660 
THE GARDE MING WORLD. 
August 1, 1903. 
by agriculturists in our colonies. We should commend it to 
the attention of Sir Daniel Morris, State Commissioner for 
he West Indies, for his consideration as to what might be 
done with it in. the West Indies. Mr. Edwards-Radclyffe, 25, 
Birchington Road, West Hampstead, London, the writer of the 
letter, offers his services, to share in the profit or otherwise of 
the industry as the case may be. 
Bradford Scientists at York.j 
During the early part of this month the members of the 
Bradford Scientific Association paid a visit to the well-known 
gardens and nurseries of Messrs. James Backhouse and bon, 
Limited, York, and to the laboratories of the recently formed 
British Botanical Association. Though this association was 
passed in review some months ago, its aims and objects have 
most probably been forgotten by most of our readers. 
We must first of all, however, refer to the visit of the 
Bradford people to the famous alpine garden of Messrs. Back¬ 
house. The firm originally established a nursery within the 
walls- of the city until they were compelled to find ground 
elsewhere', owing to the 1 old railway station being constructed 
on the site. This was about, sixty years ago, when they found 
fresh ground for the nursery about a mile and a-half from the 
city on. the Acomb Road. At that time the land in this 
vicinity was practically in the country, but the city has now 
advanced up this road until the houses have crowded rather 
closely upon, the nurseries again. Owing to- this, the firm pro¬ 
cured a new site in a less smoky district at Cattal, half way 
on the road to* Harrogate. The alpine garden in the Acomb 
Road has been retained, and has been for many years widely 
known all over the country, and is the goal to which many a 
pilgrimage is made. 
The original portion of the alpine garden was commenced 
more than fifty years ago, and has been enlarged from time 
to time, until it now occupies 1 \ acres of ground, covered 
with rocks, pools, and other accessories of a first-class alpine 
garden. Owing to its long establishment, many of the flower¬ 
ing plants and Ferns have sown themselves naturally in the 
cracks and crevices of the rockwork, and have been allowed to 
establish themselves:, thereby producing a natural and pic¬ 
turesque effect. After thoroughly examining all parts of the 
rock garden the party visited the laboratories of the British 
Botanical Association. 
The new project has been taken under the aegis of Messrs. 
Backhouse in order to offer it a. fair share of assistance. The 
establishment, however, is on an. entirely distinct and separate 
basis. Its origin wa,s due to- the botanical professors of Owen’s 
College, Manchester, and Dr. Butt, then demonstrator in, 
botany, undertook to organise an institution as a help to 
botanical study. It is quite unique of its kind in this country. 
The reason for this establishment was that teachers of botany 
had long- experienced difficulty in securing material for demon¬ 
stration purposes. As a rule, the classes on botany and hor¬ 
ticulture are most actively carried on in winter, when plants, to 
demonstrate various natural orders, are difficult to procure. 
Indeed, many of them cannot be obtained at all at that season 
of the year, as we have ourselves experienced. One of the 
special and most interesting branches of the work of the asso¬ 
ciation is the preservation and production of objects for nature 
study in museums. 
The old method of preserving plants for future use and 
reference was to press them between sheets of paper, so as to' 
abstract the moisture. This mi<rht have been suitable enough 
in its way for botanists who were thoroughly conversant with 
plants in this form, but it takes an. experienced eye to under¬ 
stand them when, preserved in this fashion. Students' can, 
only partly guess at the habit of the plant, while the leaves 
and their forms may be plain enough. The flowers of such 
plants, being pressed fiat and veiy often wanting in colour, 
could seldom afford students any idea- of the form of the flower, 
much less its technical structure. By the new process the 
association is able to preserve the form, colour, and natural 
appearance of the plants and their flowers. 
These, of course, cannot be stored away in cabinets like dried 
specimens, but as their object is for ocular demonstration they 
are intended for mounting in cases, so that the students of a 
class can see at a glance the general form and structure of 
the flowers as if they were growing naturally. Tire associa¬ 
tion. also- intends to have collectors abroad, by which tropical 
and other subjects may be placed in stock for the use of their 
own or other museums. 
Boronia heterophylla. 
(See Supplement.) 
During the past ten or fifteen years one species of Boronia 
has attained a popularity to which few of the others can lay 
claim. This is B. heterophylla, a dwarf shnrb, native of Aus¬ 
tralia,, and suitable for cultivation either in pots or planted 
out, in a greenhouse or cool conservatory. As a market plant, 
however, rt is much more extensively grown than any other 
in cultivation. For this purpose it must necessarily be grown 
in. pots, and, being of easy culture, it can be grown to market 
size in the course of two years from cuttings. During the 
summer months it can. also be accommodated in pots in the 
open, air, so that the wood becomes well ripened and in a fit 
condition to flower freely during the winter and spring months. 
The species forms a, dwarf and slender-growing twiggy shrub, 
bearing a, profusion of flowers from the axils of the leaves and 
along the slender shoots that have just recently been made and 
matured. These flowers are of a bright red or carmine, bell- 
sliaped, drooping, and give the plant a pretty appearance, not 
from their individual size, but* by reason of their numbers, as 
distributed over a bushy, well-grown plant. 
The leaves' themselves are variously pinnate, the lower ones 
having the most numerous pinnae, while towards the end of 
the shoots the pinnae may be le-ss numerous, or the whole leaf 
more or less entire. That is> the meaning of the specific name, 
the variation of the leaves giving rise to- heterophylla; that, 
is, variable leaved. Our coloured plate was prepared from a 
specimen supplied us by Messrs. Hugh Low and Co., Bush Hill 
Park, Enfield, Middlesex, who grow this species in large quan¬ 
tity. 
The species is propagated by means of cuttings of the half- 
ripened wood ; that is, when it is just sufficiently firm to callus 
and emit roots under artificial conditions without damping off. 
A compost is made up consisting chiefly of sand and a little 
peat, with which well-drained and clean pots are filled, then 
covered with a layer of sharp* sand. The cuttings should be 
firmly inserted, and well watered down to settle the soil about 
them. The pots are then placed in. a,-propagating case, or 
merely covered by a handliglit or bell-glass according to the 
convenience of the cultivator. A high temperature is 1 un¬ 
necessary, so that a house having a, temperature similar to 
that of a greenhouse in summer would be quite warm enough 
for rooting the cuttings of this and other species. 
Shading during the brighter parts of the day will be* ne¬ 
cessary to prevent flagging until the cuttings have callused and 
established a, connection with the soil sufficient to supply them 
with the necessary moisture. If covered with a bell-glass or 
anything that will keep 1 them similarly close, this must be 
taken off every morning and wiped dry to prevent drip, other¬ 
wise the cuttings may be liable to damp off. 
As soon asi the cuttings' are rooted they may be potted off 
singly in thumb pots. At, this time the baby plants are very 
small, even if they have made some growth after being rooted. 
After they have made a season’s growth they may be cut down 
pretty close to the base, just leaving a, small portion of each 
shoot of the previous year to give rise to-a, number of branches 
that will form a close and bushy specimen when the next 
season’s growth has been completed. It may be necessary— 
and frequently is — in. the early stages to pinch the plant 
several times in order to ensure a bushy habit by laying a 
proper foundation for the same while the plant is still dwarf. 
