December 1, 1894. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
217 
SAINTPAULIA IONANTHA. 
Since the advent of this beautiful Gesneraceous 
plant in the gardens of Europe, about a year ago or 
a little over, it has found its way into a large number 
of gardens, both Continental and British. It was 
discovered in the district of Usambara, Central 
Africa, and being different from everything else 
known, a new genus was made for its reception. It 
has very much the habit of Ramondia pyrenaica, but 
the radical rosette of leaves is not so dense, although 
it completely covers the soil of the pot in which the 
plant is grown. The leaves themselves are heart- 
shaped and of a metallic green, and from amongst 
them the short flower scapes are produced almost or 
quite continuously while the plant continues to grow, 
and it commences to bloom while yet small. The 
accompanying illustration shows thehabit of theplant 
and the form of the flowers, but the plant must be 
seen to realise the beautiful blue shade of the 
flowers. Some of the first that appeared were 
rather pale, but as other plants continue to be raised 
the blue becomes more and more intensified. 
Exhibits have appeared in public from time to time, 
and a First-class Certificate was awarded a group of 
ten plants of various sizes shown by Sir Trevor 
Scenery much the same. Indeed, I once heard an 
American gentleman compare the sun making a 
glorious dip into the blue ocean, when coming down 
Channel from Liverpool on board one of the Guion 
Boats, as “ for all this ’ere blessed world so tarnation¬ 
like a bronze Swede Turnip.” Sunset being to many 
after this fashion. The generality of tourists going 
to Scotland from London, or even condescending to 
reach Ireland, getting out on the “ doing business.’’ 
It is some years since I was amused at a friend—I 
won’t mind where he hailed from—that took it into 
his head to visit Edinburgh. Arriving there late one 
summer evening he parted at once from his friends 
sauntered out, reached to the top of Calton Hill, got 
back soon again to his hotel, and wanted the entire 
party to get on farther next day, as, indeed, he saw 
all the city from the height, as if there was no more 
to be seen. 
I am afraid a great many sympathetic people in 
London only know “ Wayside Ireland ” from the great 
world of altitudes, and am sorry for this. 
“ The oftener they come here, the more we'll 
adore them.” 
Yet if my weak effort at truth-telling, and noting 
by rail, coach, and steamer will but increase the 
disgrace to the British Empire if allowed to continue, 
and it was on account of this expression of feeling 
coming from the lips of so good a Christian lady that 
made me visit Achil Island and see for myself, so 
that you see the shame is with the Empire, and not 
with you or the writer. 
Yes ! Birds do play queer pranks with seeds, and 
even with bulbs. Here the editorial chair again in 
distant London gets into error over rural observa¬ 
tions on bird-life in Ireland. To give some illustra¬ 
tions, we all remember how remote from man, even 
from that intelligent botanical portion, and this for 
years, and undiscovered, yet counted by thousands 
when first written about. I mean the discovery 
of the Tenby Daffodil in Pembrokeshire, and not 
traced as yet to any other part of Europe. I got a 
lot for planting at once and in 1887 lifted the crop 
Two years after we noticed in Beaumont domain one- 
and-half miles distant, Tenby Daffodils in flower at 
the far end on the ditch side, and where trees over¬ 
hung, and in good quantity, no doubt carried away 
at early morning during the lifting period by foolish 
young crows mistaking them for smail potatos, and 
dropped from the trees when discovering the error 
into the long grass, through which the roots worked 
SAINTPAULIA IONANTHA. 
Lawrence, Bart., at a meeting of the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society on the 23rd October last. 
--4-- 
WAYSIDE IRELAND. 
With your kind permission, and asking your 
sympathy for Ireland, I thank you so far for 
the lengthy notice given in your last issue of my 
wayside trip in our " Western Highland.” I regret 
that you, in the first instance, made any reference to 
me as the Daffodil trader, and must take exception 
to your first paragraph from two points. First, my 
surname happens to be other than Ireland. [An 
inadvertent slip.— Ed.] And then the trip was not 
performed through the south western portion (this I 
purpose next year), but was altogether, from the 
geographical position, confined to Clare, Galway, 
and Mayo, and we ignorant Cork-folk call this 
western from Dublin. I am also sorry you do not 
know the country better. [So are we.— Ed.] Then, 
as regards the second paragraph, my entire object 
when leaving home was to see for myself the actual 
state of Connemara and Achil Island, and do some 
good from the purely agricultural point of view, and 
if I happened to notice the district rich and magnifi¬ 
cent in scenery and flora, I could not help recording 
it. But, to be candid with you, it only came into the 
work incidentally, not intentionally. 
To many pleasure-seekers, you know too well, 
Primroses by the wayside of either England or 
Ireland are simply Primroses, nothing more. 
visits that up to this are that of angels, " few and far 
between,” won't it be some recompense, and not one 
will be more welcome than your worthy self. It will be 
the " wynniug ” of gold and wearing ofit. Yes, agri¬ 
culture is our main stay ; we have no such thing as 
" three rents,” coal and iron, ground rent, and that 
on the surface ; we have to stick at Adam’s calling, 
the latter sadly neglected, particularly since we lost 
our population. And, Sir, I have not exaggerated 
one iota with my description of the efforts that exist 
on Achil Island to make manure. " Agriculture,” 
you say, "does not seem to have improved during 
the last thousand years in certain districts.” No 
indeed! Galway, Mayo, and the river Shannon 
being all at the wrong side of Ireland. And, Sir, 
Turnip Seeds and Mangels in the towns of West- 
port and Clifden are bought in penny and twopenny 
worths, and even half-pennyworths. Peat turves are 
likewise not only put on the top of chimneys to catch 
the smoke, but are also stuffed down the apertures 
to get impregnated with soot, and to get potash and 
ammoniacal manure, and even "stones” have been 
"planted” on the slobs to become a basis of 
attachment for seaweed, the latter to be afterwards 
cut with hooks and brought inland, on women's 
backs, as manure. The Countess of Aberdeen, for 
a while in Ireland with her husband, the Queen's 
representative, who is now filling a higher position in 
Canada, visited Achil Island last July, and said 
through the public press that what stie beheld was a 
and are now to be seen quite established. To prevent 
this robbery, as we now lift, each row is covered 
overnight with corrugated roof iron, as it not only 
keeps the birds off, but also shields the bulbs from 
the hot sun, and the action of rain. 
Again, I am old enough to remember the severe 
spring of 1855, (Crimean War times), when the poor 
birds lived for a great period on anything, and every¬ 
thing but worms and grubs, when the ground for 
months was covered with six feet of snow, and when 
they lived chiefly on the seeds of trees. Anyone 
that has ever shot a rook or wood pigeon in hard 
weather and,for information’s sake,opened the gizzard, 
would notice the queer things taken up to support 
nature. A tinker’s travelling budget is nothing in 
comparison. Indeed, I have seen rooks picking at a 
chestnut, and this in mild weather ; same with oak- 
nuts, and if foolish over Daffodil Bulbs, and fancy 
them small Potatos, I cannot see why they would not 
play like pranks with all sorts of nuts. Rhodo¬ 
dendron seed, or any seed, is liable to be attacked 
and partaken of by birds, when at the sprouting or 
vegetating period. With my own eyes I have seen 
this, particularly in hard weather. 
Another instance. At our summer meeting last 
June (Agricultural Society), a gentleman member 
approached the writer, saying that he had a field of 
Ley Oats that had not been tilled for over a hundred 
years, and that now when the Oats were getting on 
to maturity, the field—a large one—was as much a 
