394 
February 18, 1899. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
The stove was devoted to a great variety of sub¬ 
jects such as Begonia Gloire de Sceaux, Poinsettias, 
Eranthemum nervosum, Clerodendron balfourianum, 
and Gloxinia maculata in the way of flowering plants ; 
while foliage plants included such things as Crotons, 
Dracaenas, Palms, Pandanus, Nepenthes ampullacea, 
N. Stewartii, and N. coccinea, bearing numerous 
pitchers. 
Large specimens of Dendrobium nobile were com¬ 
ing into bloom in the early vinery, occupied with 
Black Hamburgh, and closed on the December ist 
last for forcing. In another part of the range the 
late vinery contained seven rods of Lady Downes 
and six of Alicante, all carrying a crop of finely- 
coloured Grapes. 
At either end of the range, outside, are walls covered 
with choice climbers, such as Jasminum nudiflorum, 
Solanum jasminoides, Magnolia fuscata, full of 
flower buds, the Macartney Rose, 15 ft. by 18 ft., 
Salvia Grahami, 10 ft. high, and Chimonanthus 
fragrans grandiflorus, the two latter being in bloom. 
Some of these speak well for the temperate climate 
of Devon. On the grass in front of the range are 
grand specimens of the Pampas Grass, and several 
Bamboos, including Arundinaria japonica, Phyllo- 
stachys nigra, and P. aurea. Some of these things 
may be made out in the photograph. Magnolia 
grandiflora was still flowering, and in grand condi¬ 
tion. Going towards the American garden we 
passed a huge bush or tree of the Himalayan 
Rhododendron arboreum, large bushes of Camellias 
full of buds, and the rocky Fern garden with its 
museum of foreign shells, and fountains playing. 
Bamboos and Pampas Grass are very conspicuous in 
the American garden, as are Phormium tenax varie- 
gata, Irish Yews, and Cupressus sempervirens stricta, 
the upright form of the evergreen Cypress. On our 
way to the Orangery we passed some huge and aged 
specimens of Beech, Oak, and Sweet Chestnut, 
showing how well they grow in Devon. 
(To be continued.) 
-- 
THE MISTLETO, 
And Trees on which it has been found. 
The following interesting paper was read the other 
week at St. Alphige Vicarage, Greenwich, by Mr. A. 
D. Webster, superintendent of Greenwich Park 
"The Mistleto (Viscum album) is the largest and 
most aspiring of our native parasites, and is by many 
considered as the only true parasitical plant indigen¬ 
ous to Britain,as at no time does it receive any nourish¬ 
ment from the soil like the Dodders and Broomrapes. 
It is an evergreen bush from two feet to sometimes 
as much as five feet in diameter, with dichotomous 
shoots and pairs of light green, entire, fleshy leaves. 
The flowers are small and inconspicuous, being of a 
greenish yellow colour, unisexual, and appear usually 
about April or May. In the female flower, there 
are simply four greenish yellow points surrounding 
a viscid stigma, while the male is a four cleft cup of 
pollen. 
“ The berries, which are succulent, one-seeded 
and one-selled, resemble tiny pearls, and are borne 
in great abundance during winter. 
" The Mistleto is rather difficult, at least, in cer¬ 
tain situations, to propagate, which is most readily 
performed by rubbmg the berries on the smooth 
surface of the bark in spring, the glutinous matter of 
the fruit aiding in attaching it, and tying a small piece 
of matting or other material over as a preservative 
against birds and insects, both of which are dread 
enemies to the young plant. It is, however, a curious 
act that nine out of every ten persons who ask how 
it is done will volunteer the supposition that either 
the berry is deposited in a crevice of the bark or 
that a slit of sufficient size for its reception is made 
with a knife. 
“ Not only are such methods of propagation detri¬ 
mental to the germination of the seeds, but there is 
nothing in Nature that suggests such a plan, for no 
knowing bird or beetle either places the seed in a 
crevice of the bark or constructs holes for the 
reception of the Mistleto berries. Although the 
berries will start growth almost anywhere—on a 
brick, slate, a gatepost, or the walls of a house, yet 
they cannot and will not thrive on such, no more 
than on the old and rugged bark where mosses and 
lichens find a home, the young, clean, and vital bark 
of the branch alone affording the medium necessary 
for the plant’s growth and perfect development. 
" After being placed on the bark, the triangular¬ 
shaped seed is not long in germinating, the radicles, 
for there are usually a pair, being emitted from two 
of the angles, and which from their peculiar shape I 
can compare to nothing so well as the horns of a 
snail. Those proboscis-like radicles are at first erect, 
but after having attained sufficient length they 
gradually and gracefully bend over in arch form, and 
lay hold of the bark by the sucker-like mouths. In 
a few days after this, the point of the radicle swells 
considerably, and a firm union between it and the 
bark takes place, this beiDg all that is visible for the 
first year. During the second year, no indication of 
the growth of the plant is observed, unless it be that 
the body of the seed becomes absorbed and the 
radicle disunited from it, while a small knot or 
swelling caused by the progress of the roots of the 
young plant amongst the fibres of the wood is a sure 
sign that propagation is a success. Not till the 
third year do leaves appear, and then only a tiny 
pair, and these seem to spring directly from the roots 
at the base of the radicle, and never from the 
radicle itself, which by this time has withered 
away. After the third year, the growth is rapid, 
usually several shoots being sent out from the 
base of the stem, although it is not till the sixth year 
that the sexes of the plants can, with any accuracy, 
be determined. 
" In fifteen years a plant of the Misleto, with the 
Apple as its foster parent, will have attained to two 
feet in diameter, and this I think is about the average 
rate of growth. Propagation of the Misleto should 
not be taken in band before the end of February or 
beginning of March, as by that time the berries are 
fully matured—a point of much importance for their 
successful germination. On two occasions my 
attention has been directed to the apparently spont¬ 
aneous growth of young Mistleto plants on trees 
from which old specimens had been removed. In the 
first case, which interested me much, an unusually 
large plant of the Mistleto was broken from off an 
Apple tree during a severe storm. During the 
following season no less than three young plants 
appeared on various parts of the tree and where they 
had not been noticed before, and the plants appeared 
much stronger than any I had seen produced from 
seed. To me they appeared to be produced by the 
rootlets of the old plant, as is the case with not a few 
of our shrubs and trees. 
" Without destroying the Apple tree investigation 
so as to prove out the case, was quite out of the 
question. In another instance a friend writes to say 
that once the Mistleto becomes established it is a 
matter of great difficulty to erradicate it. One old 
Apple tree, on which it was placed twenty-six years 
ago, though cut off at different times, still continues 
to produce young plants in an apparently spontaneous 
manner. 
" It will be noticed that during the summer the 
Mistleto has a bare, straggling, appearance which 
is caused by the " fall of the leaf,” these, the old 
foliage, without any apparent sereness or the least 
trace of decline, falling suddenly off, and leaving but 
a pair—those last produced at the extremity of each 
shoot. 
--t*- 
CAN IVY LIVE AFTER THE STEM 
IS CUT? 
Mr. Lockwood apparently does not understand the 
position I have taken up. The only idea that 
prompted me to join in the controversy was that of 
getting at the bottom of the whole matter. Up to 
the present time, as I pointed out on p. 364, a great 
mass of evidence has gone to prove that Ivy does not 
live after its stems are completely severed, and the 
obvious deduction is that it cannot. 
Now when an instance is brought which 
apparently contradicts this opinion, we are bound to 
submit this instance to very close scrutiny. It is 
true I italicised some parts of Mr. Lockwood's article, 
but I do not think he can rightly claim I have 
thereby done him an injustice. Certain terms were 
used by him to describe one idea, and these being 
contradictory the one to the other, it was necessary 
that the lack of logic should be demonstrated. 
Mr. Lockwood is very kind to point out a " back 
door," but the pointing out is a little previous on his 
part. Nobody wants a "back door” in this case, 
and most certainly if it can be proved that the Ivy 
can live after the stem is cut (through), why then I 
shall be perfectly willing to admit that the opinion I, 
in common with so many others, have hitherto held ( 
is erroneous. Surely this is fair enough ? 
I might point out to Mr. Lockwood, however, that 
reiteration of a statement is not proof, and that to 
attempt to support a contention by asking " how 
could it be otherwise ? ” is rather weak. 
On p. 364 1 asked if all the stems of the plant were 
quite cut through, but this has not been answered ; 
and until it is the discussion can go no farther. 
Once it is answered, then will be the time for me to 
ask Mr. Lockwood for some of the " many examples " 
of which he speaks on p. 348 .—Fiat Justitia. 
GREENHOUSE FLOWERS AT KEW. 
I am greatly surprised that “ Sigma,” p. 365, is 
unable to procure such plants as he mentions. 
Surely any good nurseryman would procure them. 
We, at any rate, can get them. Hibbertia dentata 
I procured last year from Messrs. Veitch, of Chelsea, 
without any trouble; no doubt they would supply 
the others. Saintpaulia ionantha is as easy to grow 
from seed as a Chinese Primula. I have about a 
dozen plants sent me, now about 12 in. across, which 
have flowered continuously since September. Seeds 
were sown in March in a stove, and the plants grown 
in a warm house, shaded all summer. Every good 
nurseryman or seedsman offers the seed now. — A. P. 
This very interesting and popular plant house, 
referred to by " Sigma,” in last week's Gardening 
World, is certainly well worth visiting at any season 
of the year, but more especially, perhaps, in the 
winter months, when the contrast between the out¬ 
side and the inside vegetation is so much more 
sharply defined. I am, like “ Sigma,” a frequent 
visitor to Kew, and I have often wondered why so 
unique and elegant a structure should not have 
received a name more in accordance with its gay 
contents. But, whether it is known as a "green¬ 
house ” or a " conservatory ” matters very little to 
the general public, who do not, as a rule, split many 
hairs over such fine distinctions. Suffice, then, for 
our purpose, that it is the most popular and attractive 
of the numerous plant houses which abound in this 
famous and well managed establishment. No one, I 
suppose, ever goes to Kew without visiting it, for, in 
addition to the usual display of forced flowers, there 
is always something new, rare, choice, or meritorious. 
At the present time the Camellias are much in 
evidence. The Azaleas, too, or as they are here 
called, " Rhododendrons,” are beginning to clothe 
themselves in gorgeous hues, while Magnolia 
conspicua, Eriostemon cuspidatus, Acacia longifolia, 
Andromeda floribunda, Viburnum Tinus, Spiraea 
Van Houttei, and dozens of other things show what 
may be done amongst hardy and half-hardy shrubs 
for conservatory decoration. Chorizema Chandleri, 
a bright and showy little sub-shrub, is now alive with 
racemes of yellow-red flowers; Grevillea thele- 
manniana, one of the most elegant of the genus, has 
drooping, slender branches, with pendulous bright 
red flowers; Peristrophe speciosa, or Justicia 
speciosa, a Salvia-like plant with showy, purplish 
tubes, has already been under observation by 
"Sigma”; Prunus floribunda and its variety, atro- 
purpurea, as well as the double P. japonica, make 
excellent winter-flowering subjects when treated in 
the proper way. Lilacs, also, come in with much 
effect at this season, as do well-grown specimens of 
Citrus aurantium with their globular golden fruits. 
Begonias, likewise, are a sine qua non, the colours of 
their pendant blooms ranging from the purest pink to 
the deepest crimson, B. ascotensis, B. semperflorens, 
and B. coccinea especially being very striking. 
Clivias, or Imantophyllums, are getting gay, while 
some Hippeastrums, which we understand were 
raised at Kew, are perfectly gorgeous in the matter 
of perfume. Freesia refracta alba wants a lot of 
beating, although the Dutch Hyacinths follow close 
behind. Colour and perfume, however, do not 
always go hand-in-hand, as witness the brightly- 
tinted Tulip, the highly-evolved Cineraria—Senecio 
here—or the rich tones of the popular Cyclamen. 
In the latter class of plants, however, of which there 
is a clean, well-grown, and creditable collection, 
there is a variety distinctly perfumed, another pure 
white, and one with fimbriated or feathered segments. 
The leaves, too, are beautifully marbled and as 
variable as the flowers, which are produced in great 
abundance. The varieties of Primula sinensis are 
well done here, as is also P. obconica, the flowers 
