May 31, 1890. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
618 
He was sorry for what he had done, and offered a sum 
of money much in excess of the value of the goods he 
had taken—4s.—if nothing more was done in the 
matter, admitting that he had taken Potatos on 
previous occasions. It was claimed for the defence 
that it was almost a practice in the trade for a man 
when he wanted Potatos to take them and pay for them 
afterwards. His Lordship laid stress upon this state¬ 
ment when summing up, and also upon the fact that 
the prisoner had been in business for fourteen years, 
and he found the charge not proven .—North British 
Agriculturist. 
A Red Nymphsea zanzibarensis.—There is a coloured 
plate of this red-flowered variety in the Revue de 
l'Horticulture Beige for May. Judging from the illus¬ 
tration, it must be of great value for the decoration of 
the hothouse aquaria. It originated in the Botanic 
Gardens, Carlsruhe, in 1884, and was obtained by M. 
Groebener, according to his own statement, by crossing 
N. zanzibarensis with the pollen of 1ST. Lotus dentata. 
The red variety was also figured in No. 3 of the 
Gartenflora for 1887 by M. Siber, of Marburg, who pre¬ 
tended to have obtained it by crossing N. zanzibarensis 
with N. Lotus rubra. It is stated, however, that he 
dared not affirm the origin of his plant because it 
was obtained from the hothouses at Carlsruhe. Both 
M. Grcebener and M. Siber sent flowers of their novelty 
to Professor Caspary for his advice upon the acquisition. 
In both cases he denied the hybrid origin of the new¬ 
comer, and said that it was N. zanzibarensis, of which 
the bluish coloration had been modified into violet. 
He also gave a detailed description of it, in order to 
show that the structure of the flower was morpho¬ 
logically that of N. zanzibarensis. He also dried the 
parts of the bloom separately, and found that they lost 
their reddish coloration and became blue—that is, 
reverted to N. zanzibarensis. 
-« >I<« - 
THE VENTILATION OF PLANT 
HOUSES. 
At the Temple Show, of the Royal Horticultural 
Society, on Wednesday, Mr. Charles Toope, of Stepney 
Square, E., exhibited a model, illustrating a new mode 
of ventilating plant houses, which he has devised with 
the object of excluding fog, soot, and other atmospheric 
abominations in densely populated manufacturing, and 
consequently smoky districts. Mr. Toope is the 
inventor of a number- of useful contrivances of various 
kinds, designed to assist the amateur gardener in his 
operations. He is himself a very enthusiastic amateur 
—fond of his plants and his garden, and some months 
ago took to the cultivation of Orchids with all the zest 
of a genuine lover of these fascinating plants. But 
Mr. Toope’s garden is unfortunately situated in one of 
the most smoke-begrimed districts to be found in the 
metropolitan area, and the atmospherical difficulties he 
and his plants have to contend against are really 
enormous. Gladly would he seek a brighter spot, but 
the. exigencies of his business compel his residence in 
Ben Jonson’s Road, and there he must be content with 
what success his resources can obtain for him. 
When he took to the Orchids, the subject of com¬ 
batting the evils of fog and smoke came quickly to the 
front—something must be done to keep the air in his 
Orchid house pure and fresh, or the Orchids would 
have to be given up. Thus it was that he was led to 
adopt a system that he has now patented, and which 
may briefly be explained by the aid of the annexed 
illustration. The system consists of an exhaust air 
pipe in the apex of the roof, with caps arranged at a 
certain distance apart, and in the caps dampers are 
provided, so that they can be partially or wholly 
closed as necessity may determine. 
To the ventilators, near the ground-line—the inlets, 
in fact, Mr. Toope has fitted what he calls purifying 
boxes underneath the hot-water pipes. In these boxes, 
which are perforated, as shown in the illustration, 
layers of charcoal are placed, through which the air 
has to pass before entering the house, with the chill 
taken off by passing over the warm pipes. By this 
simple arrangement Mr. Toope claims that foul air of 
any and every description may be admitted into the 
purifying boxes with impunity, and without any ill 
effects on plants in the house ; and that the air will 
always be found to be fresh and pure in winter as well 
as in summer, to the great comfort of the owner, and 
lasting advantage to the plants. 
Mr. Toope claims that his system answers admirably, 
and we hope du'iing the coming winter to keep a 
watchful observation on it, believing as we do that if 
by its means fog and soot can be kept outside, the 
system will be of inestimable value to dwellers in 
smoky places ; and the more so, perhaps, as it can 
be readily adapted in most cases to houses already 
built. 
-- 
THE HERMITAGE, ST. 
MARGARET’S BAY. 
Less than half-a-century ago, what is now the most 
commodious and beautifully situated residence at St. 
Margaret’s Bay, was but a small three-roomed cottage, 
standing in its own grounds of little more than a 
quarter of an acre in extent. To day, however, matters 
are widely different, for the Hermitage, with its nicely 
laid out and well-arranged grounds of some 500 acres 
in extent, and occupying a most conspicuous and com¬ 
manding site, add quite a feature to the general sur¬ 
roundings of this pleasantest of sea-side resorts. 
The Hermitage, the property of Lord Sackville Cecil, 
stands on the brow of an abrupt rising of chalk cliff, 
and in such a position as to command an almost un¬ 
limited view of the English Channel, with the coast of 
France in the far distance, while the well-stocked 
kitchen-garden slopes gently down to almost high water 
mark. Away behind are great stretches of pleasing 
green meadows and undulating downs, that during the 
season contain quite a wealth of rare and beautiful 
flowering plants and shrubs. 
The chalk cliffs along the coast on either side of the 
Hermitage, and which rise almost perpendicularly for 
from 300 ft. to fully 500 ft., are teeming with plants 
peculiar to a maritime shore, but as in many places 
they rise abruptly from the shore, it is a matter of no 
little difficulty to explore their crags and ravines. 
Samphire grows in several places in almost unlimited 
quantity, it not always confining itself to the rocky 
edges, for in several places I noticed that it occupied 
large surfaces of ground on the shingly sea-coast, or 
rather where detached masses of chalk had fallen from 
the cliffs and become mingled with the stones and 
sand. 
The wild Cabbage, too, crests the rocky ledges in 
sites that are far beyond our reach, its showy and 
abundantly produced yellow flowers contrasting both 
strangely and markedly with the deeper hue of those 
of now a wild form of the common Wallflower. This 
latter is quite a feature of the higher chalk cliffs 
between St. Margaret’s Bay and Dover, the dwarf 
thick-set habit, and rich abundance of reddish yellow 
flowers rendering it very conspicuous against the light 
grey cliffs on which it delights to grow. No doubt 
years ago this Wallflower was a garden escape intro¬ 
duced to the rocks by some wandering botanist or 
inhabitant of the place, but now through years of 
exposure to wind and storm, it has gradually assumed 
the procumbent habit until now it is a charming 
Alpine of like habit, but with much prettier flowers 
than the well-known continental forms. 
How long exposure to peculiar conditions, severe 
storms, &e., alters the general features of a well- 
known plant or shrub is amply exemplified in many 
cases that come under the notice of the careful observer. 
On the top of the same cliff the Spider Ophrys (O. 
aranifera) grows abundantly, but it is on an average, 
one-half the size of plants of the same kind that are 
found in inland and more sheltered situations. Here 
they are dwarf and thickset, the long, supple stems and 
nodding flower-heads that characterise the plant when 
found growing under more genial conditions, having 
through long exposure and a course of gradual evolution 
given place to their present more fitting habit of 
growth for their new and peculiar surroundings. 
In ascending a steep, grassy cliff in search of plants, 
I was quite struck with the procumbent habit assumed 
by our native Juniper, few of the specimens rising 
above ft. in height, but spreading laterally to a great 
extent; indeed, the whole contour of the plant 
brought back at once to my mind what I had often 
noticed with the same Juniper on the exposed sides of 
the great Snowdon range of hills. These Junipers 
were evidently self-sown seedlings, for on raising 
several of the young plants the rootstock had the 
unmistakable appearance of such, while it is very 
improbable that they were ever planted in such 
inaccessible positions. 
Side-by-side with the Juniper grew at least two 
species of Broomrape(Orobanche), their leafless character 
and peculiarly shaped and coloured flowere arresting the 
attention of the most unobservant. The Orchid family 
is, however, the pride of the chalky cliffs and downs, 
for in addition to the Spider already mentioned, the 
pyramidal and fragrant Orchids (Orchis pyramidalis and 
Gymnadenia conopsea) grow in great abundance, and 
quite scent the air with their rich aroma. Both these 
latter grow in company and flower at the same time, the 
rosy heads of the pyramidal offering a rich contrast to 
the variously tinted lilac of the fragrant species. In 
the Scorched Orchis (O. ustulatajwe have a neat, little, 
and curiously shaped flower, the whole plant rarely ex¬ 
ceeding 3 ins. or 4 ins. in height. When opening, the 
flowers have a scorched or blighted appearance, 
from which the popular name is derived. It grows in 
small patches on the dry, chalk rock, and I always 
consider it rare, though I find half-a-hundred to the 
square yard. Later in autumn I have collected the 
Lady’s Tresses (Spiranthes autumnalis) in; the same 
place with the latter, but in far greater abundance. 
The spotted-leaved Orchid (O. maculata) is found 
occasionally in similar places, but usually where the 
grass grows more luxuriantly, and consequently where 
greater moisture is present in the soil. When in full 
flower the Horned or Sea Poppy is a pretty and distinct 
plant, but it wants deep sand or gravel, into which the 
thick tap-root may wander at will. Along the coast it 
grows in almost unlimited quantity. That the common 
Privet is a native plant I now feel more convinced than 
ever, as at 300 ft. on the cliffs it grows in broad patches, 
the plant rarely rising £ ft. from the ground. The 
Tamarisk, with its waving plumes of flowers and deep 
green, finely-divided foliage, quite lights up those parts 
of the coast where it is growing in quantity. What a 
pretty plant the Milkwort (Polygala vulgaris) is, when 
seen in quantity on warm chalky soil, for there, and 
within the influence of the sea, it flowers far more pro- 
Toope’s Fog Annihilatoe. 
