January 28, 1899. 
THK GARDENING WORLD. 
849 
Mr. John Lee. 
and under the title of John and Charles Lee the 
business was carried on until the retirement of John 
in 1876. Charles then took his own son, William, 
into the partnership, and the latter still carries on 
the business, which during the partership of John 
and Charles, threw out branches to Ealing, Isle- 
worth, Hounslow, and Feltham. 
Horticulture and botany have been greatly 
indebted to members of the family of Lee. Mr. 
James Lee, the founder of the Vineyard Nursery, 
Hammersmith, wrote a book on the science of 
botany, and this passed through five editions. He 
also has the honour of introducing Fuchsia coccinea, 
which afterwards was regarded as lost until Sir 
Joseph Hooker again unearthed it in the Botanic 
Gardens at Oxford some years ago. It was one of 
the only two that were introduced during the 
eighteenth century. At a later period the firm came 
into possession of the first China Rose. Later on 
collectors were sent to the Cape, who sent home to 
Hammersmith, Heaths, Ixias, and and other well- 
known and useful South African subjects. 
Mr. John Lee could boast of a career of fifty- 
three years in active business, and besides introduc¬ 
ing Cape plants and raising others, some of which 
still exist, he also did signal service to his fellow men 
at home, in his connection with the Gardeners’ 
Royal Benevolent Institution, as above stated, to the 
funds of which he subscribed from the commence¬ 
ment. On two separate occasions he occupied a seat 
on the Council of the Royal Horticultural Society, 
an$ was connected with the Fruit and Floral 
Committees of that body. Both he and his brother 
Charles were active members of the executive Com¬ 
mittee of the International Horticultural Exhibition, 
held at South Kensington in 1866. 
During his long and active career, and after his 
retirement, Mr. John Lee made a wide circle of 
friends who now revere and respect the memory of 
the veteran who has just passed away. The funeral 
took place at 12.30 p.m. on Tuesday last, when his 
remains were laid to rest in the Brompton Cemetery. 
The accompanying portrait shows the man as he was 
a decade ago. 
Qmmom add 
*.* Will our friends who send us newspapers be so good 
as to mark the paragraphs or articles they wish us to see. 
We shall be greatly obliged by their so doing. 
[ 1 Correspondents, please note that we cannot undertake to 
name florists' flowers such as Carnations, Pelargoniums, 
Chrysanthemums, Roses, nor such as are mere garden 
varieties, differing only in the colour of the flower. 
Florists' flowers, as a rule, can only be named by those who 
grow collections of them.'] • 
Cyclamen Corm and Insect.— Thomas Trodden: 
The specimen you sent along with the corm and cut 
roots of Cyclamen was the grub of a weevil, either 
the Black Vine Weevil (Otiorhynchus sulcatus) or 
the Clay-coloured Vine Weevil (O. picipes), most 
probably the latter, which is the smaller of the two 
and of a dirty gray colour, like dry soil or clay. We 
should advise you to turn out all the plants you 
suspect of being infested and destroy every grub you 
can find. Then you should cement all cracks, 
crevices and other openings which may exist in the 
walls of your houses. The perfect weevils, which 
are beetles with a long snout, live or hide in crannies 
of walls during the day and sally out at night to 
attack various hot house plants. If any rubbish, 
bricks, pots or what not are lying about the house 
they should be cleared away so as to destroy all 
shelter for the weevils. When leaving off work at 
night you might lay down a few pieces of board in 
the house where you suspect the weevils to be 
present, to act as traps. The boards may be slightly 
elevated so as to allow the weevils to crawl under 
the same. Examine these traps in the morning and 
destroy any weevils you may find, thereby preventing 
them laying any more eggs in the soil of pot plants. 
You can thus wage war against the grubs, and the 
perfect beetles, and thereby keep them in check. 
Stinging Tree.— A.B.: It is most probably one of 
the Laporteas, of which there are several of a woody 
nature, both trees and shruDs. Some of them occur 
in Australia, including Laportea gigas, though that 
may or may not be the species of which you have 
heard. Some of the species present nearly a smooth 
appearance, but others present a briskly and quite a 
formidable appearance, especially the foliage, leaf 
stalks and youDg shoots. When such is the case it 
is an easy matter to bs on one's guard when walking 
amongst them. Trees that grow up in the thickets 
and woods would seldom have branches below, so 
that they would present no danger. It is necessary, 
however, to walk circumspectly and with caution in 
thickets of mixed trees and keep the arms covered. 
Scolopendriums Making Slow Growth.— R. G.B.: 
We should consider it a question of dry soil and too 
much exposure to sucshine. The soil itself, we 
should say, has very little to do with it. In a state 
of nature they may often be seen growing luxuriantly 
in soil of a heavy, clayey nature, and again in that 
of a light character, and consisting largely of leaf 
mould, the latter beiDg a case where they are grow¬ 
ing under deciduous trees, from which the leaves fall 
upon them in the autumn. In both cases the soil is 
moist, and that we consider the primary or principal 
cause of their luxuriance, the shade contributing 
somewhat to the elongation of the fronds. Try and 
secure a little shade and plenty of moisture for 
them, and more vigorous growth will be assured. 
Scale on Ferns—C. W. : The very worst of the 
fronds, which usually contain the most scale, may 
be removed at once and burnt. The rest might be 
syringed with petroleum emulsion at intervals of a 
fortnight till all the scale is killed or drops off. The 
emulsion would be most effective at a more advanced 
period of the year wnen the young scales begin to 
hatch out; but good emulsion should destroy them 
at any time. The emulsion may be made of one 
gallon of petroleum, \ lb. of ordinary soap, and £ 
gallon of water. This is the proportion, but you can 
make any quantity in the same ratio of materials. 
Dissolve the soap in boiling water over a brisk fire ; 
then remove the pot from the fire and add the 
petroleum. Get your syringe and churn the mixture 
till it gets thoroughly emulsified. This, of course, 
is done in the well-known way by drawing the liquid 
into the syringe and forcibly ejecting it again, re¬ 
peating the operation till the oil and soapy water are 
thoroughly mixed. When cool this should form a 
jelly-like mass without oil on the top. By this you 
will know that it has been thoroughly mixed. To one 
part of the emulsion add nine parts of cold water, 
and thoroughly stir the mixture till fit for syringing 
the plants. Give just sufficient to wet every part of 
the tronds. 
Improving the Texture of Clay Soil — D. C.: 
There are several ways of doing this, namely, by 
trenching, applying a little decayed or littery stable 
manure, by liming, and by the application of sand, 
more particularly shelly sand, which may often be 
had from the seashore, if near enough to prevent 
costly carriage. More valuable still is burnt clay, 
which may be prepared by digging up a quantity from 
the subsoil and burning it. Do not use that which has 
been frequently dug and manured as that is better 
than the subsoil. Get a quantity of wood, such as 
the trunks of trees of any kind that may have been cut 
down. Make a pile of this and heap the clay around 
and above it, leaving an opening by which the wood 
may be lighted. After it is fairly alight and glowingyou 
can add more clay and let the fire smoulder for days 
until well burned. As it cools it will turn red, and 
crumble into material like fine gravel. Spread this 
over the ground and mix it well with the staple 
while digging or trenching. 
Names of Plants.— W. M.: 1, Laelia anceps san- 
deriana ; 2, Cypripedium callosum , 3, C>pripedium 
insigne.— R. B. : 1, Garrya elliptica ; 2, Viburnum 
Tinus ; 3, Pseudotsuga Douglasii; 4, Picea orienta¬ 
ls ; 5, Retinospora obtusa.— L. G ; 1, Prunus sinen¬ 
sis flore pleno ; 2, Abutilon megapotamicum varie- 
gatum ; 3, Davallia elegans ; 4, Nephrodium patens; 
5, Vinca major variegata ; 6, Agapanthus umbellatus 
variegatus; 7,Fuchsia procumbens— T.J:. 1, Odon- 
toglossum Pescatorei; 2, Oncidium varicosum ; 3, 
Osmanthus fragrans; 4, Eranthemum nervosum — 
W. R. : 1, Asplenium fontanum ; 2, Asplenium sep- 
tentrionale. 
Communications Received.—A. D. Webster — 
A. Hope.—Wm. Carmichael.— R. Dean.—E. O. 
Greening.—J. Mayne.—E. Fierens.—A. P.—John C. 
Ross.—W. E.—L. C.—Joy.—C. C. C.—Savoy.—A. 
E. P.—Dip.—Henry C.—Ard Righ. 
-- 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
George Stuart, F.R.H.S., Chapelhill and Chapel- 
field Nurseries, Rothesay, N.B.—Stuart's Spring 
Catalogue of Choice Seeds and Plants. 
W. Drummond & Sons, Ltd. 58, Dawson Street, 
Dublin.—Drummond’s Garden Seed Catalogue. 
W. P. Laird & Sinclair, Dundee and Cupar- 
Fife.—List of Garden Seeds for 1899. 
W. Atlee, Burpee & Co., Philadelphia, U.S.A. 
—Burpee's Farm Annual, 1899. 
Vilmorin-Andrieux & Cie., 4, Quai de la Megis- 
serie, Paris.—General Catalogue of Seeds, Straw¬ 
berries, Bulbs, &c. 
Benjamin Soddy, 243, Walworth Road, London, 
S.E.—Soddy’s Seed Catalogue. 
Alexander Cross & Sons, 19, Hope Street, Glas¬ 
gow.—Cross’s Selected Garden Seeds. 
John T. Gilbert, Anemone Nurseries, Dyke 
Bourne, Lincolnshire.—Seed List. 
