March 25, 1898. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
471 
ARDENING ffilSCELLANY. 
RDENERS' ROYAL BENEVOLENT 
INSTITUTION. 
Will you kindly give publicity in your widely read 
journal to the following communication which I have 
received from a gentleman who has long been a sub¬ 
scriber to the institution " Sincerely sympathising 
with the cases of John Butler and Jane E. Nichols, 
who have been unsuccessful candidates for the 
pension of the institution at the last five annual 
elections, it is my intention to place at the disposal 
of the committee—and I hand you a cheque for £36 
herewith—the amount necessary to provide for the 
present year the allowances to which they would 
respectively have been entitled had they been elected 
in January last; at the same time I earnestly hope 
that special efforts will be made to secure their 
election on the next occasion.” I need hardly say 
how gratefully this anonymous gift has been received, 
nor how glad the hearts of the two candidates 
mentioned have been made by the good news that I 
have conveyed to them. Will you also allow me to 
say that another gentleman, who desires his name to 
be withheld, has handed me £5 5s. for an exceptional 
case of suffering and distress which has been recently 
brought under the notice of the committee .—George 
J. Ingram, Secretary, 50, Parliament Street, S.W. 
BLUE PRIMROSES. 
Most people are interested in Primroses, and those 
who saw the interesting exhibit of G. F. Wilson, 
Esq., F.R.S., Heatherbank, Weybridge, at the Drill 
Hall, Westminster, on the 14th inst., could not fail 
to admire the strain which he has succeeded in 
raising from the deep blue or violet blue variety 
Scott Wilson within the last two years. He had a 
basket of flowers showing fifty shades of colour, all 
of which were remarkable for their richness. Some 
of them were of an intense blue, while others were 
more decidedly of a rich violet purple, but all 
interesting and beautiful for the sake of the great 
variety which they afford. It is to be hoped that 
this magnificent strain will find its way into com¬ 
merce at no distant date, so that it may get distributed 
throughout the length and breadth of the land. 
There appears to be a difficulty in cultivating the 
blue varieties in the neighbourhood of London, and 
possibly other large cities, but in the open country 
this should not be the case. 
CHRYSANTHEMUM CHARLES DAVIS. 
This is a sport from the universally popular Viviand 
Morel, and those who have seen it in its prime de¬ 
clare that it will be more popular than the type, be¬ 
cause there is nothing amongst the choicer exhibition 
varieties approaching it in colour. The bloom in 
autumn is variously described as clear rosy bronze, 
rich bronze, almost scarlet, and variable according 
to season and treatment. Many of the autumn and 
early spring struck cuttings have been kept in warmth 
in order to flower them as a test to determine the 
constancy of the sport. Some of thernflowered last 
month, and a small plant 11 in. high, in a in. pot, 
was sent us the other day. It was branched at the 
top and bore half-a-dozen heads and buds, of which 
the expanded ones were about 4 in. in diameter, 
flattened or spreading, with strap-shaped florets and 
clear yellow, flushed with bronze on the upper sur¬ 
face, but especially in the centre of the bloom. The 
pale colour is easily .accounted for by being out of 
season, and by being kept in warmth. There is 
every reason to suppose that the variety will be 
handsome, and a popular exhibition plant consider¬ 
ing its parentage. It turned up in the collection of 
Mr. Norman Davis, Chrysanthemum Nurseries, 
Lilford Road, Camberwell, who sent us the plant 
above mentioned. 
PENTAPETES BUXIFOLIA. 
Though a hard-wooded plant, this is easily culti¬ 
vated, and most floriferous even in quite a small 
state. In this respect it may be compared to a 
Heath which may be flowered in a very small state, 
particularly if raised from cuttings. The small 
evergreen leaves have been compared to those of the 
Box, chiefly owing to their shape, size, and leathery 
character. The flowers are tubular, tapering to the 
base, with five sharply reflexed segments at the apex, 
they are also of appreciable size, being an inch long 
and produced with great freedom from the numerous 
short branches. The plant is naturally bushy, and 
therefore has not the objectionable features which 
belong to slow growing plants that produce only a 
few stumpy branches. It is therefore a well-furnished 
and easily accommodated plant, and looks neat at 
all seasons of the year, whether in flower or not. 
H/EMANTHUS MAGNIFICUS INSIGNIS. 
The best known ally of this plant is H. natalensis, 
which is precisely of the same habit of growth. The 
scape is produced in winter or early spring from the 
leafless bulb, emerging from the scales towards one 
side of the same. Leaves are not produced till later 
on when a leafy stem 1 ft. or 2 ft. high is developed, 
according <to the strength of the plant, and bears six 
to eight oblong, bright green leaves. The spathes 
surrounding the umbel of flowers are brownish-crim¬ 
son, and being longer than the flowers themselves 
serve to distinguish the variety H. m. insignis from 
the type. The umbel is very dense, consisting of a 
great number of moderate sized flowers, forming a 
mass sometimes 5 in. or 6in. across. Both the seg¬ 
ments and the long filaments are of a soft rosy-scarlet 
while the anthers are golden yellow. The combina¬ 
tion of colours is very effective even in the absence of 
leaves, and flowering as it does in winter and spring 
it is highly deserving of a more extended cultivation. 
CH0RI2EMA FLAVUM. 
The Chorizemas are amongst the few plants of the 
hard-wooded subjects that have outlived the neglect 
into which a large proportion of them have fallen. 
This is to be accounted for, perhaps, by their intrinsic 
merits and beauty, and the facility with which 
they may be made amenable to ordinary culture 
and the wants of modern cultivators. C. flavum 
flowers in winter and early spring, keeping up 
a succession of bloom for a long period, after 
which the straggling branches may be cut back to 
maintain the plant in a bushy condition. The latter 
may then be encouraged to develop a vigorous, fresh 
growth by a closer atmosphere and a higher tem¬ 
perature for a time, after which the plants may be 
inured to a drier atmosphere in order that the tissues 
may get properly consolidated before winter, without 
which New Holland subjects cannot give satisfaction 
to the cultivator. It readily conforms to good 
culture, however, producing a wealth of flowers 
with golden standards, and sulphur-yellow wings. 
Dwarf Beans. 
For forcing, another lot may be put in pots, or if a 
heated pit is to spare it is preferable to plant them 
out at this season, as they do not require so much 
water. About this time it is a good plan to make a 
sowing in 48-size pots, and put in a cold frame until 
the weather is fit to plant them on a warm border in 
May. The middle or the end of April will be soon 
enough to sow in the open.— G. H. S. 
Peas. 
As soon as the Peas are an inch high draw a little 
soil gently towards them with a hoe, this helps to 
break the force of the cold winds so prevalent just 
at this season. If the sparrows are not troublesome, 
it is as well to stick them at once. But in this neigh¬ 
bourhood we have to keep them under wire netting 
until they are about four inches high, or the sparrows 
would completely ruin them. Succession sowings 
should be made every fortnight to keep up a regular 
supply.— G. II. S. 
About Tomatos. 
A simple but certain mode of ensuring a good crop 
of Tomatos, I have found to be as follows:—About 
the beginning of May place an ordinary garden 
frame in a sunny position on a hard bottom or other¬ 
wise. This done, select as many plants as are re¬ 
quired, viz., two for each light and put them in 8 or 
10 in. pots, training with a single stem. Stand the 
pots in the frame at the lower part or front, and 
place a piece of slate under each pot to prevent the 
roots from penetrating below. The front of.the 
frame will shade the pots from the drying effects of 
strong sun. Train each stem towards the back of 
the frame on rods supported by forked sticks. En¬ 
courage the plants to grow firm by giving abun¬ 
dance of air on all favourable occasions. As soon 
as there is a fair crop of fruit set, and when the 
leading shoot has reached the back of the frame, it 
must be stopped, and weak manure water may be 
applied as required. Be careful to pick off side 
shoots as they appear. By this mode fruit of first- 
rate quality may be had for a long season. The sort 
I have found most useful for this is “ Earliest of 
All.”— A. J. D. 
Parsley in Winter. 
A supply of Parsley during winter can easily be 
obtained by sowing seed in an open situation about 
the middle of June, and when large enough pricking 
out the plants on a south border in rows 12 in. 
asunder, and 6 in. from plant to plant. Shade and 
water as required until established, afterwards hoe 
and keep the ground thoroughly clean. Before frost 
sets in prepare a few forked sticks and some rods, 
and with these make a rough support for a piece of 
thick canvas or tarpauline, or any rough material 
sufficient to prevent severe frost from getting hold of 
the plants. By this mode Parsley can be safely 
wintered and a daily supply kept up from an 
ordinary sized bed.— A. J. D. 
- -*•»- 
INSECTS INJURIOUS TO HARDY 
FRUITS.* 
With the increased interest that is now manifested 
in fruit culture, it is but natural that a closer atten¬ 
tion should be paid to the many insect pests which 
prey upon fruits and fruit trees. It is an old adage 
that “ prevention is better than cure,” and in no case 
is the saying more true than in this one. Good 
husbandry is a powerful remedy for all insect pests 
which prey upon our fruit trees. By pursuing a 
liberal course of treatment, combined with careful 
manipulation of the branches, many of the worst 
pests can be kept at bay. For it is generally those 
trees which are in a weak, sickly state that first fall 
a prey to the ravages of insect pests, just as a weak 
constitution in the human frame often gives way to 
disease. And the great injury inflicted on some 
trees by careless individuals under the disguise of 
pruning has much to account for. Climbing on the 
trees or otherwise injuring the bark should be 
avoided, as it is in places of this sort that these little 
creatures first find a lodgment. Therefore it should 
be the aim of every cultivator to keep his trees in a 
clean, healthy, growing condition, carefully removing 
from the orchard, and burning all rubbish which 
is likely to form a hiding place for the insects. The 
microscopical size of many, and the protective coat 
with which Nature has furnished several of them, 
makes it very difficult for us to work their destruc¬ 
tion, but any of the recognised remedies applied with 
perseverance is sure to be successful. It is essential 
that the gardener should know something of the 
life-history of (I was going to say his daily com¬ 
panions) those insects which are commonly most 
injurious to fruit crops ; he would then be in a better 
position to wage war against them should they 
threaten an invasion. But how few gardeners do we 
find with any knowledge at all of entomology ? 
There are exceptions to this rule, I know, but speak¬ 
ing generally, very few know anything at all about 
the subject. When writing these lines I could not 
call to mind one instance of having seen entomology 
recommended to young gardeners as a study by our 
authorities who give us so much good advice. Pro¬ 
bably, they know young gardeners have too much in 
hand already with the several other branches of 
science in which they are expected to be well versed. 
But I consider entomology should be given a more 
prominent place in the education of a gardener than 
it receives at present. 
In the following paper it is not my intention to 
enumerate the whole of the insects which are in¬ 
cluded under this heading, but simply to call 
attention to those which are most injurious to our 
hardy fruits, and give a brief sketch of their life 
history together with such remedies as have been 
found serviceable in preventing their attacks. 
Taking the fruits in the order of their importance, 
the Apple of course comes first. It is rather a 
strange coincidence that it being the national fruit 
should be attacked by so many different inserts, for 
I believe there are more which prey upon it than all 
our other orchard trees put together. 
American Blight. 
The insect with which gardeners are most familar is, 
I think, the American blight or woolly aphis 
(Schizoneura lanigera). This, like so many other 
good things, is credited with coming to us from 
*A paper read by Mr. T. Waugh before the Chiswick Gar¬ 
deners’ Mutual Improvement Association. 
