May 13, 1899. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
583 
A New Insectivorous plant.—The editor of Indian 
Gardening is of the opinion that Aristolochia gigas 
Sturtevanti is an insect-eating plant, in the same 
manner as Nepenthes, Dionaea, Drosera, Utricularia, 
etc. No doubt flies and other insects are trapped 
and retained for purposes of fertilisation, but it is 
exceedingly doubtful that the bodies are dissolved 
and absorbed by the plant. Although the form 
Sturtevanti has been flowered in this country, no 
such propensity has been observed. The matter 
evidently required further observation.— M.C.C. 
Noble Park Trees.—In the sweeping park which 
surrounds the mansion of Sir Arthur Halkett, Bart , 
of Pitfirrane, near Durafermline, Fifeshire, there is 
scattered over its breadth some noble and very old 
trees. Many of them are tall and stately ; others 
are stout and spreading, while not a few have long, 
clean, straight boles. Some of the broad-leaved trees 
have recently had their girths measured, and the 
following figures prove that the trees really are 
ancient and noble. Among others, seven Ash trees 
were measured, the largest of which girthed 15 ft. 
5 in.; the smallest girthed 12 ft. 4 in. ; and the 
average girth was 14 ft. Of ten Beech trees, the 
largest was 17 ft.; the smallest, 14 ft. ; and the 
average was 15 ft. 4 in. Of ten Elms, the largest 
girthed 20 ft. 7 in. ; the smallest, 12 ft. 8 in. ; and 
the average of the ten trees, 15 ft. 4 in. Of ten Oak 
trees, tbe largest was 14 ft. 6 in.; the smallest, 12 ft.; 
and the average, 14 ft. Of ten Sycamore trees, the 
largest was 17 ft. 6 in. ; the smallest, 11 ft.; and the 
average, 13 ft. 6 in. A Lime tree girthed 15 ft., and 
a stout-stemmed Willow, 19 ft.; the whole of the 
girths had been measured at 3 ft. from the ground. 
Hares, Rabbits, and the Bark of Trees.—During 
severe weather the bark of tree trunks is very liable 
to be injured by rabbits and hares where these 
rodents are not entirely excluded from the planta¬ 
tions. Many preparations have been devised for 
painting the trees so as to make the bark distasteful 
to these animals, and secure immunity for the trees. 
One preparation consists of clay, lime, and cow 
dung mixed together in water till of the consistency 
of paint. To each pailful of this mixture a wine- 
glassful of spirits of tar is added, and the whole well 
stirred together. Another mixture consists of two 
parts of cow dung to one part of quicklime, which 
are stirred together with soap-suds, in which ahand- 
ful of flowers of sulphur has been mixed, and a 
handful of quassia chips steeped for some hours. A 
third mixture consists of the last-named with two 
spoonsful of assafoetida to a pailful of the mixture, 
instead of the sulphur and quassia. The stems of 
valuable trees should be painted with one or other 
of the above mixtures from the base up to a height 
beyond which the vermin cannot reach. 
Lavish Decorations.—AmoDg wealthy circles rivalry, 
so far as spending sums of money is concerned, 
often becomes a craze. One wealthy individual, 
thinking to create sensation or win the encomiums 
of his neighbours, when about to give a ball, 
surrendered his house to a bevy of florists for three 
days. They had the liberty to do what they liked, 
and employ as much material as they choose. We 
do not know the cost, but certainly it would not be 
small. A noble marquis ordered one of his ball¬ 
rooms to be patterned after the manner of the 
Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Six tons of Ivy were 
used. Mr. Gerard Leigh spent £500 on one enter¬ 
tainment,while £3,000 was expended by a lady in the 
same way. In gratitude at the recovery after the 
illness of the Prince of Wales, £2,000 was spent in 
decorating St. Paul's Cathedral at the thanksgiving 
ceremony. As many as T2,ooo pure white Roses 
have been employed in one decoration. In 1887, at 
the Jubilee of our Queen, in her triumphal advance 
through London, she was presented with a bouquet 
of Orchids seven feet high,said to be valued at £1,200. 
There were as many as 50,000 flowers in its com¬ 
position. At the Diamond Jubilee, 1897, she received 
a basket of Orchids quite as valuable. Lavish floral 
decorations were arranged at the Foreign Office 
reception. Twenty-thousand Roses were decked 
about a house wherein the daughter, named Rose, 
had come of age. Mr„ Vanderbilt, as we know, spent 
£25,000 when his daughter became Duchess of 
Marlborough. In America, too, a lady had the walls 
of her ball room screened with Roses laid close 
enough to cover all. 
Broccoli, to the extent of 557$ tons—or, to give an 
average of five dozen heads in each of 7,427 crates, 
we have the prodigious number of 434,820 heads of 
Broccoli—were all sent in one day from four stations 
in Cornwall—Penzance, St. Erth, St. Ives, and Mar- 
azion. If this is one day’s export—even though 
it was a record—what must the returns of a season 
be? 
" Indian Gardening,” as an example of the mean¬ 
ings attached to specific names, gives the tale of 
Linnaeus and John Browallius. This man defended 
the sexual system of plants against Siegesbeck in a 
book called " Examen epicriseos.” Linnaeus, to 
show his gratitude to humble Browallius, called the 
first introduced species of Browallia after his friend 
—Browallia demissa. When Browallius was pro¬ 
moted to be Bishop of Abo he became greatly con¬ 
ceited, so that when a second species came to 
Europe, Linnaeus termed it Browallia exaltata. 
This caused a rupture in the friendship between the 
two men. Hence the third specific name of “alienata.” 
Calabrian Bergamot. —Many of the principal made- 
up perfumes have as their basis Bergamot, which is 
prepared from the fruit and flowers of Citrus Ber- 
gamia, and the commodity is of such importance that 
a good deal of adulteration has been practised despite 
the great efforts that have been and are being made 
to secure its purity. It is said that the crucial test 
of its purity is the proportion present of a substance 
known as Acetato di liniale. An interesting article in 
the Journal of the Society of Arts calls attention to the 
fact that both essence of lemon and essence of 
orange are frequently used for adulterating the ber¬ 
gamot. This adulteration is far from easy to detect 
except in a well fitted laboratory by a scientific man 
surrounded by all sorts of conveniences. There is 
no rough and ready test such as can be readily 
adopted by a practical man ignorant of the ways of 
science. The export of bergamot from the pro¬ 
vince of Calabria was 380,000 lbs. avoirdupois, in 
1896, and the price was 6s. id. per lb. This is very 
low, however, for the average during the last ten 
years has been 8s. per lb. Essence of lemon fetches 
4s. gd. per lb., and essence of orange about the same, 
so that in years when bergamot commands a fair 
average price there is a good deal of temptation to 
adulterate it with these foreign matters. This 
temptation becomes all the greater when the diffi¬ 
culty of detection is taken into account. 
-- 
RICHARDIAS. 
Among the various and attractive exhibits at tbe 
Royal Horticultural Society’s show in the Drill 
Hall on May 2nd, the group of Richardias exhibited 
by Lord Rothschild, of Tring Park, Tring, were by 
no means the least worthy of note. 
A beautiful specimen of Ricbardia suffusa was 
brought before the Floral Committee, and received 
an Award of Merit. It was a seedling raised by 
Mr. E. Hill, and with it was shown a bloom of R. 
aurita for comparison. R. suffusa was considerably 
larger than the latter (which was evidently a young 
bloom, and of a much paler colour). Comparing the 
two blooms, R. suffusa was a pale yellow largely 
suffused with violet around the inside base of the 
spathe, while R. aurita, though of a more intense 
yellow, had far less of the violet at the base. Though 
not as yet generally used by gardeners, the name 
Richardia has superseded Calla among botanists for 
upwards of seventy years. 
The first of the Richardias to be introduced into 
Europe was the old R. africana, the commonly and 
erroneously so-called Lily of the Nile; so-called in 
error, for, being essentially a Cape plant, it is not 
found within about 1,500 miles of the Nile valleys. 
There is one great difference between R. africana 
and other Richardias, namely, whereas they all have 
perennial tuberous roots, R. africana alone has a 
rhizome, and never dies down naturally. One hears 
of valleys at the Cape being white with these grand 
blooms in the season, and it may be easily imagined 
after seeing the remarkably free manner in which 
they grow in Cornwall. One of the Cornish rivers, 
the Fal, if I am not mistaken, being partially dammed 
up at one part, forms a still deep lagoon, where these 
Arums grow and flourish, and where thousands may 
be seen at a time in full blossom, their dazzling 
beauty being enhanced by the massive green foliage 
of Gunnera scabra growing in luxuriance on the 
banks.— J. Etherington. 
ORCHID NOTES & GLEANINGS 
Cattleya citrina.—This is an interesting and 
beautiful species of Cattleya. It has a delicate per¬ 
fume and a bright rich yellow shade of colour. Its 
style of growth is well known, for once the pendent. 
Tulip-like flowers, the pale foliage, and pseudo-bulbs 
clinging to the rafts have been seen.no one forgets it. 
We saw a fine lot in a recent nursery visit, and have 
flowered it ourselves previously. It is shy with some 
growers, probably for lack of some item of culture of 
its exacting nature. It need not have much about its 
roots, nice fresh sphagnum suiting it; and neither 
much moisture nor heat are necessary We grew it 
very well in an Adiantum house, whose temperature 
was generally between 63° and 70° Fahr., generally 
midway. Dewing was only slightly giveD, and 
atmospheric moisture to only a limited degree. The 
house was more or less shaded, but the plants were 
near to the glass, being within a foot. After flower¬ 
ing allow it a rest, and then, when in growth, attend 
to the developing of as large and as sound pseudo¬ 
bulbs as possible.— D. H. J. 
NOTES FROM SALISBURY. 
Things outside are generally backward this season. 
The nights are cold and we have had few really 
growing days, consequently Peach trees are becoming* 
dirty on tbe walls outside. The crops, both of 
Peaches and Apricots, will be light, the severe 
frosts six weeks ago having crippled the bloom, 
together with dropping of the buds caused by 
drought and redspider last summer. Pears are 
showing well, and if frosts do not injure them there 
should be a good crop. Plums and Cherries, too, 
promise well, but, of course, much depends on the 
trees being kept clean. GreeD vegetables have been 
somewhat scarce for some time, more so than they 
should have been after the supplies of water we 
applied last summer, for we have water taken to all 
handy points. 
We shall have to abandon the use of the besom 
more in favour of the hose and Dutch hoe. The 
former is a very necessary article in any garden, but 
its effects are not apparent the following spring after 
a dry summer, as is the use of the latter two 
articles. Our earliest Vines are very good, and the 
late house is coming into flower. Melons will soon 
commence to colour and are a very fair lot. Earl’s 
Favourite is our best variety. We shall have a nice 
lot of Pines in a few weeks. They were a 
particularly good lot of plants in the autumn. We 
are awfully busy.— F. G. D. 
-———_ 
GROWING EARLY POTATOS IN POTS. 
In many places these are in demand, and there are 
not a few amateurs who envy a dish of early 
Potatos. It is not everyone who has facilities for 
growing these in pits and frames very early; and in 
many large gardens the accommodation is by no 
means good for obtaining these. Consequently, 
every sort of contrivance has to be resorted to. 
In our garden we have no convenience for grow¬ 
ing these in pits and frames. During the last ten 
years I have grown Potatos in pots for our earliest 
supply. 
There are those who think it is not a profitable 
way of obtaining such crops. I do not find this so, 
but quite the opposite. 
Our custom is to grow a batch in two dozen pots. 
We use either 6 in or 9 in. pots, as we may have 
them. This year these were filled and planted on 
January 4th, when they were placed in a dark place 
on a stage in a vinery, where the temperature is 
about 50° at night and 55 0 by day. When they are 
well above the ground they are removed to a vinery 
that has been pruned and cleaned, and keep about 
45° by night and 5® higher by day, or a little more 
on fine days. 
As growth advances we put a few sticks to them 
and a piece of matting to keep the growth erect, 
giving them all the light possible, assisting them 
with manure water, when the growth is well nigh 
finished. This year we were able to get nice sized 
tubers on March 25th. Some of them were ij oz. 
each. Out of a pot the average is from 1 lb. to 
ij lb. The kind I prefer is Sharps's Victor. — 
J. C. F.A., Chard. 
