November 5, 1892. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
151 
all fertilizing elements and mix them thoroughly. 
With a mass of this, measuring perhaps 5 cords, he 
mixes 200 lb. of Florida soft phosphate, and firms it 
down with water in which has been dissolved 25 lb. 
of high-grade sulphate of potash. It is allowed to 
heat somewhat two or three times, to destroy germs 
and seeds, but not enough to " fire-fang ” before it is 
turned. This compost is strewn liberally in the 
furrows, and the plants are set above it in rows, 
about 4 ft. apart. 
Cultivation and bleaching go on here much in the 
same fashion to which the northern reader is accus¬ 
tomed. Mr. Alden tried some stiff paper cylinders 
over'a few plants, but their effect was not satisfactory, 
and he soon abn idoned it for the banking system. 
His soil is a stiff, heavy sand—locally known as 
"flatwoods with a very slight inclination to the 
east. There is a subsoil of clay about 18 in. below 
the surface, that retains water and fertilizer well. 
This sand can be shaped up stiff and strong, almost 
like iron-moulders’ sand in a foundry. The banks 
reach almost to the top of the spade-handle, and run 
nearly to a feather-edge on each side of the plants. 
When smoothed and firmed with a spade they will 
turn water like a roof. 
The variety most grown is Boston Market. It was 
ready for use in January, and we ate it for three 
months fresh from the beds. Some of the stalks 
were bleached 18 in., all were crisp, nutty and free 
from rust. A neighbour who did not use any soft 
phosphate, and whose plants did not grow so thriftily, 
had some rust. I have seen Kalamazoo Celery in 
Jacksonville markets that was decidedly more rusty 
than Mr. Alden’s crop. 
There is plenty of good Celery-land in the flatwoods 
and hummocks of Florida, but the flatwoods land 
needs to be carefully selected to avoid iron-stains. 
This, I think, would make the Celery-stalks rusty.— 
Stephen Poivers, Bradford County, Florida, in "American 
Gardening." 
-- 
CELOSIA PYRAMIDALIS. 
This is perhaps one of the finest flowering plants for 
autumn decorative work that we have, its brilliant red 
and yellow flowers forming quite a pleasing contrast 
to the dark, dull days of autumn. For grouping in 
conservatories, corridors, and staircases, they have 
perhaps no equal at this season, and when used in 
close proximity to the electric light the effect is very 
striking. They are plants of easy culture, and for 
autumn work the best way is to grow on plants that 
have flowered in the summer. As soon as the 
summer flowering is over, which will perhaps be 
about the end of July or the beginning of August, the 
plants should be cut back and repotted, those that 
have flowered in 48's should be potted on into 32 s, 
and those in 32's shifted on into 24’s or 16 s, but it is 
not advisable to overpot them, as they occupy too 
much room in staging. 
The compost that suits them best is a mixture of 
good loam and leaf soil with manure from an old 
Mushroom bed, or dry cow manure broken up very 
fine, with a fair sprinkling of sharp silver sand, and 
the whole well mixed up. When potted they should 
be plunged in a sharp bottom heat and the syringe 
freely used among them to keep down thrip and red 
spider, two pests they are very susceptible to. They 
will soon begin to make new growths and the plants 
begin to develop a neat pyramidal form, and are 
not so straggling as plants raised from seed at this 
season. 
They should be gradually hardened off as the 
flowers develop themselves and are not only orna¬ 
mental but exceedingly useful when arranged either 
by themselves or mixed with Chrysanthemums. 
They well repay the trouble taken when treated in 
this way, and are indispensable to those who have to 
provide a great variety of plants for decorative pur¬ 
poses at this season of the year.— H. W. 
-- 
WHAT IS IT? 
The query of your correspondent, on page 130 of the 
Gardening World, is one which has perplexed the 
minds of many, both amateur and professional. All 
who own gardens, and especially all who grow 
Chrysanthemums, know too well that other insects 
besides the earwig have been at work amongst their 
favourite flowers. The experiences of Mr. David 
Hull are common to the gardening craft, and the 
destruction which is perpetually going on in the 
vegetable world, by these plant parasites, can only 
be effectually counteracted by stringent measures — 
extra vigilance. The lamp by night and the watch¬ 
ful eye by day, will work wonders ; and, although 
this involves much labour and does not commend it¬ 
self to everyone, yet it is the only way I know of to 
ensure success. The frog-hopper (Aphrophora 
Spumaria) is not difficult to recognise or to exter¬ 
minate, and the editorial remarks thereon are very 
apropos ; but the other insect (Lygus campestris), 
which would pluralise the query, is less better under¬ 
stood. As an amateur grower of the plant which he is 
specially and particularly fond of, viz., the Chrysan¬ 
themum, I have, like Mr. Hull, observed his remark¬ 
able agility, and I think, although we do not know 
much about him, that, at least, we have got a casus 
belli against him. I have consulted an F.L.S., a 
friend of mine, on this subject more than once, and 
at last he promises to take action, which, if of a 
reassuring character, shall be communicated to the 
Gardening World. 
The subject of insect life in relation to horticulture 
is occupying a good deal of attention, and inde¬ 
pendent of its practical value to the gardener, trains 
the mind to make the most minute investigations. 
The mischief, however, is done for this season, for 
October is a great decimater in the insect world, 
therefore it remains for us, the sufferers, to use our 
experience of the past in the direction of more 
systematic effort in the future, to consolidate our 
knowledge of what has transpired towards that con¬ 
summation which we all devoutly wish for—com¬ 
parative immunity from all the ills that cellulose is 
heir to — C. B. G., Acton, IV. 
Gardening Miscellany. 
CROWN OF THORNS. 
The above is another name given to Calvary Clover, 
the Medicago Echinus of botanists. Nowand again 
the seeds or fruits get into the hands of amateurs in 
this country, and who are perfectly ignorant of the 
nature of the plant or its requirements; hence many 
inquiries are made respecting it. The plant itself 
may be compared to a dwarf creeping species of 
Clover, with small and by no means showy flowers. 
It is represented in this country by several wild or 
naturalized species, which never excite any curiosity, 
but three at least of which are of some importance 
as fodder-producing plants. The most generally 
cultivated species is M. sativa, with rather showy 
heads of blue purple flowers succeeded by twisted or 
curved pods. The fruit of M. Echinus undergoes a 
considerable amount of twisting, and like several 
other exotic species then becomes an object of great 
curiosity. In this particular case it is many times 
twisted, till it forms an oval mass about the size of a 
small Gooseberry, and densely covered with short 
interlacing spines; hence the application of the 
name Crown of Thorns. The leaves consist of three 
leaflets, each of which is furnished in the centre with 
a bright purple blotch, fancifully compared to a spot 
of blood. From this circumstance, as well as the 
native country of the plant, the name of Calvary 
Clover has been derived. The plant may be grown 
as an object of curiosity during the summer months 
in the open garden, saving the fruits in the autumn, 
and sowing the seeds under glass in spring, to get 
the plants fairly into growth before planting them 
out in May. We recently saw a plant in a pot with 
pendent stems 2 ft. long, and bearing a few fruits, 
in one of the houses in Dulwich Park. Somebody 
had obtained it as a curiosity, and not knowing how 
to deal with it, left it in the care of the superinten¬ 
dent of the park. 
TREE PANSIES. 
Many, or indeed the bulk, of the cultivators of 
Pansies, either for exhibition or bedding purposes, 
would laugh at the idea of staking them. Neverthe¬ 
less there are several of the bedding varieties, some¬ 
times spoken of under the name of bedding Violas, 
that are well adapted for the purpose, and if treated 
in that way would be productive of a somewhat 
novel effect as far as Pansies are concerned. I 
planted a mixed lot of bedding Violas about the 
beginning of June, and some plants of Columbine 
refused to throw up suckers, and this they 
persistently refused to do all through the season. As 
the primary or original stems continued to flower as 
freely as ever and to elongate I staked them to prevent 
them falling over on something else. Had I pegged 
them down, no doubt suckers would have arisen. 
They continued to elongate, and after a time 
developed a shoot at every joint, and these shoots in 
due time also commenced flowering. At the present 
time the main stems are 20 in. to 22 in. high, so that 
the shorter branches give the plants a pyramidal 
outline. The free flowering and continuous nature 
of this variety may be conceived from the fact that 
the plants commenced to bloom soon after being 
planted, and still bear a few flowers, while they have 
never at any time been without a few, and kept 
quite floriferous up to the end of September. The 
plants are in a sheltered position near some shrubs, 
but with exception of staking have received no 
special treatment. There are others which would 
behave in the same way, including York and 
Lancaster and Lucy Ashton, both sports from 
Columbine, and probably several others. — J. F. 
-- 
f30KTOULTURAL SO^IGTieS, 
Royal Horticultural, Nov. 1 st .—The exhibits at the 
meeting on Tuesday last were not very numerous, 
but the groups or collections were mostly of some 
size. The more prominent features were Nepenthes, 
Orchids, Chrysanthemums, Begonias, Bouvardias, 
some vegetables and fruit. A large collection of 
Nepenthes was exhibited by Messrs. J. Veitch & 
Sons, Chelsea. Some of the pitchers were of huge 
size, particularly those of N. Chelsoni, N. Burkei 
excellens, N. Hookeri, and N. Rafflesiana. Those 
notable for colour included N. Mastersiana, of which 
there was a dark and a light variety, also N. Curtisii 
superba, and others. A Gold Medal was awarded 
the collection. A group of Bouvardias was exhibited 
by — Morgan, Esq. (gardener, Mr. J. McLeod), 
Dover House, Roehampton. The brilliant scarlet 
PresidentCleveland was veryconspicuous in the group, 
and to a smaller extent President Garfield and Alfred 
Neuner. A Silver Banksian Medal was awarded the 
collection. A group of winter-flowering Begonias, 
including Duchess of Connaught, pink and white, 
Crimson Gem, rosy-carmine, Reading Snowflake, 
white, and Princess Beatrice, blush, was brought 
up from the gardens of the Royal Horticultural 
Society at Chiswick. They were grown in 24 and 
32-sized pots and were characterised by their dwarf 
and bushy habit. A small collection of various stove 
subjects was also shown by Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, 
including Begonia barbata and Pandanus Baptistii. 
Fine trusses of Ixora macrothyrsa were shown by Mr. 
R. Mackellar, Abney Hall Gardens, Cheadle. Rhaphi- 
dophora lancifolia was exhibited by Lady Cave 
(gardener, Mr. Poole), Cleve Hall, Downend. A 
fine truss of Hoya imperialis was shown by Mr. F. 
W. Moore, of the Glasnevin Botanic Gardens, 
Dublin. Some stands of Chrysanthemum blooms 
were exhibited by Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons, 
including a stand of twelve blooms of Viviand Morel 
of huge size and in some cases richly coloured, but 
variable, also twelve handsome blooms of Col. W. 
B. Smith, a flowering branch of Golden Ball, and a 
new incurved variety named Mrs. H. W. Goulden, 
of a uniform delicate silvery-pink. An incurved and 
somewhat hirsute Chrysanthemum named Bella- 
mour, and a Croton named Beatrice Horsfall were 
staged by Mrs. Horsfall (gardener, Mr. Morrall), 
Bellamour, Rugeley, Staffs. A small group of 
Chrysanthemums including Mademoiselle Nathilie 
Brun and Emily Doon, was shown by Messrs. J. R. 
Pearson & Sons, Chilwell. Some shoots of various 
trees and shrubs were shown by Mr. Anthony 
Waterer to illustrate the effect of the autumn 
colouring of the leaves. Some Nerines were shown 
by Sir Trevor Lawrence, M.P., Bart, (gardener, Mr. 
Bain), Burford Lodge, Dorking. Some cut blooms 
of Chrysanthemums were exhibited by Mr. H. J. 
Jones, Ryecroft Nursery, Lewisham, including a. 
large flowering variety named W. H. Atkinson. A 
perpetual flowering Carnation named Barrone 
Rothschild was shown by Lord Rothschild, Tring 
Park. Tring. 
A large group of Orchids was exhibited by Messrs. 
B. S. Williams & Son, for which a Silver Flora 
Medal was awarded. Prominent in the collection 
were varieties of Cattleya labiata, Oncidium vari- 
cosum, Pleione lagenaria, P. maculata, and various 
others. Some Nerines were also shown in this 
collection. A Silver Banksian Medal was awarded 
