December 31, 1898. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
279 
on the contrary, are pure white and unspotted. The 
large lip is heart-shaped at the base, gradually 
narrowed towards the apex, and furnished with a 
large blotch like that of the sepals, besides having a 
few small blotches around the crest. It will thus be 
seen that the contrast between the pure white petals 
and the rest of the segments, each with its magnifi- 
cent blotch, is very marked and handsome. There 
is a plate of it in the Lindenia, PI. 634. 
Cochlioda noetzliana superba.—Importations 
of C. noetzliana show a considerable amount of 
variation amongst the flowers, chiefly in the width 
of the segments, and to a smaller extent in colour. 
The variety under notice produces a large and compact 
inflorescence of bold, well developed flowers. The 
segments are very broad, and washed with scarlet, 
mixed with carmine tints or reflections upon a ver¬ 
milion ground. The apex of the lip and the crest 
exhibit a blue-violet colour, the usual golden blotch 
of that region having almost disappeared. A full 
page coloured illustration of it is given in the 
Lindenia, PI. 640. 
Stanhopea Wardii.—This species is like a small 
edition of S. tigrina, the largest and most striking 
of all the Stanhopeas, though not, perhaps, the 
prettiest. That under notice is certainly very hand¬ 
some, owing to the rich yellow ground colour that 
usually prevails, and which is usually handsomely 
spotted or blotched. The short and excavated 
hypochile is mostly of a rich black colour, the rest 
of this part of the lip being orange. A fine piece of 
it flowered recently in the Botanic Gardens, Edin¬ 
burgh. 
«l «"- 
UTILISATION OF NETTLES. 
When we wish to mention a useless, or even noxious 
plant, the word Nettle is on the lips of all; and yet 
the greatly calumniated plant has many good quali¬ 
ties which should make it respected by its maligners. 
The Nettle appears first when the cattle are yet eating 
dry fodder. Its addition to the daily rations is to be 
recommended. It increases lacteous secretion in 
cows and goats, makes the milk more creamy, richer, 
and more sugary in flavour. Simply dried in the air, 
the young shoots, when cut in spring and mixed with 
hay and straw, stimulate the appetite of the animals, 
which find it a great relish. All poultry thrive on 
Nettle seeds; young turkeys can be easily and 
rapidly reared when fed daily with finely chopped 
Nettle leaves. 
As a textile plant the Nettle can compete success¬ 
fully with Flax, over which it has the advantage of 
retting completely after eight days in water. 
Finally the Nettle is a medicinal plant, applied 
externally in certain cases; it is a powerful revulsive 
which restores sensibility of the skin, releases con¬ 
gested joints, and makes the muscles elastic and 
contractile. 
We shall not call it a panacea, but it does not 
deserve the universal reprobation of which it is the 
object. If we do not cultivate the Nettle we can, at 
least, profit by a plant which so readily sows itself. 
—Vie Scientifique, December 10 th, 1898. 
FRUIT UNDER GLASS 
Resting Vines. —Proceed with the pruning and 
cleaning of these as fast as possible, as other work 
will soon begin to multiply apace. In addition to 
the pruning, which is an easy matter, and soon com¬ 
pleted, the cleaning of the canes may give some little 
trouble,especially where mealy bug has been plentiful 
during the past summer. The loose, ragged bark of 
the Vines affords first-rate shelter for the bug, and 
unless the work of cleansing is thoroughly done, 
matters will be serious next year. The practice of 
barking the canes has been described from time to 
time by various writers as unnecessary, barbarous, 
injurious to the Vines, and so on. Injurious the 
practice certainly is, if it is carried too far, and the 
tender under-bark exposed, but this is just where the 
manager of men must come in, for he must see that 
the thing is not over-done. The removal of the 
rough, loose bark that can be easily got hold of and 
pulled away does no harm whatever to the Vines ; at 
least, I have never known evil results to follow. This 
removal of this loose outer covering is, therefore, to 
be recommended where the canes are dirty and it is 
desired to make the cleansing operations thoroughly 
effective, 
After the barking has been seen to, the canes 
should be washed twice or thrice with a solution of 
Gishurst Compound, than which there is no safer or 
more reliable insecticide. The wash should be 
applied by means of a soft brush, and worked well 
into all the crevices. Let care be taken meanwhile 
not to injure the buds, and especial care must be 
exercised when brushing close to them. After the 
washings the canes should be painted over with a 
composition of Clay and " Gishurst ” with a sprinkle 
of petroleum, mixed up with warm water until it is 
of the consistency of thick paint. Let this stand for 
some time before it is used, and keep it constantly 
stirred. The clay required should be first dried, 
and then pulverised with a mallet so that it may mix 
easily. 
The glass and woodwork of the houses should be 
washed, any nooks and corners that it may be diffi¬ 
cult to root out thoroughly with the scrubbing 
brush being afterwards touched up with neat 
petroleum. This will give the mealy bug no chance 
whatever. Where the houses are" lean-to," the 
walls should be scraped and lime-washed, so that 
the new year may be started with a clean bill of 
health. 
Top-dressing the Borders.— After all the 
cleaning mentioned above has been carried out, the 
loose top soil of the borders should be scraped off, 
and taken away and burnt. A sharp look-out 
must be kept for fibrous roots that may be near the 
surface. Healthy Vines should have a lot of these, 
and they must on no account be injured, or the 
plants will suffer. Good, mellow loam makes the 
best dressing. A layer of about 2 in. will be quite 
sufficient. 
Vine Eyes.— A few of the best and cleanest 
growths may be selected from amongst the prunings 
in order to furnish "eyes.” Any time during the 
next two months will do for placing the eyes into 
heat, and meanwhile the growths selected may be 
tied together in bundles and their ends covered with 
soil. 
Early Pot Vines. —As soon as the youDg growths 
on the earliest pot Vines are four or five inches in 
length they should be secured to the wires by light 
strands of raffia, and brought down gradually into 
place. The temperature now should not be allowed 
to decline below 6o° Fahr. by night, and there 
should at least be a rise of 5 0 Fahr. by day. If mild 
weather prevails, this temperature may be main¬ 
tained without very much fire-heat, provided the 
fermenting material in which the pots are plunged is 
occasionally renewed. 
Early Permanent Vinery. —Here the swelling 
buds are on the point of bursting into growth, and 
the temperature may be kept at 55 0 by night, 
rising to 6o° in the day. The usual syringings 
twice a day must still be maintained, using soft 
water of the same temperature as the house. In 
cases where the border is occupied with beds of fer¬ 
menting material in which Lilacs, Deutzias, and 
other flowering material are placed, fire-heat will not 
be necessary to such a degree as to cause aridity of 
the atmosphere, but still copious dampings down 
are necessary. 
Outside Vine Borders.— At this season of the 
year deluges of cold rain and heavy falls of snow, 
both of which we are likely to get, are very injurious 
to the tender roots of Vines that are being forced. 
It is always advisable, therefore, that Vines which 
are to be forced early should have their roots under 
shelter, but it is not always possible to have this, 
and the next best thing will be to give protection. 
The borders may be covered with boards, sheets of 
galvanised iron, or thick layers of stable litter, the 
last-named being renewed and added to occasionally. 
Melon and Cucumber Beds. —Steps should now 
be taken to make up beds for early Melons and 
Cucumbers, and to this end the manure must first 
be prepared. Two-thirds of the ferment must be 
composed of leaves, which are valuable on account 
of their lasting and steady-heating qualities. The 
remaining third may be stable litter. Mix the two 
ingredients thoroughly together by turning them and 
shaking them up together two or three times. 
Sowing the Seed. —Both Melon and Cucumber 
seeds should be sown singly in thumb pots, using a 
con. post of three-quarters of good loam and one 
quarter of leaf soil. Plunge the pots in a bottom 
heat of from 70° to 75” and a top atmosphere of 70*. 
In order to do this a small handlight should be 
placed on a hot bed in one of the forcing houses. 
Speedy germination will ensue if this temperature is 
given, and as the plants will be wanted as soon as 
possible, it is important that they should not be 
allowed to lag too much in their early stages. Give 
the youDg seedlings all the light possible, and be 
cautious with the ventilating, for a check would be 
serious, and it is easily given. 
Strawberries. —Continue to introduce to heat 
batches of pot Strawberries. The plants come on 
much more rapidly when the pots are plunged to 
the rims in fermenting material that they do when 
this attention is not given. A bed of leaves made 
up in a brick pit will be just the thing wanted, for 
the heat will be steady and continuous. As soon as 
the fruits are set on the earliest plants, thin them 
down to eight or nine fruits to a plant, which will be 
quite enough for the plants to carry.— A. S. G. 
-- ■ .... 
©leanings ftum tfje Dnttli) 
of Srienrg. 
The undermentioned subjects were brought before 
the Scientific Committee of the Royal Horticultural 
Society on the occasion of their meeting on the 13th 
inst. 
Prunus lusitanica van. azorica.—A spray 
with fruit of this variety of the Portugal Laurel was 
shown, having been sent by Miss Breton, Forest 
End, Sandhurst. Mr. Veitch observed that as a 
garden variety it had no special merits but rather 
the reverse, in consequence of its straggling habit. 
Narcissus pachybolbos.— With reference to 
this species Mr. Didderich remarked that it grows 
freely in Australia, though it is one rarely culti¬ 
vated in this country. It is a native of Algeria. 
Narcissus viridiflorus.— A flower of this rare 
species was sent by Mr. Kingswell, of Harrow 
Weald. It is an autumn-flowering species, rarely 
cultivated, but introduced from Spain or Barbary in 
1629, according to Paxton. 
Begonia venosa, Skan. —-A new species from 
Brazil, with remarkable habit and large leaves, 
densely tomentose below and furfuraceous, with 
substellate hairs above. The flowers are small, 
and pinky-white. A Botanical Certificate was unani¬ 
mously awarded to this very interesting species. 
It was received from Mr. Gilbert Christy, F.L.S. 
It had been raised from seed procured by Prof. 
Lofgren on an island near Para. 
Asparagus Sprengerl.—Introduced from the 
Cape about four years ago; it was exhibited by Mr. 
May. Two varieties, raised without crossing, have 
already appeared—viz., compactus and densissimus. 
It is an interesting species in that the " needle-like ” 
structures of the garden Asparagus are in this species 
represented by genuine leaves, revealing the true 
nature of the former. 
Caterpillars.—Some living specimens of three 
sorts were received from Miss L. H. Paterson 
(Edinburgh) and forwarded to Mr. McLachlan, who 
reports as follows:—" One of the caterpillars 
(brown) is the larva of one of the ' rove ' beetles 
(Staphylinidae). They are mostly carnivorous, or 
feed on decaying vegetable matter, so that they are 
generally beneficial. The other (a white one) is the 
larva of Hepialus sylvinus, one of the' Swift Moths.’ 
The ' Ghost Moth ’ is of the same genus. It is destruc¬ 
tive to the roots of anything herbaceous. The third 
was the larva of one of the Noctua moths, probably 
Agrotis segetum. It is very destructive, and feeds 
chiefly at night. It has nothing whatever to do with 
the Cockchafer, which it was thought to resemble. 
The above are all general feeders. It might be as 
well to lift the plants where they occur and supply 
fresh earth, burning the old. Insectivorous birds 
should be encouraged. A dressing of gas lime, 
repeated several times, might do good, but it should 
be used cautiously." 
Apple tree Diseased.—Mr. Bunyardsent a small 
branch curiously affected, with the following obser¬ 
vations : —" The branch was sent to me by the Rev. A. 
Foster-Melliar, in whose garden the tree grows. 
When the branch was cut it was in a pappy, floccose 
state; this appearance had suddenly broken out in a 
tree grafted two years ago. It probably arose from 
strong unmatured wood being over-fed with stimu¬ 
lants. The tree had made a very gross growth." 
The specimen was forwarded to Dr. W. G. Smith 
for further examination. 
