316 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
January 14, 1899. 
Hardening |f iscellany. 
ARABIS PROCURRENS. 
The members of the genus Arabis make no pre¬ 
tensions to refined or aristocratic beauty. Their 
claims are only of the common order, but yet they 
possess a freedom of blooming, ,a hardiness of con¬ 
stitution and a marvellous adaptability to environ¬ 
ments that stand them in good stead. These useful 
if homely qualities have insured some of them a 
place in the rock garden, and to this place they cling 
with all the tenacity of which they are capable. In 
the species under notice, A. procurrens, we have a 
typical rock plant, which, no matter how poor or 
shallow the soil, finds yet enough to satisfy its needs 
and to anchor its roots in. Once it gets a start the 
plant grows very freely and by means of its creeping 
stolons soon covers adjacent rocks with the closely 
interwoven mass of its verdure. Like the majority of its 
congeners A. procurrens has white flowers and these 
jt produces with almost prodigal freedom whilst other 
plants commonly called early bloomers are yet asleep. 
This season it was in flower by the beginning of the 
year, and at the time of writing it is throwing up other 
flowers that signify its determination to do its share 
towards the enlivenment of the dull greystones and 
obtrusive labels of the alpine garden. 
* 
TYING CHRYSANTHEMUMS FOR 
TRAVELLING. 
Many of your readers are only too glad to adopt 
any expedient to time ; so for the benefit of those 
who may be glad to avail themselves of it, I will 
describe as shortly as possible a plan adopted by 
an acquaintance in fixing his Chrysanthemum 
flowers on the plants in such a way that they will 
stand a journey with the least amount of injury. 
His plants were grown for large flowers, three and 
four on the plants, in 24-size pots. Many of these 
had to travel some miles, and the labour of tying 
them out to separate sticks, &c., being found 
troublesome, by a happy thought Potatos were 
stuck upon the head of the sticks, and pieces of 
sharpened Bamboo inserted into them of the proper 
length to hold the flowers sufficiently far apart, to 
which they were tied. Thus one stick sufficed for 
each plant, and he claims both a saving of time and 
material.—IP B. G. 
NEMESIA STRUMOSA SUTTONI NANA 
COMPACTA. 
The original form of Nemesia strumosa Suttoni 
was introduced by Messrs. Sutton and Sons, Read¬ 
ing, in 1888. Since then it has given rise to a 
distinctly dwarf variety, raised by a French grower 
from seed supplied him by the Reading firm. This 
was introduced by Messrs. Sutton in 1893, and we 
have ascertained that it is identical with the variety 
described by us on p. 301, under the name of N. 
strumosa nana compacta grandiflora. It is cer¬ 
tainly a very useful variety, forming small, com¬ 
pact bushes, 6 in. or 8 in. high, and covered 
during the summer months with a profusion of 
flowers of pleasing shades of soft salmon, apricot 
and terra cotta. For cut flower purposes the original 
form will no doubt hold its own, owing to the greater 
length of the flower, stalks. The dwarf strain is of 
easier cultivation than the type, and may be sown 
in the open air during April and May. That we 
should have a tall and a dwarf strain—for strains 
they are of many colours—is a great recommendation 
for this showy annual, enabling it to be grown under 
different conditions and for different purposes either 
in pots under glass, or sown, or planted in the open 
air. 
ADIANTUM DECORUM. 
Up to the present time Adiantum cuneatum has 
been the favourite maidenhair Fern for general 
decorative purposes, but when the merits of A. 
decorum become more generally known A. cuneatum 
will have to lock to its reputation. A. decorum has 
particularly good “ standing ” qualities, and will 
endure exposure to the dry atmosphere of a dwell¬ 
ing room for a long time. In this respect at least 
it is rather ahead of A. cuneatum. Then when the 
plants are well growD, the fronds are longer and 
Stouter than, and equally as useful for cutting as those 
of the commoner species. As an exhibition plant A. 
decorum is first-rate, being of quick and vigorous 
growth, and graceful habit. Its only drawback is 
that it does not spore quite so freely as A. cuneatum, 
and that is probably the reason why there is not so 
much of it about as there is of the latter species. 
TWO GOOD VEGETABLES. 
Dicksons' scarlet perfection Carrot is a handsome 
variety possessing every essential in a table Carrot 
and for exhibition it cannot be surpassed. I consider 
this to be one of the best Carrots grown. And for 
an Onion, Dicksons' Exhibition is an exceedingly 
handsome, globe-shaped bulb with small neck and 
solid flesh. The colour of the skin is of a clear 
pleasing straw. It is a good all-round variety, and 
with good cultivation it can be grown to an enormous 
size.— A. M. Stover. 
GALANTHUS CILICICUS. 
This is the first of the spring-flowering Snowdrops 
to greet the opening year, for it is now in full bloom 
in the rockery at Kew The flowers are large and 
handsome, and raised well above the ground on stout 
stalks. The outer segments are obovate, strongly 
concave on the side turned inwards, and pure white. 
The inner segments are not strongly developed ; they 
are white with three spots of bright green, and have 
rather finely cut margins. The spathe is very short 
and insignificant. At the time of flowering the 
leaves are not much in evidence, but later on when 
they assume their mature characters they are large, of 
great substance, and very glaucous. G. cilicicus bears a 
close resemblance to G. Fosteri, but is always earlier 
in flowering, whilst this year it seems to have re¬ 
sponded even more readily than usual to the stimulus 
of mild weather. In a "good old fashioned winter 
it would not have been able to make its appearance 
nearly so soon. 
CALLA LITTLE GEM. 
Having had great success with this much talked of 
plant, which many gardeners have discarded owing 
to its shyness of flowering, I should like to give your 
readers my method of cultivating it. It is two years 
this month since I had the dried crowns given me ( 
which were no larger than Peas. I sowed them in an 
ordinary seed pan of light, rich soil; and soon after 
the tiny leaves appeared I potted them, putting 
about six in a 3 in. pot, using rich soil, and grew 
them in a warm house. After a time I potted them 
into 7 in. pots, using plenty of dried cow manure t 
and by the next January they were full of roots, and 
began to flower; but as they gave off such a quantity 
of suckers which weakened the larger crowns, I 
thought it best to adopt the single crown system, and 
last June they were pulled to pieces and the best crowns 
potted into 5 in. pots and kept in the late Peach 
house until early in November, when they were put 
into a temperature of 45 0 by night and 50° to 55° by 
day, and received an abundance of farmyard manure 
water. I have kept all suckers picked off. They 
are now flowering freely, every plant being either in 
flower or bud, and I have already cut several dozen 
blooms, being much more useful than the larger ones 
for vases, &c. - F. G. Brewer, gardener to Graham Fish, 
Esq., Oahlands, nr. St. Albans, Herts. 
BEAUFORTIA PURPUREA. 
The current issue of the Revue de VHorticulture Beige 
contains a fine coloured plate of this handsome Beau- 
fortia, although, owing doubtless to a printer’s error 
it appears as Beaumontia, a genus of Apocynaceae. 
M. Em. Bedinghaus discusses the origin and remarks 
upon the value of this distinguised New Holland 
plant, which is one of eight species, all suitable for 
the decoration of the greenhouse. Says M. Beding¬ 
haus, B. purpurea is distinguished from all the other 
species by the brilliant colouring of its flowers and 
the elegance of its habit. It is a charming species, 
dwarf and bushy in habit, with slender branches, 
and attractive by reason of its fine and elegant foliage, 
which recalls that of Baeckia, and its curious spici- 
form inflorescences. At first sight it is not unlike a 
miniature of Callistemon lanceolatum. It requires 
a greenhouse, rather warm than cold, and well 
ventilated. For soil it should be given a mixture 
of peat and silicious sand. The pots must also be 
well drained. Some amount of pruning and pinching 
is necessary in order to induce symmetry of form. 
To obtain bushy plants M. Bedinghaus advises to 
plant them out in the open ground at the end of May 
in soil that has been employed for Azaleas, lifting 
them again about the commencement of September 
and repotting. During summer a moderate quantity 
of water will be needed, and the water pot must be 
handled carefully. The plants must be shaded, for 
the rays of the sun must not be allowed to fall 
directly upon them. Propagation may be easily 
effected by seed sown on a hotbed or by cuttings, 
which should be covered with a bell glass. 
METHODS OF PREPARING RUBBER. 
(Continued from p. 302.J 
Ceara rubber is the product of Manihot Glaziovii, 
a tree growing chiefly in the highlands of the State 
of Ceara, Brazil. Cross is responsible for most of 
the descriptions of the locality in which it grows, but 
as his experience of it appears to have been limited 
to Pacatuba, in which place its habitat is far from 
typical, they are not very accurate. He records it as 
growing at an elevation of 200 ft. above sea level, 
among granite boulders, in a country whose dryness 
was indicated by the fact that " Ferns, weeds, grasses, 
and mosses ” were absent. True, it does grow 
among granite boulders, in the scantiest of soil in 
such localities, but it is more at home in the 
mountains, up to a height of 3,500 ft., and even 
more, where there is an abundant rainfall. These 
facts will serve to show the wide range of conditions 
the tree will put up with, and were it not for the 
smallness of its yield (1 lb. to 3 lbs. per annum) it 
would be invaluable for introducing into many of our 
colonies. 
Coagulation is brought about either by smoking, 
as on the Amazons, or by simply allowing the latex 
to dry on the tree-trunks or soil. The latter methods 
are objectionable, as the rubber invariably contains 
pieces of bark or grit. It may also be prepared by 
churning the latex, and pressing the resulting clots. 
The method is not to be recommended though, for 
even if the clots are cut into thin slices and exposed 
to the heavy pressure of a mandiocca press, a con¬ 
siderable percentage of water remains in its cavities, 
and decomposition sets in, but not to the same extent 
as in " Ceara scrap.” 
Although so impure it commands a price usually 
second only to " Para fine.” The loss is from 20 to 
25 per cent., which, in inferior qualities, may even 
amount to 55 per cent. 
Mangabeira rubber also comes from Ceara. It is 
the product of Hancornia speciosa, a dwarf tree with 
somewhat the habit of a birch. The rubber is pre¬ 
pared by the addition of an excess of salt to the latex, 
or by Strauss’ method of adding alum. Even after 
thirty days’ drying in the sun it is spongy and full of 
cavities of liquid. As might be expected, the loss on 
purification is enormous, amounting to from 40 to 60 
per cent. 
By this method of coagulating with chemical 
reagents it is impossible to get rid of the coagulated 
proteid matter, to say nothing of the greater part of 
the water. Morellet’s remark that “ le procede 
Strauss est ingenieux, mais les resultats de son 
application sont mauvais " may well be applied to all 
these chemical methods, and the sooner the search 
for coagulating agents is abandoned the better. 
The only other American rubber of importance, at 
present, is yielded by Castilloa elastica. It appears 
on the market in a number of different forms under 
the names of Mexican, Nicaraguan, &c. As far as 
we know C. elastica is the only species of the genus 
yielding rubber, for the C. Markhamia of Collins 
turns out to be a Perebea species. 
The latex is obtained in a rough and ready fashion 
by hacking a spiral channel from the crown of the 
tree to the ground, or by making great gashes with a 
machette. 
Collins has recommended a timber-scoring knife 
for tapping, and since then most writers have followed 
his lead. On experimenting with one, I found it 
was practically useless, as little latex exuded, pos¬ 
sibly owing to the closure of the vessels by the drag 
of its edge. Stabbing with a broad-bladed knife, or 
with a chisel, as practised in Ceylon, gives good 
results without much damage to the tree. In the 
previously mentioned article in the " Trinidad 
Bulletin ” (1898), there is some slight confusion as to 
the localities suitable for the growing of Castilloa. 
In one place (p. 122), " it will scarcely thrive in 
regions that are not equally suited to Iievea spp,” 
which (p. 130) grow " on land which is periodically 
inundated, even to a depth of 5 ft- Then (p. 121), 
•• the tree (Castilloa) avoids marshy or boggy land, 
and manifests a preference for warm, deep loam, or 
