February Jl, 189$. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
375 
pie blotch at the base, not unlike C. C. carneum, but 
paler. The typical C. Coum, with rose-purple 
flowers and a deep purple base surrounded at the 
mouth with a white line, may also be noticed. Along 
with the above is C. cilicicum, an October flowering 
species having white flowers with a bright purple 
basal blotch. Theleavesare roundish withacordate 
base more or less toothed or angled, deep green, mar¬ 
bled with grey and purple beneath. 
IRIS HISTRIS. 
This beautiful little Iris still persists in flowering 
during February according to its wont. It is one of 
the prettiest of the lighter coloured ones with lilac 
purple falls variegated with purple blotches running 
down with stripes on a lilac ground, and having a 
yellow keel down the centre. The narrow standards 
and the petaloid stigmas are lilac and give to the 
flower an attractive appearance by contrast with the 
marbling on the falls. It is a native of Palestine, 
from whence come several of our interesting early 
flowering plants. Most of them require the protec¬ 
tion of a cold frame to protect their blossoms during 
the uncertain and ungenial nature of our winter and 
spring weather. It has been flowering for some time 
past in the nursery of Mr. T. S. Ware, Hale Farm 
Nurseries, Tottenham. 
SINGEING MEALY-BUG ON VINES. 
The mealy-bug is one of the nastiest and most 
formidable pests that a gardener has to contend 
with, and when it gets a good foothold is a continual 
source of annoyance. The addition of a wing to the 
house here necessitated the demolition of a fernery, 
and herns being preferred to Grapes, my orders 
were to uproot the Vines to make room for the 
former. But not liking the idea of losing a promising 
crop last season, the Vine rods were allowed to 
remain fora kill or cure experiment. “ Scrape all 
loose bark from the stems and spurs and burn it ’’ 
is the usual formula when winter dressing the Vines. 
Good. This was done, but the burning did not end 
there. I had several yards of small hose piping 
attached to a gas jet, and brought the flames to bear 
on the patient Vines. The flame reached all the 
acute angles and got into the crevices where mealy¬ 
bug is mostly found congregated. The ligatures 
were burnt and the wires passed through the flame 
also. When finished the rods looked somewhat 
white, but the usual painting soon put that right. I 
did think that many buds had shrunk, but when 
spring came they swelled out with unusual vigour, 
and we had a good crop of fruic. What is equally 
important as bearing on the success of the experi¬ 
ment, not half a dozen mothers’ nests of mealy-bug 
were discovered all the season.— B. L. 
HUGHES' VAPOUR ROLL FUMIGATORS. 
Having given these a thorough trial in a Rose house 
I can speak well of their killing power in the case of 
green and black Aphis. The fumigators are like 
miniature tin chimney stacks, with four tubular 
tobacco rolls about the size of one’s finger thrust 
down the shaft. When a light is applied at the 
bottom, the chimney emits a dense volume of 
tobacco smoke for about seventeen minutes. They 
are cheap, neat, clean, and as simple as they are 
efficacious. I would suggest, however, that the rolls 
should be sold separately by the dozen in 7 in. or 
14in. lengths, so that the cases can be used over 
again. At present they are a needless waste.R. L. 
CHRYSANTHEMUM JOHN H. TAYLOR. 
In last week’s issue of The Gardening Word, I 
notice that you describe Chrysanthemum John H. 
Taylor as being one of the best late varieties. In 
the special Chrysanthemum number of the A me> ican 
Florist, published in November, 1892, it is described 
by Mr. John Thorpe as an early variety, and in the 
American Gardening of January 1st, 1893, Mr. J. H. 
Taylor (the raiser) names a few of the best late 
varieties,but does not mention his namesake amongst 
them. I have no doubt its late flowering in England 
is due to its being imported or propagated late in the 
season.— Importer. 
CROCUS CHRYSANTHUS. 
The flowering season of the species of Crocus ex¬ 
tends from the early autumn till spring, provided 
the nature of our winter would permit. As severe 
weather gives place to soft winds and a more genial 
atmosphere the various species of Crocus in their 
turn make as good a display as they can under the 
circumstances. One of the earliest of the spring 
flowering kinds is C. chrysanthus, which has flowers 
of a rich orange yellow. There are several very dis¬ 
tinct varieties of it marked with deep brownish pur¬ 
ple to a greater or less extent on the outer surface, 
and all very useful in their way in helping to fill up 
the gap of hardy flowers at this season of the year. 
The flowers individually are not very large, but a 
patch of them has an enlivening effect The species 
is a native of South Eastern Europe, and proves per¬ 
fectly hardy in this country, but is liable to have its 
flowers destroyed should they appear above ground 
just before severe weather. Some of the varieties of 
it are now flowering in the nurseries of Mr. T. S. 
Ware, Hale Farm Nurseries, Tottenham. 
VERSCHAFFELTIA SPLENDIDA. 
Palms of this type are very effective in warm con¬ 
servatories, where there is plenty of head room to 
show off their individuality. Should the stem not be 
sufficiently tall to carry the head of leaves somewhat 
above the surrounding plants, the pot containing it 
should be elevated. Unless this is done, all the in¬ 
dividuality which a Palm may possess is lost when it 
is crowded and half hidden by the crowding of sur¬ 
rounding subjects. The leaves of the Palm under 
notice are obovate and bifid, or they may almost be 
described as obversely heart-shaped, strongly ribbed 
and toothed at the edge. The ribs especially on the 
under-surface are red, and the petioles as well as the 
stems are covered with long black prickles, which 
give them lather a formidable looking appearance. 
The plant soon develops a stem, however, so that it 
can easily be handled and moved about without in¬ 
convenience. There is a nice plant of a suitable 
size for a tall roofed stove or warm conservatory in 
the nursery of Messrs. J. Laing & Sons, Forest Hill. 
It stands about 4 ft. high, and has a spread of about 
5 ft., and is in good condition, without having re¬ 
ceived any special treatment. 
EARLY OLIVIAS 
The main batch of Clivias will not make much of 
a show till next month, so that those now in bloom 
may be looked upon as the forerunners of the collec¬ 
tion in the nursery of Messrs. J. Laing & Sons, 
Forest Hill. The trusses of the variety named 
Exquisite are of a large size, and the long funnel- 
shaped flowers of a deep orange-scarlet or cinnabar. 
The segments are moderate in breadth compared 
with some of the acquisitions in the collection, but 
the substance and the rich colour of the flowers as 
well as their earliness make amends for other 
deficiencies, while the variety would hold its own 
fairly well alongside of the average sample of any 
collection. Sunray may be compared with it on 
account of the shortness of the flowers which are 
widely expanded and campanulate, with orange 
segments and a blending of white and sulphur yellow 
in the throat. The flower-stem is short and 
developed early. Lady Wolverton, as is now well 
known, is a very robust variety with remarkably 
broad, overlapping and revolute segments to the 
flower. The stem-like neck formed by the sheath¬ 
ing bases of the leaves is remarkably thick, and the 
leaves are relatively as broad, leathery and dark 
green. It is now throwing up the third spike within 
twelve months. Some fine new sorts should be 
obtained from this acquisition. 
LILY OF THE VALLEY. 
Few subjects are more popular than this, and pro¬ 
vided one can command a strong heat, there is no 
reason why amateurs should not have a few early 
forced blooms. A fairly strong heat, and plenty of 
moisture, with well-matured crowns, is all that is 
necessary. Flowering crowns that have been 
especially prepared are the best for our purpose. 
Fifteen to eighteen of these in a qjjin. or 5 in. pot 
will make a very pleasing feature indeed. Do not 
pot deeply ; quite half of the crown should be left 
out of the soil. Give a thorough watering, and keep 
them wet until the crowns have plumped up well. 
No better structure than a warm and close propaga¬ 
ting case can be found for forcing these Lilies, and 
providing they are frequently watered with tepid 
water, there should be no disappointment 
experienced. When the flower spikes are well up, 
they may be placed on a shelf in the same house, and 
exposed to more light. In the earlier stages it is 
much best to keep the crowns dark ; but from first to 
lasL they must have plenty of tepid water. — Experi¬ 
ence. 
QM^muitgs fumit 0)orltr 
uf Bmntt 
A rare plant in America —The Lamb’s Tongue 
(Plantago media) has just been discovered for the 
second time in North America, and is of course 
looked upon as a rarity, as stated by L'Illustration 
Ilorticole. The latter journal also states that it is a 
common species in every temperate region of old 
Europe. It is not, however, a native of Scotland, 
and was only introduced there comparatively re¬ 
cently from England, from whence it was conveyed 
amongst grass seeds for sowing down lawns, pleasure 
grounds, and flower gardens. Whether it may ever 
get thoroughly established there remains to be seen, 
but it scarcely occurs yet in the cultivated fields and 
meadows of farm land. There is little doubt but 
that the seeds were carried to America amongst 
those of grass, as they were to Scotland. 
A Patriarchal Tree —There exists at Athens (as 
stated by L'Illustration Horticole), an Olive tree which 
is more than 2,000 years of age. That Olive stands 
upon the Voie Sacree, and is of enormous and pro¬ 
digious dimensions. According to the calculations 
of competent men, it was planted at the epoch of the 
splendour of Athenian civilisation. It is, then, the 
only living remnant of that grand epoch of human 
history. 
Tree of Heaven. —Notwithstanding its great 
beauty and its suitability for town gardens and street 
planting, the Tree of Heaven (Ailantus glandulosa) is 
not so extensively planted in this country as it might 
be, particularly in the South. As we go northwards, 
the tree becomes less and less hardy, for the simple 
reason that the climate is neither dry enough nor 
sufficiently warm to ripen the wood during the 
course of our short summer. Although the frosts of 
winter at Paris are often as severe as in the north of 
Scotland, yet the heat of summer is very much 
greater at Paris, and the trees ripen their wood per¬ 
fectly and flower magnificently. L'Illustration Horti¬ 
cole says that the tree possesses a disagreeable odour, 
particularly at the flowering season, and is characte¬ 
rised by irritating properties, due to an acrid, bitter, 
and very volatile substance, and which can occasion 
a sort of sleepiness, of giddiness, and even of nausea. 
The swallowing of the leaves by birds of the poultry 
yard brings inflammation of the digestive or alimen¬ 
tary canal of the same. 
Fertility of dry countries.— At a recent meet¬ 
ing of the Berlin Physiological Society Professor 
Hilgarth discussed the question of the fertility of dry 
countries, by reference to numerous analyses of soils 
that had been made in various parts of America, the 
results of which showed that the drier the regions, 
the richer they were in the constituents of plant food. 
If further actual proof of this were required, there 
would be no lack of it in various parts of the world. 
The arid regions of Colorado, as well as the dry yet 
fertile lands of California when subjected to irriga¬ 
tion, show what can be obtained from them in the 
form of various crops. The same facts also apply to 
South Europe, the sandy soils of Australia in the 
neighbourhood of rivers, and more strikingly to 
Egypt, where the crop is directly dependent, not 
merely upon the land being overflowed and sub¬ 
merged by the Nile when flooded during the rainy 
season, but upon the depth of the flooding. On the 
contrary, those countries having wet soils and 
climates, are more difficult to keep in a fertile condi¬ 
tion. It is necessary to resort to fallowing, to 
rotation of crops, and to heavy manuring. 
-- 
SOCIETIES. 
Manchester Botanical and Horticultural. —The annual 
general meeting of this society was held in the 
Mayor’s Parlour of the Town Hall on the 30th ult , 
the Mayor, Alderman A. Marshall, presiding. In 
their annual report to the members, the Council 
stated that in consequence of the arrangements made 
with the committee of Old America Limited, several 
fixtures set forth in the last annual report had to be 
abandoned—notably, the annual National Horticul¬ 
tural Exhibition held for the last twenty-five years at 
Whitsuntide, which had been a source of so much 
interest and enjoyment. The other floral and horti¬ 
cultural exhibitions were held, and gave evident 
satisfaction to the subscribers and to the public. 
Mainly in consequence of the very unfavourable 
weather which prevailed throughout the whole of the 
