
fellow readers have experienced the pleasure of 
using Richards' XL All Nicotine Vaporiser—not 
fumigator -a veritable gardener's friend. It can 
almost be put in one’s pocket, consisting, as it does, 
of a small oval lamp the size of an ink bottle, burn¬ 
ing methylated spirits ; and a conical-shaped 
galvanised guard or cover for the lamp with a small 
hole in the side to feed the flames, A 5-in. flower 
pot is the exact example of it with the exception 
that both ends are open. The broad end is placed 
over the lamp, the other end supports a small 
copper basin in which the nicotine is placed. 
Vaporising commences directly the lamp is lit; and 
there is no smoke or smell of any moment. 
My first experience was with thrips, an enemy not 
to be despised. The result was everything one could 
wish. Mealy bug I had to find to experiment on at 
this trial, and put in the house a few Cucumber 
plants to find its action on the foliage. However, 
no harm came therefrom ; the bug also entirely 
succumbed. Again, a batch of flowering Deutzia 
crenata flore pleno, badly infested with green fly, was 
placed in a Rose house—to kill one, and prevent its 
appearance in the other. The verdict was still the 
same ; also note that it will not hurt any foliage of any 
kind, excepting two kinds of Grapes, of which full 
particulars, and instructions are given with the 
vaporiser. I had also five or six hundred Marguerites 
in a frame, a subject rather inclined to filth. I just 
took five plants out of the centre of the frame, put 
the XL All in, and covered the tops of frames up 
with mats and left it. This will show the handiness 
of it. 
Let one think what syringing, &c., this will 
dispense with. A house full of Palms, infested with 
thrips, may be cleaned at one attempt. In a few 
words it is like a thing dropped from heaven—a 
lucky speculation no doubt for the inventor. I was 
conversing with a friend not long ago about these 
chances, and asked him what else we wanted that 
would prove a gold mine His answer was ” some¬ 
thing to prevent them coming at all.” That, I think, 
is above any one’s brain-work. The Vaporiser can 
be procured in one, two, three, and four sizes from 
Mr. G. H. Richards, Commercial Road, Lambeth, 
London.— J. G. Pettiuger, Strawberry Dale Nursery, 
Harrogate. 
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CYPRIPEDIUM FAIRIEANUM. 
This, one of the choicest of Cypripediums, so well 
illustrated on p. 513, is very difficult to obtain now- 
a-days, but it occurs in a " Catalogue of Beautiful 
and Rare Plants for the Spring of 1858 ” issued by the 
once important firm of Messrs. Rollisson, of Tooting. 
It is therein described as "Cypripedium fairieanum. 
A pretty Assam species which produces its blossoms 
in the most abundant manner ; superior sepal white, 
beautifully veined with dark purple, and partially 
streaked with green; inferior sepals of similar 
colours; lip light brown with purple reticulations 
63s. and 105s. each.” 
A good illustration of the changes that occur in the 
prices of plants is shown in the above catalogue, for 
while C. farieanum is quoted as above, and to-day 
is worth a good deal more, Begonia Rex, now to 
be bought for a few pence, is priced at two guineas a 
plant, and Rhododendron Princess Royal at the 
same amount.— IV. T. 
- •*. -— 
HARDY FLOWERS AT LONG DITTON. 
At no period of the year do the herbaceous and 
Alpine plants come into more prominence than in 
spring when the early species burst into bloom, 
while everything around is comparatively bare. For 
some years past, two rockeries, a large and a small 
one, have been in the course of formation in the 
nursery of Messrs. Barr and Son, at Long Ditton. 
Their completion is a question of time as far as the 
plants are concerned; for not only has a large 
collection to be got together, but they require time 
to get established and fill their allotted space. The 
planting of the right kinds in the most suitable 
positions has also to be studied. * 
A stream runs through the larger rockery, and the 
planting of Iris Kaempferi along its course seems to 
have been a good idea, for the plants*hre giving great 
satisfaction even where occasionally submerged 
when the stream is in flood. On the higher and 
drier ground large masses of Megaseas are flowering 
beautifully. A clump of three large plants of 
Eremurus robustus is already showing for bloom and 
must be grand presently. The double Celandine is 
a neat and rather pretty subject. The sweet Flag 
(Acorus Calamus variegatus) is revelling in the mud 
and on the wet banks of the stream, and must be 
beautiful presently, for it keeps its variegation well 
Primula japonica is doing well in the mud. Some 
dwarf Willows and other ornamental trees will give 
partial shade and variety when they have been well 
established. 
The smaller rockery gives a footing and shelter to 
another class of plants, including some very choice 
