32 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
September 16, 1893. 
from seed, indeed, so good are many of the 
varieties that they are far ahead of the best 
of old days, when Verbenas were largely 
used for bedding. But if the old sorts have 
materiall}^ disappeared, at least others have 
come to the front that are far finer and 
much more effective ; for whilst the colours 
then were rich, they were restricted in 
variety, and the pips and trusses small. 
Now all is doubled in size and other 
respects. 
We are pleased to see that in the selec¬ 
tion of varieties for bedding, habit has had 
material appreciation. Some we have 
recently seen have given masses of colour¬ 
ing in flowers that could not have been 
excelled by any plant. White, blue, scarlet, 
rose, and other striking hues, are very lovely 
and strikingly effective, and the white eye 
found so conspicuous in many of the flowers, 
whilst lighting up the masses with singular 
charm, does not in any way militate against 
the production of that striking effect which 
a mass of colour gives. 
Some of the newer varieties, too, seem to 
need no pegging. That, again, is an excel¬ 
lent feature. The}^ are specially effective 
in such case to furnish carpets, and we can 
hardly conceive of a better base for large 
crimson Begonias than is a carpet, not too 
thickly planted, of Boule de Neige, a fine 
and very free blooming white. It may be 
said that the present season has been a 
singularly suitable one for all kinds of out¬ 
door flowering plants. That is so, and we 
may well hope that it will inaugurate a 
succession of warm summers, in which floral 
colour may again largely dominate over dull, 
monotonous bedding plants. That is a hope 
which all may coincide in. 
-- 
Mr. W. Neild, for the past seventeen years, gar¬ 
dener to T. W. Tatton, Esq,, Northenden, Cheshire, 
has been appointed by the Cheshire County Council 
as lecturer in Horticulture. 
Mr. G. Warocque’s Orchids. —We understand that 
the entire collection of Orchids formed within the 
last few years by Mr. G. Warocque at Mariemont, 
Belgium, a selection from which was such a con¬ 
spicuous feature at the Quinquennial at Ghent, will 
be disposed of by auction at Messrs. Protheroe & 
Morris’ Rooms, Cheapside, at an early date. 
■' Horticulture in the Five Parts of the World ” is the 
title of a manuscript work by that eminent French 
nurseryman, M, Charles Baltet, of Troyes, which 
has recently been awarded the “Joubert de 
I’Hyberderie Prize” of io,ooo francs 13s. qd.) 
by the National Horticultural Society of France. 
The work is to be printed and circulated among the 
members of the society. 
Birmingham Municipal Technical School..—Acourse 
of fifteen lectures was commenced here on the 5th 
inst. intended specially for gardeners. They will be 
of an elementary and practical character, dealing 
with such subjects as seeds, their structure and 
mode of germination ; the seedling plant, its mode 
of growth ; bulbs and other underground root-stocks, 
their structure, conditions, and mode of develop¬ 
ment ; the food of plants, whence and how obtained ; 
roots, their structure and uses ; leaves, their struc¬ 
ture and uses; flowers, their structure, mode of 
development, and functions, etc. The class will 
meet on Tuesday evenings, from 8.40 to 9.45, and 
the fee for the course is only is. 
The Profusion of Apples in Cornwall has brought 
about a new industry, which patience and persever¬ 
ance may develop. Everybody knows of Devonshire 
cider, but until the present, or, at least, during the 
present decade, Cornish cider has been unknown as 
a marketable commodity. There is likely, however, 
to be a decided change, and the autumn will bear 
witness. In several districts in Cornwall large 
growers of Apples have conceived the idea rather 
than waste the hundreds of tons of stored Apples, 
have put down cider presses at great expense, with 
the hopeful result of entertaining the idea at larger 
proportions another year. It is an absolute fact 
that some growers have hundreds of tons of Apples 
stored in hope of their keeping well for the winter. 
■‘Wild Flowers in Art and Nature.” —In October, 
Mr. Edw'ard Arnold will publish the first of six 
monthly parts of a new illustrated work for art 
students and lovers of flowers. Each number will 
contain three or four coloured plates of flowers from 
water-colours, especially drawn by Mr. H. G. Moon ; 
and in order to do full justice to the illustrations the 
parts will be printed on royal quarto paper. Mr. F. 
W. Burbidge, curator of the University Botanical 
Gardens, Dublin, has described the flowers, and has 
given such botanical information as is necessary for 
those wishing to make a study of the subject. The 
Principal of the National Art Training School, 
South Kensington, Mr. J. C. L. Sparkes, deals with 
the value of the plates as art studies or drawing 
copies. 
Scottish Horticultural Association. —The monthly 
meeting of this association was held on the 5th inst. 
at 5, St. Andrew Square, Mr. Robert Morrison in 
the chair. Mr. A. Mackenzie, Jun. (of Messrs. 
Mackenzie & Moncur) read a paper on '' The Heat¬ 
ing of Hothouses by Hot Water Pipes.” He 
described the circulation of the water in the pipes, 
and mentioned the various parts of a hot-water 
apparatus; and the use of dips in piping in ordinary 
practice he specially deprecated. Among the 
exhibits were seedling Potatos from Messrs. T. 
Methven Sc Sons ; Triloma Macowani from Messrs. 
Dickson & Go.; seedling Potatos from Mr. A. Slater, 
Haystoun, Peebles ; a collection of Apples from Mr. 
J. L. Dalgleish, Rowanbrae, Dalkeith ; Ficus repens, 
grown out of doors, from Mr. Minty, Raasay; and 
a box of seedling Pelargoniums from Mr. Jas. 
Wilson, St. Andrews. 
Fertilisers and Feeding Stuffs Bill.— -This measure, 
brought forward by the President of the Agricultural 
Department (Mr. Gardner), has been revised by the 
Grand Committee of the House of Lords, Viscount 
Cross in the chair. On the motion of the Lord 
Chancellor, it was agreed that the seller cf any 
artificial fertiliser shall state in the warranty he will 
have to give under the Bill that the percentages of 
nitrogen, phosphates, and potash contained in the 
products are ‘‘ at least ” what he has promised. On 
behalf of the Agricultural Department, the Earl of 
Ribblesdale proposed a new sub-section, giving 
middlemen the same rights against wholesale 
dealers as retail buyers will have against them. 
This was unanimously agreed to, and several minor 
changes having been made, the Bill was returned to 
the House. 
New Plants Cerlificated in Ghent.— At the last 
meeting of the Syndical Chambre, held in Ghent, 
Certificates of Merit were awarded to Mr. G. 
Gyselynck for a golden variegated seedling Rhodo¬ 
dendron and Dracsena indivisa foliis argenteo- 
variegatis; to the Establishment Horticole Ste. 
Dorothee for Aechmea Weilbachi fol. var. ; to 
Mr. Edm. Van Coppenolle (unanimously) for 
Dracaena Van Coppenolleana, a seedling from D. 
australis; to Messrs. Duriez Bros, for Adiantum 
cuneatum fol. var. ; to Mr. H. Smitz for a species of 
Encholirion from Brazil; to Mr. Jules Hye (unani¬ 
mously) for Miltonia Morelliana superba, Cypri- 
pedium triumphans (CEnanthum superbum x Salieri 
Hyeanum), by acclamation, and Cypripedium gigan- 
teum (Harrisianum x Sallieri Hjeanum) ; to M. Van 
Houtte, by acclamation, for Sonerilla Madame Leon 
Say, and for Sonerillas Madame Blommaert, and 
Professor Charles DeBosschere. 
Glasgow and West of Scotland Horticultural Society. 
—On Wednesday of last week the annual autumn 
show of the Glasgow and West of Scotland Horti¬ 
cultural Society, which has been in existence for 
over a hundred years, took place in St. Andrew's 
Hall, Glasgow. This year’s exhibition has in many 
respects excelled any show yet held by the society. 
The entries numbered 1,200, about 200 more than on 
former occasions. Besides the vestibule, four large 
halls were required to accommodate the exhibits. 
The platform presented a very pretty appearance, 
there being in front an attractive row of fruiting 
vines sent by Messrs. Austin & McAslan, Glasgow. 
Tables of plants for exhibition were shown by 
Messrs. Smith & Simons, Glasgow ; J. & E. Thyne, 
Glasgow ; Sutherland, Lenzie ; W. Aitken & Sons, 
Lenzie ; Dobbie & Co., Rothesay; John Smellie, 
Busby; John Forbes, Hawick; Campbell, Blan- 
tyre ; and Brown, Uddingston. 
The Birmingham and District Amateur Gardeners' 
Association. —A well-attended meeting of the above 
Association was held on Wednesday, the 6th inst., 
at the Temperance Institute, Corporation Street. On 
this occasion, Air. Walter B. Child, F.R.H.S., read 
a paper on “ Some Notable Perennials, and How to 
Grow Them.” He gave a list of the kinds most suited 
for town gardens, their habit of growth, and also 
their mode of cultivation and propagation. He said 
that these plants were rightly, coming more into 
public favour year hy year, for not only could one, 
by a proper selection of varieties, have a show of 
flowers almost all the year round, but they' were most 
easy to cultivate, and required very little attention 
Mr. Child exhibited (not for competition) a splendid 
collection of these flowers which were greatly 
admired by those present. They’ certainly showed 
signs of good and careful cultivation. There were 
very few exhibits for competition. Lilium auratum 
was shown by' Mr. H. Smith, and Asters and 
Marguerite Carnations (very fine) by Mr. W. H. 
Wilks. The next meeting will be held on October 
4th, when Councillor Martineau will deliver an 
address on ” An old Birmingham Botanist.” 
Pine Trees and Turpentine. —The United States 
Forestry Division of the Department of Agriculture 
has been making some experiments in order to 
ascertain the loss of strength and durability brought 
about by tapping Pine tress in order to obtain 
turpentine, etc. from them. It has been generally 
supposed (says the Builder) that the boxing of the 
tree detracted from the virtues of the timber for 
constructive purposes, but the investigations of the 
Department tend to negative this view. Both 
chemical and mechanical tests have been made with 
the same result as to the non-destructive effect of 
tapping or ” bleeding.” Over three hundred tests on 
thirty-two Pine trees from various localities were 
made; some of these were boxed or “bled” and 
some were not, and it is a curious fact that the boxed 
timber showed abetter average than that from which 
the turpentine had not been taken. The superiority of 
the bled timber may, however, be accounted for by 
the fact that trees which are used for turpentine 
supply are generally placed in sites more favourably- 
situated for their growth. It is, however, shown by 
the experiments that the heart of the tree is not 
affected by the bleeding, the flow of resinous matter 
being in the exterior sap portion of the trunk. It 
has long been known that bleeding of the tree retards 
its growth, and it would appear that this is its only 
effect. In regard to its influence on the quality of the 
timber, it may be that this checking of the growth 
has a favourable result on the wood, as tending to 
the slow growing of the timber. 
A Germani Collec'oi’ s explanation of an Orchid.— 
■' If you gan oondershtand plain Greek I would tell 
you dat Orchids are petaloid monocotyledons mit 
irregular perianth und inferior ovary, gynandrous. 
Or you may take it dat Orchids are a family of 
monocotyledonous phanerogams mit albuminous 
seeds und an undivided embryo.” This was not 
understood, and so a further explanation was needed, 
which is thus given, a flower of Phalaenopsis grandi- 
flora being held up to illustrate the lesson taught :— 
“You see dis knobbed projection shtanding in the 
middle ?” 
“The column? Yes.” 
“ Dere lies de segret of the Orchid.” 
“ Well, I never ! ” muttered Bounce. 
“ Dere idt lies ! By gareful dissection oonder de 
migroscope we find dat the column ish composed of 
de shtamens und shtyle which all other plants have ; 
but here dey are consolidated into a single mass, 
holding the pollen grains at de tip—see !—und bear¬ 
ing de shtigma oonderneath—here it ish ! You 
oondershtand dese words ? I will put it ash plain 
ash I gan. An Orchid ish a flowers dat consists of 
free sepals und free petals, mit de organs of repro¬ 
duction—separate in oder plants—fused together in 
de column. All de differences you hafe shpeak of, 
Harry, are nodings—oonder de migroscope dey dis¬ 
appear. Every Orchid of dose ten f ousand species 
has de same component parts, though so modified 
or transformed ash to be invisible to de naked eye. 
Dere lies de marvel und delight—when we take de 
flower to pieces.”— From “ The Orchid Seekers in 
Borneo." 
The Carnation its History, Properties, and Management, 
with a descriptive list of the best varieties in cultivation. By 
E. S. Dodwell. Third edition, with supplementary chapter on 
the Yellow Ground. London: G.vrdening World Office, i, 
Clement’s Inn, Strand, W.C. is. 6 d. : post free, is. yd.—Adv.j 
