October 31, 1896. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
133 
China Asters grown for Seed last summer upon the 
Continent and in Britain, were much injured by the 
wet weather during the flowering and maturing 
period. The prices for seed are expected to range 
higher than they were last year. 
The Dwarf Pomegranate—In Paris and other 
parts of France, fine effects are produced by the 
cultivation of Punica Granatum nanum in the form 
of dwarf standards. A bush of this dwarf type about 
ij ft. or 2ft. high has been flowering for a long time 
past against the wall of the Victoria house at Kew. 
Both calyx and corolla are scarlet. It flowers more 
freely than the type and should be added to every 
collection in the southern counties at least. 
A triad of manures.—After taking note of the 
various elements of plants food, that are absolutely 
essential to plant life, we find that only three are as 
a rule difficult to procure by plants. These are 
nitrogen, phosporous, and potash. Most soils con¬ 
tain the rest in abundance, so that in supplying 
fertilisers to the soil, it is sufficient to procure or 
secure and utilise the three in suitable proportions 
for each class of plants in order to insure a good 
harvest, provided all other thiDgs are equal. 
National Chrysanthemum Society.—The meeting of 
the Foral Committee of the above society which was 
held at the Aquarium on October 21st was rather a 
smaller one than we anticipated. The members of the 
committee evidently expected to see a good deal of 
material laid before them for they turned up in 
strong force. Flowers were sent by Messrs. 
Godfrey, Jones, Owen, Pearson, and Wells among the 
English growers, whilst M. Calvat ably represented 
the French cultivators. For particulars of the 
varieties certificated see another column. 
Invading Army of Plants.—T. Kirk, F.L.S., gave 
an interesting paper on ‘‘ The Displacement of Species 
in New Zealand," in the Journal of Botany for August. 
He says that out of 103 species of plants introduced 
from Buenos Ayres with ballast, eighty-six of them 
are already naturalised. Nor is this all ; the invading 
army of plants brings in its train a more dangerous 
host of animals, such as the mussel scale, black scale, 
and numerous forms of plant lice. Higher in the 
scale of development come the wireworm, Turnip 
fly, Hessian fly, earthworms, molluscs, birds, and 
even mammals, which affect both the native flora aod 
fauna. 
Fruit and Honey on Railway Embankments-—Some 
ingenious calculator makes out that fifteen beehives 
per mile on railway embankments, at a rate of one 
pound of honey per day, in a length of 500 miles 
would furnish £7,500 worth of honey annually. We 
hope he has calculated the initial, cost of hives and 
the expense of the attention necessary over such an 
extensive area. If we were to admit the feasibility 
of such a project, what about the thousands of tons 
of fruit that might be grown upon the railway 
embankments according to the same calculator ? 
Fruit requires good soil to bring it to a reasonable 
degree of perfection. What kind of fruit could be 
expected from sandy and relatively sterile banks ? 
The Irish Fruit Industry,—Information, the want of 
which has long been felt, is now forthcoming upon 
this important subject as the result of the recent 
report of the Recess Committee. Over 3,000 tons of 
fruit are reported to have been railed from Richhill, 
up to the half of the season, and it is stated that 
£1,500 has been received by the railway company 
for freightage of this. A similar amount has also 
probably been despatched from Annaghmore, and 
from Portadown, Armagh, Trew, and Moy, hundreds 
of tons of Strawberries have been sent. If we take 
the average value of the fruit at £3 per ton, it will be 
seen that the railway company is receiving for 
carriage £17, for every £100 worth of fruit carried. 
This bears heavily on many of the farmers who 
prefer to cart their produce for upwards of thirty 
miles rather than pay the rates charged. The 
Apples this year are of excellent quality, and much 
superior to any American produce, and it seems a 
great pity that so promising an industry should 
receive so little encouragement and support. There 
is a tendency of late years to renovate the Orchards, 
and if only the railway authorities would meet the 
producer half way, it would be considerably better 
for all concerned. 
The Egyptian Onion has a thick neck like a 
Leek, and is propagated by offsets and top sets. It 
is so hardy that it can be planted out in autumn and 
pulled up for use in April and May. 
The Newcastle-on-Tyne Chrysanthemum Show will 
be held in the Town Hall and Corn Exchange on 
Wednesday and Thursday, November 18th and 19th. 
The last show held was a very great success, and, in 
the opinion of the judges, one of the finest in 
England. The committee have engaged some 
powerful musical attractions with a view to attract¬ 
ing large numbers of visitors. As- usual, the com¬ 
mittee will offer every facility to exhibitors from a 
distance who wish to set up stands not for competi¬ 
tion. 
Exterminating Butterflies —" Nature Notes’’ for 
October appeals to the collectors of rare butterflies 
not to catch a single specimen more than they want 
for their collections. This advice may be taken by 
the amateur who merely collects to supply his own 
needs, but the professional naturalist and those who 
supply him with specimens, will continue their 
obnoxious practices in collecting all they can for 
sale, just as the plant collector does. Injurious 
moths and butterflies continue to be plentiful not¬ 
withstanding the war against them in garden, field, 
and orchard. 
Abolition of the Paddy-tax and its Effects—The 
tax on Paddy was abolished in Ceylon in 1892 ; and 
since then the crops have not been so good. There 
is a prevalent and widespread opinion amongst the 
cultivators that the deficiency of the crop is owing to 
the Government not collecting their share. The 
natives attribute the poor crops to the fact that the 
" blessed ” or "fortunate shareholder," that is, the 
Crown, has nothing to do at present with Paddy 
cultivation. The fields continue to be carefully culti¬ 
vated as formerly, but with different results, and the 
above opinion is not mere whim or sentiment, but is 
the deliberate and candid opinion of the intelligent 
and thoughtful masses of field-owners. 
Insects and Colour.—M. Plateau, of the Belgian 
Academy, has been making some experiments with 
insects and Dahlias in order to learn whether or not 
the former are attracted by fine colours. In a large 
bed of single Dahlias he covered up the rays of some 
and the discs of other blooms, yet bees and butter¬ 
flies sought these as eagerly as the uncovered 
flowers, pushing their way under the coverings in 
order to get at the small florets of the disc. M. 
Plateau concludes that they are guided by their 
sense of smell rather than sight. We think, how¬ 
ever, that the professor might have allowed some¬ 
thing for the intelligence of the insects, knowing as 
they must have done, that they were in a bed of 
Dahlias, and that the disc flowers have a certain 
amount of colour, and could easily be recognised at 
a short distance. The uncovered rays would also 
point to the presence of food for the insects. 
Smoking Concert in connection with the N C S. 
Jubilee Fund.—The entertainment arranged to take 
place at Anderton’s Hotel on the 29th inst., received 
a large measure of support, not only inside horticul¬ 
tural circles, but also outside help from many of those 
who, whilst ardent admirers of the Chrysanthemum, 
yet may not necessarily belong to any society devoted 
to its culture, We understand the promoters had 
received on all sides excellent promises of support 
in their programme. No less than twelve profes¬ 
sional gentlemen besides a large number of amateurs 
placed their musical abilities at the disposal of the 
stewards. By permission of the Earl of Denbigh and 
officers, a detachment of the band of the Hon. 
Artillery Company assisted, under the direction of 
Mr. Edward Walker, and the management were also 
extremely indebted to the kindness of Mr. A. C. 
Clemow, the proprietor of Anderton’s Hotel, for the 
use of the handsome and commodious Pillar Dining 
Hall for the purpose of the concert. If, as we anti¬ 
cipate, the function will have passed off with the entire 
success it thoroughly deserves we shall hope to hear 
of a satisfactory addition to the Jubilee Funds. 
Arrangements were made through the kindness of 
Messrs. Wm. Cutbush & Son, Messrs. B. S. Williams 
& Son, Mr. H. J. Jones, Mr. D. Ingamells, Mr. W. 
H. Lees, and Mr. Edwin Molyneux, for each visitor 
to be presented with a buttonhole consisting of a 
Chrysanthemum. As will have been gathered from 
our advertisement columns the address of the hon. 
secretaries and treasurers is 290, Dashwood House, 
E.C. 
A dark Lilac-red Variety of Saintpaulia ionantha is 
one of the most recent novelties for which we may 
look presently. It is said to come quite true from 
seed. 
A Correspondent writing from Stockport, Cheshire, 
tells us that what is needed, there is a fortnight’s 
good sunshine to bring the ’Mums up to show form. 
Owing to the protracted wet weather and lack of 
sunshine, the blooms in that district are very much 
later than usual. 
Rotation of Crops.—As years roll on we get more 
and more evidence of the mischief of growing the 
same class of plants year after year upon the same 
soil. We have recently had evidence of this in the 
case of Potatos, Cabbages, Cauliflowers, Pansies, 
Violas, Tulips, Sweet Peas, and a host of others too 
numerous to mention. Chinese Asters may, how¬ 
ever, be added to the list. 
We understand that Mr. Edwin Molyneux, the well- 
known expert, has accepted the invitation of the 
Ipswich and East of England Horticultural Society 
to judge.the Chrysanthemum classes at their show 
on Nov. nth and 12th, there are, we observe, several 
good prizes in the society’s schedule, one of which 
consists of a cup, and added money that should 
tempt some of our more noted grower's to try issues 
with the cultivators of the Chrysanthemum in this 
progressive East Coast town. 
‘‘They gang in stirks and come out asses."—In 
quoting Robert Burns anent the students of colleges, 
the Florists' Exchange says that this notion of Burns 
“ is fast being dispelled, and rightly so,” by the 
grand work that is being doneia connection with the 
agricultural colleges and other institutions in the 
United States. Britain had better not be behind in 
progressive work of a similar nature. Amongst the 
schools of America, the Missouri Botanical Garden, 
at St. Louis, Mo. takes, probably, the leading place. 
Bees in a London Garden.—A contemporary 
speaks of the wonderful instinct of bees in finding 
their way to a small garden in the north-west part 
of London, not four miles from Charing Cross. 
Bees had been visiting the Michaelmas Daisies in 
this garden. We believe that wherever an open 
space in London permits of the cultivation of honey¬ 
bearing flowers, bees will find their way there. Only 
a few weeks a Cabbage Butterfly was seen in Fleet 
Street, probably prospecting for a Cabbage garden, 
there to lay her eggs. 
Wasps, Flies, and Caterpillars.—Mr. Edward Step, 
of Portscatho, Cornwall, gives in the Daily Chronicle 
a record of his observations concerning the carni¬ 
vorous propensities of wasps. The latter, according 
to this observer, caused a scarcity of flies in a certain 
locality, by hunting low down and catching the 
flies restitig on some carpets, and not otherwise 
readily observable by the eye. The wasps were 
seen to pounce upon the flies and bear them away, 
lopping off the wings and legs as they flew. The 
thousands of grubs, the writer continues, that are 
reared in a fair-sized wasps' nest, are fed entirely 
upon insects captured in this way. On the contrary, 
it is only the perfect wasps, that for a short period 
previous to the close of their lives, develop a taste for 
ripe Plums. The infinitesimal damage they do is 
not to be considered, when we remember the good 
they do in keeping the plagues of caterpillars in fruit 
orchards in check. Mr. Step thinks that some day, 
perhaps, fruit growers will give a little more attention 
to the study of economic entomology. 
-—- 
NOVELTIES OF ’96. 
Amongst the floral novelties of 1896 that very much 
boomed dwarf Sweet Pea "Cupid" appeared, and 
with me was very far from being a success, and my 
experience seems to coincide with that of several 
other growers. According to a contemporary whose 
columns have lately been open to a discussion 
concerning this new Pea, it has been a decided 
failure, inasmuch as its peduncles are too short for 
decorative work, and what is worse, just as its 
blooms begin to open, they unaccountably drop (a 
most uncommon occurrence with Sweet Peas 
generally). I bought several packets last year and 
