July 28, 1898. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
741 
An International Horticultural Exhibition will be 
held at St. Petersburgh next year, commencing on 
May 17th, and continuing for ten days. The function 
will be carried on under the special patronage of the 
•* Great White Czar." 
Mr. J. H. Krelage.—A portrait of this well known 
Dutch nurseryman of the firm of MM. E. H. Krelage 
& Son, Haarlem, Holland, is given in the current 
number of Tijdschrift voor Tuinbouw. Having been 
born in 1824, he is now in his 54th year. His popu¬ 
larity amongst botanists, nurserymen and others is 
indicated by the fact that many plants have been 
named in compliment to him, including Agapanthus 
umbellatus Krelagei (Leichtlin), Begonia tuberosa J. 
H. Krelage (Zocher), Bladcanna Krelagei (Chatin), 
Gladiolus gandavensis Monsieur Krelage (Leveau), 
Gladiolus Lemoinei J. H. Krelage (Lemoine), 
Hyacinth enkel rood Monsieur Krelage (Kruyft), Iris 
Kaempferi Krelagei (Siebold), Iris reticulata 
Krelagei (Regel), Paeonia albiflora (chinensis), Mon¬ 
sieur Krelage (Crousse), and Anthurium hybridum J. 
H. Krelage (Kottmann). 
Floral Decorations at Nottingham.--On the occasion 
of his grace the Duke of Portland beiDg installed 
grand master for Nottingham, the floral decorations 
were entrusted to Mr. C. J. Mee, the eminent florist 
of Long Row, Nottingham. This floral work was 
the admiration of everyone privileged to see it. 
Dozens of stately Palms and other foliage plants 
were used with telling effect. Hundreds of flowering 
plants such as Hydrangeas, Kalosanthes, Petunias, 
Pelargoniums, Marguerites—the yellow one—with 
deep purple Canterbury Bells where extensively used 
with grand masonic effect. The whole display was 
admirably executed and Mr. Mee received numerous 
congratulations upon the excellent and practical way 
jn which he carried out this important work, which 
was undoubtedly the best ever seen in Nottingham. 
Mr. Mee is an old and skilled hand at this kind of 
work.— Rusticus. 
Celluloid Auto-labels for Plants.—Samples of what 
appear to be a useful label have been sent us by Mr. 
Douglas Allport, 108, Queen Victoria Street, London, 
E.C. They vary in size, but consist of a strip of 
celluloid, rolled up at one end for the purpose of 
fixing the same to a stake or to the plant itself. The 
coil may be unrolled or partly opened with the 
fingers, to admit of the supporting object, after which 
the coil closes again elastically of its own accord. 
When fixed the label is always in a horizontal and 
readable position. Undoubtedly the label is very 
clean and neat, and described as permanent and 
dirt-proof as porcelain. It occasions no difficuly or 
loss of time in the matter of fixing. The label is sail 
to be uninjured by heat, damp or time ; and the clip 
to expand with the growth of a stem to which it may 
be attached. It should prove very neat and handy 
for Orchids. Only one side can be written upon, 
the other being as smooth as glass. A soft black 
pencil is said to be the only thing required for writing 
the name; but we can manage to write with a pen 
and ink, which might even be more permanent than 
pencil writing. If it will stand the damp of the 
stove and Orchid houses, all indoor plants might be 
furnished with it on the score of neatness alone. 
A New Seed Sowing Machine.—There are many 
seed sowing machines, but in the present case we 
refer to a machine, for which patent rights have been 
granted to Mr. W. Evans and Mr. W. F. Hamilton. 
The invention is intended by means of suitable 
machinery to fix seeds of various sizes, both agricul¬ 
tural and horticultural, between sheets of specially 
prepared paper, the seeds being deposited at 
any required distance apart, in rows or special de¬ 
signs, and fixed there by some glutinous material. 
On the top of them another sheet is fixed. When 
the operation is completed the pieces of prepared 
paper may be circular, so as to fit into a flower pot, 
or they may be in strips suitable for laying along the 
bottom of the trenches taken out by the hoe in the 
usual way. The object of all this is to regulate the 
distance apart the seeds should be, and to ensure 
their being at an equal depth in the soil. The paper 
sheets or strips are covered with soil, and treated in 
the usual way. The seeds will also be protected 
from birds. Fertilising manures can also be placed 
between the sheets of paper, so as to be ready to 
hand for the germinating seedlings. Mr. A. Arm- 
field is secretary for Evans’ Seed Sowing Company, 
Ltd., 40, Chancery Lane, W.C. 
Green Fly is now on the Hop in Kent. Where is it 
likely to hop to next 7 —Snaggs. 
Orchids at the Sale Rooms.—At the Sale Rooms of 
Messrs. Protheroe & Morris, Cheapside, on the 15th 
inst , the strangely formed flowers of Catasetum fim- 
briatum, and the golden-yellow of Mormodes leopar- 
dinum, thickly spotted with crimson attracted con¬ 
siderable attention amongst those present. Two pieces 
of the former fetched £1 5s. and £i respectively. A 
well-flowered piece of Odontoglossum cristatellum, 
carrying a long panicle of flowers, did not seem to 
find so many admirers, probably because less 
curious, but it was, nevertheless, a fine piece of its 
kind. 
Dictionnaire Iconographique des Orchidees.—This 
work has been going on since October, 1896 and is in¬ 
tended to form a dictionary in which coloured plates 
of Orchids, each 7 \ in. long by 5^ in. wide, are given. 
The plate is accompanied by text descriptive of the 
species. The description is in the French language. 
Twelve monthly deliveries, each containing thirteen 
coloured plates are sent to subscribers during the 
course of the year, that is, 156 plates annually. The 
subscription price is 48s. annually, commencing in 
October. The intention is to figure and describe all 
the genera, species and varieties that are of sufficient 
interest in the Orchid family. The special features 
of the work are that a portfolio bearing the title of a 
genus is delivered every month ; that all the plates 
and text are left unbound so that the numbers be¬ 
longing to any one genus may be brought together 
and arranged in alphabetical order, no matter what 
the time of their publication may be. The port¬ 
folios are to be arranged in the bookcase in alpha¬ 
betical order. Whenever a species flowers in the 
collection of an owner or his gardener, who may not 
know the name, all that is necessary is to turn over 
the sheets in the portfolio till the plate representing 
the species is arrived at. This, it will be seen, 
affords an immense advantage in facility of reference 
compared with existing works on the sutject, many 
volumes of which have often to be consulted before 
the right plate is found. The Dictionnaire Icono- 
graphicques des Orchidees is managed and edited by A. 
Cogniaux, and the paintings are done by M. A. Goos- 
sens, Artiste-Peintre, Rue Quinaux, 24, Schaerbeek, 
Brussels, Belgium, to whom intending subscribers 
should apply. 
The Fruit Tree Beetle.—A leaflet dealing with the 
peculiarities of this pest has lately been issued by the 
Board of Agriculture, which was moved to the 
investigation by frequent complaints of the destruc¬ 
tiveness of this boring beetle which turns out to be 
Scolytus rugulosus. In the majority of cases brought 
to the notice of the Board, the larvae of the beetle 
had honeycombed the tips of small branches, whilst 
many of them were esconced in bark and wood that 
was dying or already dead. On the other hand they 
were seldom found in healthy bark, which fact con¬ 
firms the statement made in Kollar’s Treatise on 
Insects “ that it is probable that this beetle only 
attacks trees which are sickly." The larvae have 
been frequently found in the tips of branches injured 
by frost, also near scars from canker, and knife cuts, 
and knots. It is not clear that the beetle attacks 
healthy trees, but it is certain that it greatly retards 
or prevents the recovery of sickly ones. It is partial 
not only to the Apple, but to the Plum, Cherry, Pear, 
and Peach, and its presence may be discovered by 
the existence of many round holes, not more than a 
pin’s head in diameter, through the bark to the wood. 
The female beetle may be seen flying about towards 
the end of April. She bores holes in the bark, lays 
her eggs, and the larvae hatch out in a few days. 
After pupation the beetles bore other holes in the 
bark acd escape, for there are at least two genera¬ 
tions born in the year, while the larvae pass through 
the winter as they are,the active injury being thus un- 
intermittent. The beetle is barely one-tenth of an inch 
in length, and black, while the larva is a little smaller, 
and milky-white with black mandibles. The only 
method of dealing with the beast is to cut down and 
burn all worthless trees; and holders of orchards 
should see to it that they keep old dead branches cut 
out regularly each year for this will materially lessen 
the risk of infection. Syringing with insecticides is 
of very little use for the larvae are out of their reach. 
The trapping of the female beetles would certainly be 
of service, 
USEFUL HARDY PLANTS. 
Among the most useful hardy plants for heavy damp 
soil we have found none to surpass Doronicum 
caucasicum and D. plantagineum excelsum. They 
are capital for forcing, ana in the open ground 
they begin flowering in April, and now (middle of 
July) are very striking. These were plants which 
had been forced and stood out behind a wall in pots 
for some weeks. Gaillardias are continuous flower¬ 
ing, herbaceous plants, and grown in beds or borders 
in masses make a fine display, and are most useful 
for cutting. They stand well in rooms. They can 
be easily raised from seed, but it is more satisfactory 
to get proved varieties. I notice some old roots 
which have been in the same position (not by any 
means a choice one) for over a dozen years, and are 
now full of bloom. Paeonies do well on strong, 
firm soil. We have planted a new collection this 
season, but the old ones are by no means despicable. 
They have been in their quarters untouched for over 
twelve years, except when they have been reduced 
with a spade to get pieces to give to friends. 
Coreopsis (C. grandiflora appears to be the best) 
flowers very abundantly, coming in when many of the 
earlier species have ceased to flower for the season. It 
seems to do best when treated as a biennial, or, per¬ 
haps,it is best of all to sow some each t pring and plant 
out during autumn for next year’s use. Pyrethrums 
are most valuable on our heavy wet soil. They last 
long, and make a charming display. Ours have had 
little done to them for many years past, and they 
never flowered more freely than they have done this 
season. There are great numbers of new sorts 
added of late. A large collection of new named 
ones is before us, received as cut flowers from Mr. M. 
Cuthbertson. of Rothesay.— M. Temple, Carron, N.B. 
-»f-»- 
GARDEN CROPS IN WEST LOTHIAN. 
The season has been a very backward one, in fact I 
think we will this year break the record in that 
respect. 
At this date (July 18th), Strawberries are still 
green ; it will be several days ere a first picking can 
be made. The crop is good, but for want of rain the 
fruit will be under average size. Cherries are 
plentiful, but small ; Gooseberries, a fair average 
crop ; Raspberries, light; Black Currants, an 
enormous crop ; and the same may be said of Red 
Currants. Plums are practically a failure; as for 
Apples and Pears, they are, as usual with us, very 
thin, except on a south wall, where Apples are very 
good. 
Vegetables have withstood the long drought 
wonderfully well. Peas look remarkably well, and 
carry heavy crops. Cauliflowers, and in fact all the 
Brassica tribe are quite healthy, but backward. 
Early Potatos are a very light crop, but the quality 
is excellent. Late Potatos look splendid. Kidney 
Beans have suffered more with drought than any 
other vegetable, all other vegetables being an average 
Roses are first rate. Herbaceous plants of nearly all 
kinds have suffered very much. The bedding plants 
of all kinds have done fairly well, but most things 
have made very little growth. The long spell of dry 
weather broke yesterday, and we have had some fine 
genial showers, but would require twenty-four hours’ 
continuous rain to fairly get to the roots .—Black 
Watch. 
HARDY BAMBOOS. 
(Continued from p. 731.,) 
Bambusa. 
This generic name supplies both the popular name 
of the whole tribe and the tribal name itself. The 
Genera Plantarum reckons about twenty-four distinct 
species, but the names of ninety described as species 
are recorded in the Index Iiewensis. More than fifty 
of them, however, have been placed under the genus 
provisionally, for the simple reason that neither 
flowers nor fruit have been seen by which to estab¬ 
lish their identity and determine their proper classi¬ 
fication. The better known species are natives of 
tropical and subtropical Asia, and one of them, 
widely distributed in tropical America, is very often 
cultivated. The botanical characters of Bambusa 
are a panicled inflorescence, with two to many 
