804 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
August 18, 1900. 
time, and the sky blue colour is highly 
attractive. It is eminently suitable for 
naturalising in sandy, gravelly, or dry soil 
on grass in the wild garden. We have 
heard it stated that the Viper’s Bugloss 
(Echium vulgare) does not take to garden 
culture, but that is a mistake, as a well- 
known amateur collected seeds and, sowing 
them, raised some bushy and handsome 
plants. The true Forget-me-not (Myosotis 
palustris) forms lovely patches by the mar¬ 
gins of rivers, streams, and ditches at 
present, and considering that such is its 
native habitat, one wonders that it can be 
grown as readily in merely damp situations 
in gardens. The rare Echium plantagineum 
is not half so lovely a plant as the common 
Bugloss. The great Reed-mace always 
forms a great attraction to the general 
public, and only wet inaccessible places 
and the fact that large clumps produce only 
a few flowering spikes prevent the plant 
from being exterminated. This love for it 
extends all over Britain, wherever it grows. 
Nuphar luteum and Nymphaea alba are 
also much abused plants by the general 
public, especially the last named, but it 
still manages to exist by the waysides 
where there are deep and uninviting pools. 
-- 5 -- 
Weather in London.—Fine summer weather has 
been experienced during this last week in London. 
Occasionally, as on Saturday, August nth, and again 
on Sunday, the days have been hot, but not oppres¬ 
sively so. Sunny weather is required. 
Croydon and District Horticultural Mutual 
Improvement Society.—The next monthly meeting 
of this society will be held at the Sunflower Tem¬ 
perance Hotel, on Tuesday, August 21st, when a 
paper will be given by Mr. W. Harris on the subject 
of “ Bulbs," which are now in season, as far as the 
procuring of them is concerned, the potting of some 
and the planting out of others. The secretary is 
Mr. John Gregory, 6 o, Canterbury Road, Croydon. 
Carnation varieties.—Among other remarks 
made about the Carnation and Picotee show held at 
the Crystal Palace on the 25th, a writer in Land and 
Water says “ The same names such as Empress 
Eugenie and Mohican were attached to flowers 
standing side by side, and very dissimilar, while 
others, hardly distinguishable, bore different appel¬ 
lations. The former anomaly may be due to the 
want of persistence in varieties, but the latter can 
only be the effect of the desire of growers to be 
sponsors of plants of their own raising irrespective 
of the results of their neighbours' operations.” 
An Editor’s Mistake.—Editors have their troubles. 
One of these men, who presides over the destiny of a 
western newspaper, is mourning the loss of two 
subscribers. No. 1 wrote asking how to raise his 
twins safely, while the other wanted to know how he 
could rid his orchard of grasshoppers. The answers 
went forward by mail, but by accident the editor put 
them into the wrong envelopes, so that the man with 
the twins received this answer, “ Cover them care¬ 
fully with straw and set fire to it, and then the little 
pests, after jumping in the flames a few minutes, will 
be speedily settled." The man with the grasshoppers 
was told to " give castor oil and rub their gums with 
a bone.”— Exchange. 
Potato Spraying. — At the present time the 
organisers of agricultural experiment stations are 
exceedingly active in their attempts to come to con¬ 
clusions about what is best to use for suppressing 
the Potato disease. Mr. Moss, on behalf of the 
Royal Dublin Society, found that Burgundy mixture 
(made of sulphate of copper and soda crystals) 
possessed distinctly greater adhesive properties than 
the Bordeaux mixture (made with sulphate of copper 
and lime), and that it might, therefore, be found a 
better preparation for use in wet weather than the 
ordinary Bordeaux mixture. These facts are from The 
Farmers' Gazette, and it would be of infinite value if 
a paper of this kind would condense and compare in 
resume form, all the obtainable information on the 
subject of Potato spraying. 
The Servant Girl’s Botany.—A lady in the coun¬ 
try, who was very fond of her garden and green¬ 
house, being one day unable to attend to the watering 
of the latter, sent her servant girl, who often 
assisted her. On the girl's return she reported, 
Oh! Mum, that Holy Anner (Oleander) has 
tumbled over and broke the Mariacker-toother 
(Echeveria retusa); and, Oh! my, that blue Macka- 
bene (Achimenes) is a beauty, Mum.” This is a 
fact. 
Dishonourable Competition.—Local flower shows 
are usually places rife with disputes about the 
judging it may be, or the legibility of an entry or 
scurrilous comment upon tbe source from which an 
opponent's produce may have come from. Circum¬ 
stantial evidence is often deceptive and in employing 
its aid to denounce an exhibitor, the plaintiff exposes 
himself to unpleasant risks. A case in point 
occurred at the Chertsey show on August nth. 
One exhibitor declared that he had been beaten by 
another competitor whom, it was sworn, had helped 
himself to some of the best of the first mentioned 
exhibitor’s Onions. Some were for going straignt- 
way to the banned man’s Onion ground to prove 
whether he had pulled the number of Onions he 
showed. Happily wiser counsels prevailed and 
things were allowed to pass. If an intending ex¬ 
hibitor ever stooped to so mean an act as to appro¬ 
priate the best samples of an opponent's crop, and 
he was discovered and condemned, he ought certainly 
to be fully exposed and prohibited from exhibiting. 
Otherwise give him the benefit of the doubt. 
Effects of Tea Cigarettes.—Tea cigarettes are of 
a grade of green tea which has but little dust, and is 
composed of unbroken leaf. This is dampened to 
make the leaves pliable and capable of being stuffed 
in the paper cylinder, while the dampness is not 
sufficient to affect the paper. The cigarettes are laid 
aside for a few days, and are then ready to be 
smoked. The feeling of a tea cigarette in the mouth 
is peculiar. The taste is not so disagreeable as 
might be supposed, but tbe effect on the tyro is a 
sense of thickening of the head and a disposition to 
take hold of something or sit down. If the beginner 
stops then, he will not try tea cigarettes again. If, 
however, the smoker sits down and tries a second 
cigarette, inhaling it deeply, then the thickening 
feeling passes and is succeeded by one of intense 
exhilaration. Tbe stage lasts as long as the smoke 
continues. The agony of the opium fiend is a 
shadow to that of the nauseated victim of the tea 
cigarettes. Food cannot be looked at for hours, yet 
the first step toward a cure is a cup of tea. An hour 
afterward comes the craving for a cigarette.— 
Medical Progress. 
Syndical Chamber of Belgian Horticulturists.— 
The monthly meeting of this body was held on the 
5th inst. in the Casino, Ghent. Certificates of Merit 
were awarded to Asplenium Nidus multilobatum, 
exhibited by M. L. De Smet-Duvivier; to Odonto- 
glossum crispum De Sadeleeri, and a species of 
Houlletia, both shown by M. FI. Claes; to Cattleya 
Eldorado alba and C. labiata Warneri Moortebeek- 
ensis (by acclamation), C. gigas ronseleana (with 
unanimity), C. guttata Leopoldi, C. Mossiae reineck- 
eana, and to C. Harrisoniae gigantea, all exhibited 
by M. le Marquis of Wavrin ; Anthurium scherzeri- 
anum gloriosum, staged by M. Louis de Smet ; 
Anthurium Roi des Blancs, and Anthurium M. 
Arthur Vanden Heede, shown by the Ghent Horti¬ 
cultural Society, Ltd. (with acclamation); and to a 
lot of Begonias in bloom, presented by M. Pierre 
Parre (with the congratulations of the jury). A 
Certificate of Merit for culture and flowering was 
given to Jasminum Poiteau, shown by M. G. 
Desaegher. Certificates of Merit for culture were 
granted to Dracaena lentiginosa and D. indivisa 
Loubeti (with acclamation and the congratulations 
of the jury), both shown by M. Pierre Parre ; and to 
Pteris flaccida (with unanimity), staged by M. L. 
Draps-Dom, of Brussels. Certificates of Merit for 
cut flowers were given for Gladioli shown by M. F. 
Burvenich pere (with unanimity), and by M. E. 
Shatteman. Honourable Mentions were made of 
Gymnogramme peruviana argyrophylla, presented 
by MM. De Deene et Vermeersch ; a species of 
Aralia, shown by M. L. De Smet-Duvivier, and 
Odontoglossum crispum M. Emile Arnaut, shown 
by the Horticultural Society “ La Lys," Ltd., of 
de Deynze. 
Reforesting.—There is a strong movement toward 
reforesting denuded areas with Catalpas for com¬ 
mercial purposes .—Gardening (American), 
America and Eckford.—It is stated by Gardening 
(American) that Messrs.Joseph Breck & Sons,Boston, 
were the first in America to introduce the Eckford 
varieties of 1885, Mr. Geo, C. Watson, now of 
Philadelphia, being in charge of the seed depart¬ 
ment at that time. 
German Rose Society.—The exhibition of the 
German Rose Society will continue at Trier, Ger¬ 
many, till October. This is an exhibition of growing 
plants, including all the leading European novelties 
and many seedlings not yet in commerce. The 
secretary of the society is P. Lambert, Trier, Ger¬ 
many. 
Fruiting of Hoya carnosa.—As far as we know 
the fruiting in this country of the Asiatic Hoya 
carnosa is of rare occurrence, as in the case of many 
other Asclepiads. The plant is very common 
throughout Britain, but in all probability the proper 
insects for fertilising the flowers are not only not 
natives, but do not reach this country. A very large 
plant of this Hoya is now fruiting in the greenhouse 
of Mr. Percy Geering, of the Wake Arms Hotel, 
Loughton, Essex. Mr. Geering is fond of gardening, 
and evidently he has given the Hoya free play, for 
it covers a great portion of the roof of the green¬ 
house and flowers freely. The fruit is pod-like, 
rather slender, and at present about 4 in long. Has 
anyone succeeded in fruiting this plant elsewhere ? 
Sutton’s Bulb Catalogue for 1900, with its dainty 
cover and artistic illustrations, will interest those 
who have gardens and those who have none. This 
charming annual offers the prospect of a long suc¬ 
cession of beautiful flowers for the adornment of 
homes, beds and borders during the short dull days 
of winter and the opening weeks of spring. But if a 
brilliant and attractive display is to be realised, pre¬ 
parations must be commenced in good time. This 
is the secret of success with all floral displays, large 
or small. The professional gardener is compelled to 
anticipate the seasons or lose his reputation. Amateurs 
too often neglect the necessary arrangements until it 
is too late to ensure the finest results. The mag¬ 
nificent beds and borders to be seen every spring in 
public and private gardens exhibit harmonies and 
contrasts of colour among Hyacinths, Tulips, Nar¬ 
cissi and Crocuses which are never surpassed by the 
brightest of the summer bedding plants that follow. 
This proves that bulbs properly planted in autumn 
are capable of enduring unharmed tbe rigours of our 
severest winters. And in several important respects 
all the Dutch bulbs may claim the attention of 
amateurs for the ease with which they can be suc¬ 
cessfully cultivated under conditions that would be 
fatal to many other flowers. It is quite true that in 
the art of forcing, special skill and adequate appli¬ 
ances will have their reward in splendid masses of 
colour for decorative purposes at a season of the year 
when superb effects are of the highest value. But 
those who are content to wait for the natural season 
of flowering, may secure an equally brilliant show 
without expenditure for fuel, glass or labour. It is 
one of the special merits of bulbous flowers that al¬ 
though they are worthy of conspicuous positions in 
conservatories, halls and drawing rooms, they are 
equally at home in small town gardens and on the 
lead flats of houses in populous centres. Even in the 
windows of cottages their beauty often challenges the 
attention of passengers in the streets. Messrs. 
Sutton's lists of these flowers have been compiled 
with the judgment that comes from long experience. 
The descriptions, though brief, are distinguished by 
unusual care and accuracy. Those who are not in¬ 
timately acquainted with the Darned varieties, or 
who wish to incur a definite outlay, have the choice 
of collections of various sizes suitable for greenhouses, 
conservatories, homes and gardens. The pages de¬ 
voted to Messrs. Sutton’s well-known strains of 
Begonia, Cyclamen, and Gloxinia will arrest the at¬ 
tention of all who possess facilities for the culture of 
these very handsome flowers. We observe that the 
Gold Medal of the Manchester Botanic Society has 
been awarded for their fine exhibit of Gloxinias. The 
information contained in this very attractive annual 
is indispensable to the expert horticulturist and will 
prove interesting to every lover of flowers either in 
the country or the town. 
