May 12, 1894. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
583 
.Gardening Uiscellany. 
OL) ■^r'. 
THE ONION MAGGOT, 
After being almost driven to desperation with 
successive plagues of the Onion Maggot, it crossed 
my mind to try carbolic acid, which I did, using 
it at the rate of a wineglass full to three gallons of 
water. We applied it with the syringe and dusted 
the plants over with dry lime immediately afterwards, 
which helped to keep the odour of the Carbolic 
Acid about the plants for a longer period. All who 
are troubled with this pest should give carbolic 
acid a trial.— F. Exell, The Gardens, Miserden Park, 
Cirencester. 
A WINDOW SHOW OF ORCHIDS. 
When calling recently upon Mr. James Crispin, of 
the firm of James Crispin and Sons, Horticultural 
Builders and Engineers, Nelson Street, Bristol, I 
was agreeably surprised to find a pretty display of 
Orchid blooms in the window of their business 
establishment. There were Dendrobiums, Cattleyas, 
Laelias, and Cypnpediums, many species and varie¬ 
ties of each, all artistically arranged, and needless to 
say greatly admired by thousands of passers by. 
This liberal minded and kindly act on the part of 
Mr. Crispin is specially appreciated by the poor folk, 
who look upon his floral treasures with wonder and 
delight. Mr. Crispin’s Orchids are grown in the 
country a few miles out of Bristol, and he takes a 
very active part in their cultivation himself. His 
collection includes many good things, and all the 
plants are well done. That he should share some of 
his pleasure with the general public, shows a spirit 
of* unselfishness that is greatly fo be admired.— 
Rustic us. 
SPIRAEA PRUNIFOLIA FLORE-PLENO. 
Amongst the Spiraeas there are few that bloom so 
early as this one. The blossom is produced on the 
shoots of the previous year, and more abundantly on 
those shoots which have made good growth. When 
the temperature rises in spring the flowers generally 
commence to expand before the leaves are developed. 
They are consequently liable to injury from late 
frosts, particularly if the plant is grown as a shrub 
in the open, but there is less danger when it is 
trained against a wall as in the gardens of the Royal 
Horticultural Society at Chiswick. Here the double 
flowered form enjoys the shelter of an east aspect 
wall, and the spring weather being characterised by 
a general absence of frost, the flowers have entirely 
escaped harm, and the long shoots on the upper part 
of the plant are literally laden with bloom. 
WHITE EVERLASTING PEAS. 
This grand old plant, Pisum sylvestris platyphyllus, 
is not met with so frequently as its great merits 
would lead one to expect. When once established 
it grows freely and flowers well, and the flowers are 
admirably adapted for decorative purposes, being 
borne on long footstalks, and can be used among the 
choicest exotics, — W. B. G. 
-•«-- 
THE ROSERY. 
Diseases and Enemies, 
Now that the young growths are making rapid 
progress, it may be well to devote a little thought 
to the above subject, both as a warning and to be 
prepared with the simplest and most efficient 
remedies. With the vast number of insecticides 
and fumicides now upon the market, it would be 
somewhat unfair to extol one above the other, 
especially as all of them are good when used with 
careful attention to the directions attached to each. 
Early application of remedies is more than half of 
the battle when contending against the numerous 
enemies of the Rose. I do not think Roses have 
more pests than the majority of plants, but they are 
certainly easier ruined by neglect than many others. 
I do not propose to introduce any entomology in 
this paper, my aim being the destruction of insect 
pests only, but it is well to remind my readers that 
the 
Rose Aphis, or Green Fly, 
Is capable of producing many millions of young in 
a short time. As they arrive at maturity in a few 
hours, it will readily be understood how very impor¬ 
tant immediate action becomes. There is yet 
another good reason—the fact that the earliest 
growth of Roses is hardly so tender as the tips of 
those about 3 in. or 4 in. in length. In the latter 
stage green fly is able to withstand almost equally 
strong measures as the Rose growth. Unfortunately 
the insects favour the tenderest and youngest growth, 
and this makes it doubly necessary to employ great 
caution when applying remedies. 
I have on the table in front of me one of the 
most valuable encyclopaedias of horticulture yet 
published (Nicholson's” Dictionary of Gardening ”), 
but on turning to aphides I find a most dangerously 
strong remedy given under the heading of soft soap. 
Here it is :—” 8 lbs. of soft soap to twelve gallons of 
rain water, and one gallon of tobacco water added 
after it is cold.” Now, I have grown Roses for 
many years, have, in fact, made a speciality of them, 
but I always had dire results when solutions were 
used considerably below that strength. Before 
giving the strength which I use, we will look at Mr. 
B. R. Cant’s catalogue. I find he advises 4 ozs. of 
quassia chips, and 4 ozs. of soft soap boiled in a 
gallon of water, and then ” another gallon or two of 
water to be added.” This gives us about 2 ozs. of 
soft soap to the gallon, while Mr. Nicholson says 
almost II ozs. Even Mr. B. R. Cant’s is stronger 
than I ever use, A few lines below the recipe given 
by Mr. Nicholson we read the following sentence:— 
” For out-door work nothing surpasses clean cold 
water, applied often and forcibly with a syringe.” 
This would imply that the aphides are much easier 
to kill out-doors than when under glass, and I fear 
my inexperienced friends will be puzzled at these 
great differences, as well they may. My own recipe 
is as follo\vs: —I lb. of soft soap boiled for ten 
minutes in a gallon of water, then add a large 
wineglass full of paraffin oil, and stir the whole 
together. Add the paraffin while still hot, but be 
careful to be well away from the fire. This will 
mix fairly well, and have the consistency and colour 
of dirty cream. When using it, let the above have 
water added in proportion to eight to ten gallons. 
It will keep indefinitely, and one often needs only a 
gallon or two for use, so that the one boiling may be 
reduced as needed. 
There is one more most important ingredient, 
and that is “elbow oil.’’ Put this behind the 
syringe handle. Indeed, soft water, with this, is a 
far more effectual insecticide than the most expen 
sive concoction when applied in the half-hearted 
way we too often notice. There is a little knack in 
using the syringe properly; a number of short, 
sharp strokes of the piston, made rapidly and with¬ 
out going fully home until the contents are exhausted 
will be much more effectual, and an enormous 
saving in the solution. I use the above for all 
insect pests, and find it the most effectual and 
cheapest remedy after a fair trial of a large number.— 
Rosarian. 
Vegetables for Exhibition. 
These will now need special attention if they are 
required to be shown early in the finest possible 
form. It is the common idea with some people that 
vegetables are grown thinly in order that they may 
be of extra size. This, no doubt, to some extent 
holds good, but it is not, or should not be, the object 
of the cultivator to go in for mere size ; quality 
combined with quantity should be the aim of all, 
the first of the two being the principal object. Now 
if such vegetables as Turnips are grown thickly 
together, say g in, from row to row and 5 in. or 
6 in. apart in the row, instead of the roots being 
well shaped with little foliage, they will be the 
reverse. Early Snowball as a show variety is 
difficult to beat, especially during the first part of 
the season. To have them, however, in the finest 
form they must be allowed ample room from the 
first. With us Early Milan has for some days been 
very good from seed sown on the open border on 
January 30th. This is not an exhibition kind, and 
to have it good should be used when quite small, 
otherwise the flavour is not the best. 
Carrots on warm borders are now getting usuable, 
so that these must be looked to or there will be more 
top than root. The first lot of Cauliflowers will 
soon be turning in, therefore see that they are well 
supplied with nourishment. Both Shallots and 
Onions are looking well. They have now a good 
hold of the ground, so may have a dressing of super¬ 
phosphate or other stimulant. With me the earliest 
Peas never looked better. Sutton’s Early Marrow 
is a fine variety for exhibiting so soon in the season, 
here it is just in bloom. The pods are of medium 
size, good shape, well filled, and the Peas are of 
most excellent flavour. It may be had ready for 
gathering in an ordinary season at the beginning of 
June. Asparagus has never been so good here as it 
has been this season. We commenced cutting at 
the beginning of April and are now having some 
very fine heads. This I attribute to the beds having 
a heavy dressing of sulphate of potash and nitrate 
of soda in the early part of March. To keep the 
beds in this fertile state they must have occasional 
supplies of these stimulants.— K. G. 
-- 4 *- 
SOCIETIES. 
Royal Horticultural, May Sth .—The meeting on this 
occasion was much smaller than several of the pre¬ 
vious ones, notwithstanding that the small entries 
were pretty numerous, especially the Orchids. Other 
features of note were Calceolarias, Tulips, Irises, 
and other hardy herbaceous plants, show and 
decorative Pelargoniums, Azaleas, Begonias, Carna¬ 
tions, flowering trees and shrubs, A small but 
interesting group of Orchids was exhibited by Sir 
Trevor Lawrence, Bart, (grower, Mr. W. H. White), 
Burford Lodge, Dorking. Amongst others were 
plants of Catasetum tenebrosum, Dendrobium 
cretaceum, Cycnoches ventricosa, a curious looking 
flower, Laelia purpurata nobilior, and several others. 
A similar group was shown by De B. Crawshay, 
Esq. (gardener, Mr. Sidney Cooke), Rosefield, 
Sevenoaks. Amongst others were a number of 
variations of Odontoglossum triumphans showing 
forms between that and O. excellens, one of them 
named O. triumphans Lionel Crawshay being very 
distinct, with a well-shaped round flower. A hand¬ 
some variety named Odontoglossum Hallii 
Madamoiselle Cecile de Rochfort had a spike about 
4 ft. long, and richly-coloured flowers. Coryanthes 
Wolfiana, Oncidium roraimense, and several very 
highly coloured forms of Masdevallia ignea were 
sent over from the Royal Botanic Cardens, Glas- 
nevin, Dublin. A fine spike of Oncidium Marshalli- 
anum was shown by J. P. W. Butt, Esq. (gardener, 
Mr. G. W. Marsh), Arle Court, Cheltenham, A 
beautiful Odontoglot named Odontoglossum crispum 
apiculatum was exhibited by Messrs. Charlesworth, 
Shuttleworth & Co.; O. crispum heatonense and O. 
polyxanthum were also very fine. Odontoglossum 
citrosmum Owenianum and O. triumphans atratum 
were exhibited by Messrs. B. S. Williams & Son, 
Upper Holloway. A small group of Orchids was 
staged by Messrs. T. Cripps & Son, Tunbridge 
Wells, including Dendrobium Dearei, Cypripedium 
caudatum with tails 28 in. long. Microstylis 
Scottii and Warscewiczella Wailesiana were shown 
by Messrs. W. L, Lewis & Co , Southgate. The 
curious Bifrenaria inodora and Masdevallia mar- 
ginella were shown by R. I. Measures, Esq. 
(gardener, Mr. Hy. Chapman), Cambridge Lodge, 
Camberwell. A pretty variety of Odontoglossum 
Pescatorei and a Chysis were exhibited by Welbore 
S. Ellis, Esq., Hazelbourne, Dorking. A cul¬ 
tural commendation was awarded to Walker C. 
Walker, Esq. (gardener, Mr. Geo. Cragg), Percy 
Lodge, Winchmore Hill, for a splendidly-flowered 
piece of Cattleya Lawrenceana. A variety of Phaius 
Sanderiana was shown by A. H. Smee, Esq. 
(gardener, Mr. G. W. Cummins), The Grange, Wal- 
lington. The beautiful hybrid Dendrobium Dellense 
was shown by Baron Schroder (gardener, Mr. 
Ballantine), The Dell, Egham. D. nobile 
Schroderiana, one of the parents of the hybrid, 
was shown for the sake of contrast. A new hybrid 
Disa named D. laagleyensis was exhibited by Messrs. 
J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, who had also Masde¬ 
vallia splendida Parlatoreana, Cypripedium macro- 
chilum giganteum with enormous flowers, and others. 
A large and effective group of flowering shrubs 
was exhibited by Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea. 
Very conspicuous were some masses of Cytisus 
scoparius Andreanus, and a seedling from it with 
orange instead of velvety-brown wings. Cercis 
Siliquastrum, Veronica Hulkeana, Clethra alnifolia, 
Cytisus elongatus and C. purpurea flore-albo were 
very attractive, as were the varieties of Azalea 
mollis. A large and splendidly grown collection of 
