598 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
May 24, 1890. 
THE “KOKUWA.” 
The “ Kokuwa (Actinidia arguta) is peculiar to Japan, 
and finds its most perfect and abundant development 
in the primeval forests of Yesso. Much has been 
written and said about it within the last few years, 
though, strangely enough, it has been urged upon public 
attention as an ornamental climber. It is a vigorous, 
not to say a rampant grower, and its luxuriant dark 
green leaves and waving stems have a beauty of their 
own. For the purpose of covering arbours or “ forming 
wild entanglements ” from tree to tree, it is certainly 
suited, but its coils will be found to hug “closer than 
a brother.” Still, it is a beautiful climber, though 
Yesso can furnish several more beautiful and far more 
manageable ; but it should not be planted against 
verandahs or buildings. Unless looked after far 
more closely than most will find time to do, it will 
overgrow all desired bounds, displace eave spouts, and 
make itself a nuisance generally by its omnipresence. 
It is for its fruit that the plant is mostly prized in Yesso, 
where in many localities it is abundant and very largely 
collected. 
The fruit is a berry a little larger than the Greengage 
Plum ; the skin is green, the pulp when ripe soft, and 
the seed numerous and very fine. The flavour cannot 
be likened to that of any other fruit ; it is very agreeable 
to most, but it is sui generis. There is an astringent 
principle in the skin, which must not be sucked too 
much or it will make the mouth sore. It is not difficult, 
however, to suck out the pulp without encountering 
this trouble. The effect of the fruit is decidedly but 
pleasantly laxative to most—much more so than in any 
other of our fruits, not excepting the Fig. It must 
prove a valuable acquisition even for this single quality, 
were it not moreover sufficiently delicious to repay 
eating. Only one attempt had been made in Yesso to 
cultivate it, but the plants for this experiment, collected 
before sufficient acquaintance with the botanical 
peculiarities of the species had been acquired, all proved 
barren. It is polygamo-dicecious, and for fruit it must 
be propagated by cuttings from fertile plants. A 
second obstacle to its culture is'the fact that a number 
of years must elapse before the plants begin to be 
productive. Should the fruit under cultivation prove 
as good as when wild, it would be well worth a place in 
our gardens ; and of course there is a possibility that it 
may be improved. It flourishes best in rich, moist 
soils .—Popular Gardening. 
-— — - - ■ - 
CLEMENT PARK, DUNDEE. 
The palatial residence of Miss Cox occupies a position 
of considerable eminence about three miles from the 
busy manufacturing city of Dundee, and is surrounded 
by lovely and well-kept gardens, which have long been 
famed for the manner in which gardening in all its 
branches has been kept to the front by Mr. J. S. Moir, 
and to whose indefatigable efforts the gardening 
fraternity in the Dundee district owe much, he being 
an assiduous worker in the cause of horticulture. In 
passing through the kitchen garden on my way to the 
Orchid houses, I could not help noticing how promising 
the fruit trees were looking, and provided the May 
frosts keep off, there will be an abundant crop. Im¬ 
provements of considerable magnitude have been carried 
out in the kitchen garden during the past twelve 
months. A wall, several hundred feet long and 12 ft. 
high, has been erected on the north side, which will 
shelter the garden from the cold north winds, and give 
additional room for the choicer fruit trees, such as 
Peaches, Nectarines, and Apricots. Several borders 
have also been made for herbaceous plants, now one of 
the special features at Clement Park. 
At the time of my visit, April 25th, the Orchid 
houses presented a very gay appearance, the cool section 
being foremost in receiving attention. The numerous 
subjects in flower were Odontoglossum Alexandras, many 
fine varieties ; 0. Pescatorei, 0. triumphans, 0. macu- 
latum, 0. Cervantesii, 0. Rossii majus, 0. cirrhosum, 
and a very fine variety of Masdevallia ignea (Dr. 
Paterson’s variety), arranged together with exquisite 
taste. Passing on to the East India house I found a 
wealth of bloom not easily matched ; amongst the 
Cattleyas in flower were some grand pieces of C. 
Mendelii, C. Mossiae, C. Lawrenceana (a superb variety), 
C. Skinneri, C. Trianse albescens (with an extraor¬ 
dinary large flower), Laelia purpurata (several represen¬ 
tatives in fine condition, just bursting through their 
sheaths), Yanda Parishi Marriottiana (one of the finest 
specimens in the kingdom, with three glorious spikes), 
Y. ccerulea, V. suavis, Y. tricolor, Y. ccerulescens, 
Aerides Lobbii, A. crassifolium, A. erispum, A. Fieldingi, 
A. Lawrenceanum, and A. odoratum, interspersed with 
Cypripediums—viz., C. bellatulum, C. Boxalii, C. 
argus, C. Roezlii, C. Lawrenceanum, C. superbum, and 
C. barbatum. 
The Dendrobiums noted in bloom were D. thyrsi- 
florum, D. chrysotoxum,D. Parishi, andD. aggregatum; 
Brassia verrucosa, Oncidium sphacelatum, several 
good pieces of each. Amongst the occupants of the 
stove are some really choice varieties of Anthuriums, 
A. Scherzerianum Cypheri, A. S. Wardii, and A. 
Andreanum, all bearing numerous spathes, and many 
of them of great size. 
The forcing of fruit, flowers and vegetables is carried 
on during the entire year. At the time of my visit 
Grapes were changing colour, Peaches were taking their 
second swelling, successional batches of Strawberries 
were ripening, and several dishes of Figs had been 
gathered. Any notes on Clement Park would be 
incomplete without mentioning the grand display of 
Calceolarias that now adorn the conservatory. I have 
never seen a finer lot, about 100 plants in all, and each 
one carrying from 450 to 500 flowers of a superb strain. 
This establishment reflects great credit upon Mr. Moir 
for the admirable way in which he conducts the garden 
operations.— J. McNab. 
- ~>x<< - 
A PLEA FOR EUPATORIUMS. 
I fancy I hear someone say, “ Those weedy Ageratum- 
like things—who would grow them ?” I at one time 
looked upon Eupatoriums in this fashion, and can 
easily sympathise with those making this remark who 
have not grown nor used them to any great extent; but 
practice amongst them, combined with their usefulness 
as white flowers from early autumn to early summer, 
has turned my previous thoughts and dislikings into 
a different and more favourable channel. The object of 
these notes, however, is not to laud them as indispen¬ 
sable, showy plants, but to tender a plea for them as 
useful, free-flowering, and easily-managed subjects in 
any establishment, large or small. Perchance the 
latter qualification has been the means of banishing 
them from the minds of eminent gardeners, and of 
relegating them to the rubbish-heap as their proper 
resting place, never again to be seen on the benches or 
beds of their houses, because anyone possessing a few 
feet of glass could grow them with something like more 
dexterity than they could. Bo that as it may, my 
plea remains the same, and this sufficing for an intro¬ 
duction, I submit a few cultural remarks, as follows:— 
Cuttings should be taken annually, and any time 
from January to March will suit, even when large 
plants are desired. They grow with great rapidity 
during summer. In their propagation they may be 
inserted in any ordinary propagating bed, or in boxes 
placed over the hot-water pipes in any house at work. 
A mixture as for ordinary bedding plants will be found 
equal to all their requirements for the time being ; but 
a little sand dropped in along with the cutting will 
accelerate the striking. When fairly rooted, they may 
be potted up into 48-sized pots, or pricked thinly in 
boxes in a compost of loam, leaf-soil, and sand in equal 
parts, and grown thus till about the beginning of May, 
in any house where a growing atmosphere of 50° or 60° 
is maintained, when they may be transferred to cooler 
quarters and hardened off. 
This hardening off is essential in the mode of culture 
I am about to recommend—viz., planting outside for 
the summer months. Proceed with this as early as 
possible—say, at the end of May in most districts—in 
short, when all likelihood of 5° below freezing point is 
extremely improbable. In selecting a position to plant 
them out to nurse on for early winter and spring work, 
a somewhat open site should be chosen, where they 
will enjoy a free circulation of air and unobstructed 
sunshine. This being arranged, the surface should be 
made hard, whereon lay the soil to a depth not exceeding 
4 ins. Insert the plants, which should have the soil 
hard packed about their roots, as they are very 
rampant growers. 
They prefer a good holding loam, with a free 
admixture of well-decomposed cow-manure and wood- 
ashes. Grown in this compost all the summer they 
will lift with balls that may be handled with freedom, 
and should be put into pots ranging from 6 ins. to 
8 ins. in diameter. We usually cut round our plants 
with a spade about the ^beginning of September, 
according to the size of the pots they are to occupy, 
taking care to water overhead several times a day for a 
few days until they recover, and lift and pot them 
about the latter end of September, housing them at 
once in any cool Peach house, where, by being kept 
close for a few days, they soon show signs of being at 
home. All the attention required at this stage is 
watering, for as with Chrysanthemums, the pinching 
is done in the earlier stages of growth. They are all 
the better for a slight mulching of short well-decomposed 
manure during the summer months, and copious 
supplies of water in dry weather ; indeed, they may 
safely be termed moisture-loving plants, and when 
placed inside are much benefited by frequent waterings 
overhead until they are opening into flower. An 
occasional application of water from the cow-shed will 
make them bloom longer and stronger. 
They are a numerous family, and enjoy a wide 
geographical distribution ; but those more immediately 
under notice—viz., the greenhouse section—are easily 
enumerated. I will only name three species, and these 
will be found to suit all the requirements the family 
are capable of, blooming from November to June. The 
earliest, and at the same time the best, is E. odoratum, 
which blooms from early in November to the end of 
January. Its leaves are slightly scented, and have a 
Laurel-like appearance, and are very attractive. A few 
large plants of two or three years’ growth—annually 
cut back—make handsome plants for a large con¬ 
servatory or greenhouse. The next best, from its free- 
blooming disposition, is E. riparium (which, as the 
name implies, is fond of water) ; this flowers on the 
extreme points and intermediate laterals with such 
profusion that it is quite a fit subject for an associate 
in a representative collection. This variety may be 
bloomed from January to April by retarding it in cool 
structures. The last, and yet not the least, is E. 
gracile, which for its pale green somewhat curled 
foliage, and small erect spikelets, should find a place 
wherever these are grown. It is quite an easy matter 
to have this one in bloom from February to June ; in 
short, it will produce a few flowers all the summer if 
kept growing on. 
The former of these is liable to be attacked by 
thrips when kept in a high and dry atmosphere, 
while all of them, in no matter what temperature, are 
subject to the attacks of green-fly, which (including 
thrips) are easily kept under by a few whiffs of 
tobacco-smoke at intervals during the season they are 
inside.— J. Proctor, Glenfinart. 
-- 
FERN HUNTING—III. 
The Royal Fern. 
The plantation somewhat suddenly sloping downwards, 
we shortly find ourselves on the precipitous bank of a 
brawling stream of true Devonian character, and on 
the further side, to our delight, we espy some tremen¬ 
dous bushes of the Royal Fern (Osmunda regalis), the 
so-called Flowering Fern. Crossing the stream by 
leaping from rock to rock at a practicable point, we are 
speedily buried in this noble Fern, whose fronds, 
springing in small clusters, haphazard, as it seems, 
from enormous spongy masses of roots which cover the 
ground, reach far above one’s head. The reason of 
the popular name of Flowering Fern is obvious at 
once, since many of the fronds terminate in branching, 
brownish, bloomy-looking spikes, bearing a strong 
resemblance to unopened bud clusters of the Spiraea 
japonica. On examination, however, we become aware 
that these are really clusters of spore cases, constituting 
a form of fructification altogether distinct from those 
we have examined hitherto. The difference, moreover, 
is not merely one of arrangement, for the ripe spore 
cases and the spores themselves are olive-green, the 
ring, which is very imperfect, of the spore cases runs 
horizontally instead of vertically, and there is no 
indusium, a series of specific differences which put it 
quite by itself among our British species. 
The Brittle Bladder Fern. 
Our next find we light upon in the crevices of some 
rocks overhanging the stream, and forms a marked 
contrast in size to the Osmunda. This is the small, 
delicate and appropiately named Brittle Bladder 
Fern (Cystopteris fragilis), whose fronds, some 5 ins. 
or 6 ins. long, depend in little clusters from the 
chinks of the rock. This Fern derives its name from 
its fragility^, and from the form of its spore covers, 
which are shaped like a little inverted cup or fiood, and 
look like tiny bladders attached to the back of the 
fronds. Its thin, delicate, twice-divided fronds are 
attached to long brittle stalks, and spring in clusters 
from a short creeping rootstock. This species has 
several other British representatives—viz., the Moun¬ 
tain Bladder Fern (C. montana), the Alpine Bladder 
Fern (C. alpina), and the Royal Bladder Fern (C. regia), 
none of which, however, are likely to reward our search 
in this district. 
