Feb. 14th, 1885. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
379 
tion it will be obvious that such a task requires more 
than one pair of hands, so that one should be holding 
the pot together while another places the sticks and 
secures the same quite firm by binding some string 
around the pot and the sticks. These elevated pots, 
which are not very elegant, I must admit, should 
be well attended to as water, and the plants be 
encouraged in every way to form roots. Probably, it 
would be well to stint the supplies at the roots of 
plants thus treated, as the danger is that having the 
old roots to support them, they are apt to make more 
growth than they can uphold, when roots have formed 
and they are severed from the parent plant. For the 
Cyanophyllum and Sphferogyne larger pots will be 
necessary than those recommended for Aralias, but 
the method of procedure and treatment are the same. 
I have known plump eyes of the two latter put in 
and treated in the same way as vines’ eyes (described 
in your last number) succeed in making roots and 
growing.— W. C. P. 
Digitalis obscnra. —Although this interesting 
species of Foxglove has been offered for several years 
past, no special reference has hitherto been made to 
it. Now that experience has shown its thorough 
distinctness from the species commonly cultivated, 
the writer thinks that he will confer a benefit on the 
amateur of good things by bringing it under his notice. 
It has but one drawback, it is rather tender, and is 
indeed classed in some popular botanical dictionaries 
as a greenhouse plant. It is, however, fairly hardy 
in light, well-drained soils, as well as upon rockwork, 
in proof of which it may be stated that it has borne 
uninjured full exposure the last three winters in a 
sandy border. It grows about 3 ft. high, having 
a shrubby base, furnished with somewhat fleshy, 
ovate, acute, entire, dark green foliage, and stems 
terminated by a long raceme of most effective flowers. 
These are smaller than in the common Foxglove, but 
of similar form, and are remarkable for their clear 
golden-yellow ground, shaded and veined with brown. 
It is in this curious combination of tint that the 
attraction of the plant mainly consists, but even its 
foliage, so entirely free from the coarseness -which 
characterizes the better known species, is not without 
its influence on the total result. In raising this 
species from seed, care should be taken to sow very 
thinly, and to water carefully, the pot being placed on 
a greenhouse shelf close to the glass. The young 
plants should not be exposed in the open ground till 
the second year, when they may be planted where 
they are to bloom. A native of the Sierra Nevada in 
Spain, and is synonymous with the D. nevadensis of 
gardens.— W. Thompson, Ipswich. 
->_^<- 
Dentaria polyphylla. —This beautiful species 
which is one of the most elegant of early spring¬ 
flowering plants, is admirably suited for the rock 
garden. The habit is dwarf; the leaves pinnatisect, 
with linear-lanceolate toothed segments; and the 
flowers, which are an inch long, and arranged in a 
gracefully drooping corymb, are white or pale straw- 
coloured, making a pretty contrast with the bright 
green leaves. The rootstock is covered with numerous 
irregular tubercles, giving it a remarkable appearance, 
and grows from 6 ins. to 10 ins. long, by nearly 
| in. in diameter. It is figured in the January 
number of The Botanical Magazine, from a plant sent 
by Messrs. Froebel, of Zurich, to Kew, and which 
flowered in February and March of last year. It is 
a subalpine plant of somewhat restricted range, 
occurring in -wooded mountains from Central Switzer¬ 
land to Carniola and Croatia, and southward to 
Etruria, in Italy; hence it will be likely to succeed 
best when planted in a cool and somewhat shady 
position on the open rockwork. 
Psychotria eyanococa. —A small Eubiaceous 
plant under this name may now be seen in the stove at 
Kew, which is by no means devoid of interest. It is a 
small bush, 1 ft. high, with narrowly elliptical leaves 
with crisped-undulate margins, and small dense 
panicles of deep indigo-blue berries, rather smaller 
than Peas. It is this rather uncommon colour of the 
fruit which attracts attention, a colour which, by 
the way, may be seen in the fruits of some Commely- 
naceous plants. 
The Kitchen Gardener’s Calendar.— Onions, 
as a rule, follow Celery. Where this is the case the 
latter should be taken up and laid in the same depth 
in the ground as before in a north border, and the 
ground be dug, so that the seed may be sown as soon 
as the surface soil is sufficiently dry to admit of the 
work being done without its adhering to the feet. 
The ground, assuming it to be light and pulverized, 
should then be trodden, raked, and made level, giving 
it a good surface dressing of fresh soot before drawing 
the drills, about 1 in. deep and 1 ft. asunder, after 
which the seed should be sown thinly and evenly in 
the drills. The soil should then be closed in over the 
seed with the feet, again be trodden down over each 
individual drill, and afterwards be finely raked over 
in the same direction as the drills, so that the bed, 
when finished, may present a fine, firm, and even 
surface. For general use and good keeping qualities 
Danver’s Yellow, Nuneham Park, and James’s Keeping 
may be relied on, and a few rows of White Naples 
should also be sown on a warm border for drawing 
young, as also should a few beds of the Silver Skin 
variety for picklers. The latter should be sown 
broadcast and rather thickly in a poor, dry, and 
shallow soil, so as to prevent their growing too large. 
Foecino Depaetment. —Young plants of Cauli¬ 
flower, Cabbage, Brussels Sprouts, and Lettuce, 
resulting from seeds sown on hot-beds, as advised 
at p. 263, will now be ready for pricking out in a 
frame placed on old hot-beds or under a few lights in 
a warm corner, about 4 ins. apart. They should then 
be watered and kept close for a week or ten days 
until the roots have pushed well into the soil, after 
which they should be gradually hardened off prior 
to being finally transplanted to the open. Young 
Cucumber plants, raised in the manner recommended 
at the page referred to above, will now be large enough 
for planting in frames placed on hot-beds. Put a 
barrowful of compost, consisting of three parts of light 
loam and one of short dung and leaf-mould, into the 
centre of each light, and after it has been there 
twenty-four hours, set the plants thereon (one on 
each mound), planting them and subsequently 
treating them as advised for “ Melons in Hot-beds,” 
under the heading of “Fruit Culture under Glass.” 
Make up the linings around and up to within 2 ins. 
of the top of the frame with fermenting material, as 
much with the view of excluding the cold therefrom 
as to impart a little heat to the interior of the bed 
and frame. And with this object in view cover the 
latter at night with mats and fern or long dry litter. 
— H. TV. Ward, Longford Castle. 
-_*±<- 
Mushrooms. —We have been favoured with an 
inspection of some remarkable clumps of Mushrooms, 
grown by Mr. Breese, gardener to Lord Leeonfield, at 
Petworth Park, Sussex, from spawn supplied by 
Messrs. Veitch & Sons. The prolific character of the 
spawn may be gleaned from the fact that some of the 
clumps have contained as many as seventy-five Mush¬ 
rooms, ranging from 1 in. to 4 ins. in diameter, with 
hundreds of young ones to follow. The spawn must 
be good and the cultivation too to produce such 
results as this. 
The New American Peas. — I was very much 
interested in “ B. D.’s” remarks upon these new Peas 
in your last issue. We grow some fourteen varieties 
here, both old and new, every year, Peas being the 
favourite vegetable of my employer, so much so, 
indeed, that when we begin to gather them other 
vegetables have to go to the wall. I can say nothing 
yet as regards the American Wonder and Bliss’s Ever- 
bearing, but am getting packets of them, along with 
others, for trial. Paying a visit to Mr. Charles 
Kershaw’s, Slead Syke Nurseries, Brigliouse, last 
summer, I had the pleasure of being shown a row 
of Abundance Pea some 30 yds. long, and such a row 
of dwarf Peas it had not before been my lot to see 
since the introduction of Maclean’s Little Gem. The 
description of it given by “ B. D.” is most accurate. 
Mr. John Kershaw could grasp with his hand twenty- 
wo beautiful well-filled pods within the radius of a 
span. Mr. Kershaw knew I was sceptical as to the 
cropping qualities of dwarf Peas, but the spell was 
broken, out came my pocket-book, and it was put 
down for trial this year. I consider it A 1 for market 
purposes, as well as for cultivation by cottagers and 
where Pea-rods are scarce. It justly deserves the 
First-Class Certificate conferred upon it by the Boyal 
Horticultural Society.— Benj. Lockwood, The Gardens, 
Low Hills, Lindley, Huddersfield. 
-- 
Sulham Prize Pink Celery. —Although not a 
new variety, this is one of the best and hardiest I am 
acquainted with—of medium growth, solid, crisp, and 
of fine flavour. It has the advantage of withstanding 
sharp frosts without covering, to a degree that I have 
not found in any other variety. My first acquaint¬ 
ance with it was a few years since, after a very severe 
winter when visiting an amateur friend, who I found 
had good Celery on his table, my own having become 
rotten in the centre and unfit for use through the 
effects of the cold weather. I found my friend’s 
variety was the above-named, and decided to give it a 
trial the following season. I was so well satisfied 
with it that I now grow no other, the one variety 
answering admirably either for an early or late supply. 
— C. H. 
Tomato, King Humbert. —This Tomato was 
sent out as a novelty last year, and from several 
catalogues which I have received I see that it is still 
being offered as such. Having grown it last summer 
in a cool greenhouse in 12-in. pots I was well satisfied 
with its fruiting qualities and also its habit of growth. 
It is well suited for growing on a trellis. The fruits 
which are borne in large clusters, are of medium size, 
full of flesh, and mild in flavour.— I). Wilkie, Sun- 
drum, Ayr. 
Early Cabbages. —At the meeting of the Fruit 
Committee on Tuesday, Mr. Gilbert, of Burghley, 
exhibited some examples of his Selected Imperial 
Cabbage side by side with some of Ellam’s Dwarf 
variety, which has been considered by many to be the 
earliest sort grown. The Selected Imperial is of 
the Little Pixie type, a nice, compact, well-hearted 
little Cabbage now, while the heads shown of Ellam’s 
Dwarf were only commencing to heart. As shown it 
was generally considered that Mr. Gilbert had got a 
good thing—probably the best early Cabbage grown, 
but later in the day this opinion was somewhat 
modified by the arrival of some excellent samples of 
four varieties grown and sent for exhibition by Mr. 
Inglis, gardener to Earl Grey, at Howick, Lesbury, 
Northumberland. The sorts sent were Cook’s Early, 
Sutton’s Beading All Heart, Early Bainham, and 
Carter’s Heartwell Marrow, all undoubtedly good 
early sorts, but the earliest and best hearted of all 
was the Beading All Heart, a solid, compact little 
Cabbage, that much took the fancy of some who had 
not seen it before. 
-- 
Midsummer Kidney Potato_ Amateur and 
professional gardeners will find in the above-named 
Potato, a very valuable addition to the early Ashleaf 
varieties—equalling in earliness the old Ashleaf—and 
all the so-called improved forms. The most valuable 
points, however, I wish to particularize are:—the 
handsome shape, appearance and even size of the 
tubers, and the quality and cropping properties which 
are all that can be desired. As an early variety for 
exhibition it has no equal, and from the small amount 
of haulm, is admirably adapted for frame work. The 
variety was, I believe, raised at Bedfont and sent out 
by Mr. B. Dean.—C. H. 
-- 
Eibby’s Defiance Solid White Celery.—Judg¬ 
ing from samples exhibited at the Fruit Committee’s 
meeting on Tuesday, Mr. Bibby, of North Street, 
Colchester, has, in the Celery above-named, a variety 
of unusual excellence. The “sticks ” shown were as 
large as a good sample of Leicester Bed, remarkably 
solid and crisp, and mild in flavour. A white Celery 
of this size and character, which will keep solid and 
good till this time and later, is worth looking after. 
