March 20, 1897. 
fHE GARDENING WORLD. 
453 
The Elm is reputed to live for 335 years under 
favourable conditions. 
The word Pansy comes from the French pensee, a 
thought, probably in allusion to the drooping habit 
of the flower as if pensive or thoughtful. 
To prevent rot in Potatos.—Concerning this evil 
the Irish Farming World says, 11 Throw air-slacked 
lime plentifully over and through them. You need 
not be afraid to use it freely. I have tried it when 
the rot was bad, and it stopped it at once. 
Cost of Insect Pests. —According to the calculations 
of a well-known statistician, insect pests cost the fruit 
growers of the United States $200,000,000 annually, 
whilst entomologists say that 75 per cent, of this loss 
can be prevented by the application of suitable 
insecticides at the right time and in the right way. 
Dr. D. G. Fairchild, the special agent of the U S. 
Department of Agriculture, Division of Vegetable 
Pathology, during a visit to Ceylon, has been spend¬ 
ing some time at the Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya, 
investigating a certain fungus found in the combs of 
Termites. He has also been visiting Java and Aus¬ 
tralia. 
Royal Horticultural Society.—Constant complaints 
having been made to the council to the effect that 
the business of each of the committees has lately 
been disorganised on account of the disregard of the 
society’s rules and regulations, the council hereby 
direct that:—(1) The rule whereby all objects 
presented for certificate must be entered with the 
clerks at the table before 11.30 a.m. be in future 
rigidly enforced, and that (2) all such objects must 
be placed on the special table provided for plants for 
certificates. After the plants have been presented to 
the committee they can, if the exhibitors wish it, be 
incorporated in their groups. 
The American Horticultural Society. —Under this 
title a National Society has been formed, having for 
its object the affiliation of all existing American 
horticultural clubs and societies under one governing 
head. There are several items mentioned in the 
constitution of the society with this ambitious 
scheme that are in the highest degree commendable. 
They are :—The holding of an annual exhibition by 
the society ; the helping of auxiliary societies in the 
matter of essayists and lecturers ; and the keeping of 
a bureau of registration and information. The 
latter feature, we take it, is especially intended to aid 
gardeners in securing situations, and employers in 
finding gardeners to suit them. 
Shirley Gardeners’ Mutual Improvement Association. 
—The annual general meeting was held at the Parish 
Room, Shirley, Southampton, on the 15th inst., 
when the chair was occupied by vice-president, W. 
F. Mayos, Esq , in the unavoidable absence of the 
president. The annual report and statement of 
accounts were read, the report showing that there 
are 140 members, that thirteen meetings were held 
during the year, and the attendance averaged forty- 
two. The accounts, showed a balance of in 
favour of the society, there being some outstanding 
subscriptions, however, which might still come in. 
The election of officers and committee resulted in 
the re-election of the president, W. F. G. Spranger, 
Esq., C.C., and an enlarged committee of fifteen 
instead of nine as formerly. Votes of thanks were 
most heartily accorded to the president, and also the 
Press, both local and horticultural, for the valued 
reports of the meetings, which they have from time 
to time given in their papers. Mr. A. Dean, 
lecturer in horticulture to the Surrey C. C. gave a 
brief but telling address on " Horticultural Progress 
during the Victorian Era,” during which he drew, 
attention to a few of the splendid horticultural busi¬ 
nesses which have sprung up and flourished during 
Her Majesty’s reign, as proof of the advances made; 
also to improved methods of building and heating 
horticultural structures. Gardeners’ associations 
which have sprung up all over the land, he thought 
to be good institutions, tending to an interchange of 
practice and views amongst gardeners and amateurs. 
A hearty vote of thanks was accorded to Mr. Dean, 
for his admirable address, and an hour was ihen 
spent with music, songs, and recitations, kindly given 
by some of the members of the association, who were 
most warmly received by the meeting, and a vote of 
thanks to the performers and the chair, ended a 
pleasant evening. There was a good exhibition of 
miscellaneous plants by the members. 
Addington Park, the so-called white elephant of the 
see of Canterbury, is to be sold and the proceeds 
devoted to practical uses for the Primate and the 
church. 
The Carnation is often supposed to come from the 
Latin word caro, flesh, in allusion to the colour; but 
old writers speak of it as the coronation flower, 
which would refer to its use rather than its colour. 
Mr. Dodwell’s Carnations.—We learn that Mr. 
Arthur Medhurst, the relative who succeeded the late 
Mr. E. S. Dodwell, at the Cottage, Stanley Road, 
Oxford, is about to leave the city; and the plants 
etc., are to be sold by auction on the premises, on 
the 25th inst. The many horticultural notabilities 
now living who have met, and conversed with, the 
noted Carnation specialist in his grounds, will now 
have the opportunity of paying a last visit there. 
Syndical Chamber of Belgian Horticulturists.—At 
the monthly meeting of this society in the Casino, 
Ghent, on the 7th inst., Certificates of Merit were 
accorded as follows :—To Clivia Mme. Gustave de 
Cock, presented by M. Gustave de Cock ; to a hybrid 
between Cypripedium villosum and C. Stonei, shown 
by M. Poelman-MaenhOut ; to Vriesia leodiense 
Closoni, shown by the last named exhibitor ; to 
Azalea Mme. J. Baumann, staged by M. J. 
Baumann ; to Dendrobium Hildebrandti, shown by 
M. A. Dalliere ; to a collection of Anthurium, with 
spotted flowers, presented by the Ghent Horticult¬ 
ural Society ; to Tillandsia Lindeni vera, shown by 
M. J. de Cock ; to Miltoniopsis bleuana rosea, a 
group of new Odontoglossums, and Odontoglossum 
bystrix var., all shown by M. Jules Hye ; and to 
Paodanus pacificus, presented by M. A. Rigouts. 
Other awards were made for culture and flowering, 
&c. 
National Carnation aud Picotee Society (Southern 
Section).—The twentieth annual report for the year 
1896 shows that the society is not only maintaining its 
position in public favour, but making rapid advances. 
There has been an accession of eighty new members 
during the past year raising the total number to 300. 
The exhibition held at the Crystal Palace on July 
22nd proved too late for the southern exhibitors. 
The unusual heat and drought of the summer 
brought the flowers on too rapidly with the result 
that many of the growers had nothing of importance 
left to show, so that quantity and quality were 
deficient as compared with the exhibition of 1895. 
The Midland and northern growers partly redeemed 
the show from being a failure, and helped to manifest 
the great advance that had been made in the self, 
fancy and yellow ground sections of Picotees. 
Groups of Carnations in pots were a feature, and 
table decorations were better and in excess of those 
of 1895. The prize list for 1897 has again been 
somewhat enlarged, and a feature is to be made of 
undressed flowers in the hope that they will prove 
attractive to amateurs. They are to be shown 
with a sprig of foliage only. The thanks of the 
society are also due to the president, Martin R. 
Smith, Esq., for the prizes given by him for flowers 
grown in the open border. The experience of the 
past year shows that the date of future exhibitions 
must be left open until it can be seen whether the 
season is to be early or late. This matter will be settled 
at a meeting to be held early in June. This year's 
exhibition will be held in the gardens of the Royal 
Botanic Society, Regent’s Park. Mr. T. E. Hen- 
wood, the hon. treasurer, consents to act as interim 
hon. secretary in place of Mr. J. Douglas, resigned, 
after nearly twenty-one year’s service. The balance 
in hand from 1895 was £ l 9b J 9 S - I Jd., but after 
paying all expenses last year, the balance in hand of 
the treasurer is ^238 is. 3d. The society may there¬ 
fore be considered very prosperous. 
-- 
(meanings fttom ff^ SDorlb 
nf Scumcti. 
Nitragin and Nitrogen.—As recorded in this 
column some weeks ago, it may be remembered that 
nitragin was the name proposed by Professor 
Nobbes to include the various species of bacteria 
which are found in the nodules of the roots of 
various leguminous plants, and which are the special 
agents concerned in the fixing of the free nitrogen 
of the atmosphere. It has been proved by various 
experimenters that leguminous crops leave the soil 
richer in nitrogen than it was previous to the sowing 
or planting of such crops. Advantage might well be 
taken of crops of Peas, Beans, Dwarf Beans, 
Scarlet Runners, and other species belonging to the 
same family for enriching certain portions of the 
garden to be sown or planted with subjects that 
require a good supply of nitrogen and have difficulty 
in collecting it for themselves. Independently of 
these valuable properties of leguminous plants, the 
seeds are rich in nutritive ingredients for man ; and 
in the case of field crops the stems and foliage con¬ 
stitute valuable fodder for cattle, horses, and sheep. 
Artificial Cultures of Nitragin. — For some 
time past Professor Nobbes has been experimenting 
with pure cultures of nitragin, which is confidently 
expected by many to be turned to practical use in 
the near future. Not every soil contains these nitri¬ 
fying bacteria in sufficient quantity to ensure good 
crops of leguminous plants. The object of these 
experiments, therefore, is to ascertain whether 
cultures of nitragin can be produced in sufficient 
quantity and cheaply enough to pay for the sowing 
or seeding of fields to increase their fertility. If 
this can be accomplished on farm land, no doubt it 
would be found equally efficient in gardens, and 
probably fully as practicable. If this hope is 
realised, nitragin will prove less bulky by far, and 
more portable than any of the fertilisers yet in use. 
Though nitragin cannot be classed as a manure, 
seeing that it consists merely of various species of 
bacteria, yet in connection with the roots of members 
of the Pea family it is a fertiliser of the first import¬ 
ance, by fixing the free nitrogen of that inexhaustible 
source, the atmosphere, and storing it up in the 
surface soil. 
A Strange Nut to Crack.—Master John Stog- 
don having recently returned from his trip to South 
Africa, picked up a strange nut the other day while 
rambling through a Hazel copse at Bellaggio, Surrey. 
It consists of six nuts completely amalgamated into 
one, slightly flattened piece, like a ribbed Tomato of 
small size. The line of union between every two 
nuts is perfectly visible throughout the whole of the 
exposed surface. As seen both at the base and apex 
there are three nuts belonging to an inner whorl 
and joined to one another in a triangular fashion, 
while the other three occupy the spaces between the 
angles. The nuts must have grown together in this 
fashion from their earliest stages in the bud, and 
have never been able to get liberated afterwards. 
-- 
LACHENALIAS AS BASKET PLANTS. 
Amongst the many grand examples of cultivation in 
the Nash Court Gardens, Faversham, Kent, are 
baskets of the above. L. pendula is the species used. 
Baskets 2 ft. in diameter, well covered with fine ro¬ 
bust foliage and fine spikes of flowers make the most 
graceful display of aerial vegetation imaginable. 
The leaves hanging down, and the flower spikes turn¬ 
ing upwards, render them most suitable for suspend¬ 
ed baskets for conservatory decoration. 
There is in addition to these, just now, a grand 
display of florist and other flowers in the conserva¬ 
tory ; many fine Camellias are flowering freely; 
huge specimens of Imantophyllum miniatum with a 
dozen or so of enormous trusses of orange-scarlet 
flowers are very showy. A grand lot of well-grown 
Cinerarias of Sutton's Prize strain, throwing large 
heads of gigantic, well-shaped flowers of fine form 
and substance, are really superb. Amongst the 
strains of Primulas, Reading Giant, in its varied and 
distinct colours is most attractive ; the Star Primula 
is extensively grown, and is found to be most lasting, 
as well as very graceful for decorative work. These 
combined with various bulbs, such as Hyacinths, 
Tulips, Narcissus, Freesias, Lily of the Valley, 
Spiraeas, Lilacs, Azalea mollis, and A. indica, which 
are grown extensively, make a fine display. 
In the stoves is a grand collection of various 
foliage and flowering plants suitable for decorative 
work. Some good Orchids are also in the collection. 
Cymbidium eburneum with about two dozen flowers 
was most attractive; also several good Cypripediums 
and Vandas were flowering freely. The grand 
fernery, which was built and planted by Mr. George 
Humphreys, the present gardener, some years ago, 
has got quite a natural appearance, and is again 
