April 29, 1905. 
THE GARDENING WORLD . 
349 
from their midst, for of course a tree with such a history 
to them was a great treasure. The little one, as 1 mentioned 
before, is, I hear, making rapid progress, and some future time 
1 hope to he able to see it quite as tine a tree as its sturdy 
ancestor was at one time, for this one was budded from it. 
1 hear that this past winter it was exceptionally early, as it 
was in bloom in December. It seems to be easy enough to 
„row; budding it on any ordinary Thom it soon goes ahead 
and makes a tine young specimen in the space of a few years, 
provided it does not come in for the very rough treatment 
aforesaid. It seems to me to be a great pity that these are 
not more often met with. In Somerset, although noted for 
them, they seem to be veiy scarce. I have never visited the 
spot of its origination, but I have heard there are some very 
ancient specimens. Well, so much for the Holy lhom, hoping 
these few remarks will not only interest readers, but also 
amuse them at its ancient tradition and the ceremonial grounds 
it has trained. 
W. 
Solanum Commersoni. 
During the past year the Press, both horticultural and other¬ 
wise, frequently made reference to a new Potato which was to 
prove the salvation of Potato growers. At one time it was 
spoken of as the frost-proof Potato; at another it was disease- 
proof. Then, again, it came out as the variety for swamp 
land. We learned that it had been grown in France, and was 
a species from South America- 
Still again we were told that a Frenchman had been de*- 
v el oping a species of Potato from Uruguay with remarkable 
results. Then it came out as the American Marvel Potato, 
and we learned that an American syndicate was growing it 
largely. 
This Marvel was frost and disease-proof, it cropped enor¬ 
mously on bog land, but poorly on dry soil. Further, it had 
Jasmine-scented flowers, and it was proposed that the perfume 
should be extracted and placed on the market. No matter 
where one looked, this wondrous new Potato was ever before 
our eyes. 
And what is it, after all?—Solanum Commersoni, known to 
botanists since 1822. 
Let us inquire into’the matter, and we find Paxton quotes 
it as hardy, native of Peru, growing 2 ft. high, and bearing 
white flowers. M. Vilmorin has grown this species largely, and 
he hesitates to make any great claim for it. Hardy it cer¬ 
tainly is, and it succeeds on wet land. The quality i's doubt¬ 
ful, for it has a bitter flavour, b et one or two writers have 
been declaring it to be a Potato for the home, advocating its 
culture in place of the ordinary species, S. tuberosum. 
They speak of its quality as good, and declare it to produce 
huge crops of large tubers. M. Vilmorin says the tubers are 
small, and the samples I have seen were decidedly so. Re¬ 
specting its disease-resisting qualities, it may be so- with regard 
to Phytophthora infestans, but it will become a foul, rotten 
mass through wet rot. The samples I handled last season were 
so, although they cost 5s. a tuber weighing one-tliird of an 
ounce. 
It has been spoken of as a species suitable for crossing on 
to S. tuberosum, but if I believe rightly, this has been tried 
years ago without result. One Lincoln grower, I am told, 
secured a few apples from it last season, but my informant, 
who is an expert and well-known Potato raiser, had his doubts 
as to whether it had been crossed, owing to> the weakliness 
apparent, and his suspicion was probably correct, as the grower, 
though terming himself a. specialist, had become so in two 
years only. 
Personally, I do- net look upon S. Commersoni as a coming 
Potato. Its growth is not suitable for ordinary gardens, as 
the tubers are not established until the second year. Then it 
rambles like an Artichoke, so that cultivation is impossible. 
It is useless on drv soils, and there is enough of the latter 
available without having recourse to swamp land. Our grand 
old Potato man, Mr. Robert Fenn, during his recent experi¬ 
ments, has not worried about S. Commersoni, but I learn that 
ho lias some real hybrids raised from S. tuberosum and two 
other species, S. Fendleri and S. castaneum. 
I liese seedlings are now in the hands of a specialist firm, 
so wo must patiently wait for their advent, when ii will he safe 
to say that perfect Potutos are near at hand. Cal. 
Nerium Oleander. 
I his beautiful plant is too seldom seen in our gardens, and 
to anyone who knows of its gorgeous appearance when in 
bloom this must appear strange. 
V hen once its requirements are understood it is not at all 
a difficult subject to manage. It is usually described as a 
greenhouse shrub, but I have discovered that to grow it to 
perfection we must give it more heat than an ordinary green¬ 
house affords. The ideal place for it is the intermediate house. 
Certainly the plants grow more straggling, but the trusses of 
bloom and the individual flowers are much larger, and what is 
probably of as great importance, the plants will flower three or 
four times each season. I have at present (April 15th) several 
plants in full flower, and these will, I hope, continue more or 
less in bloom till November. This is impossible under green¬ 
house treatment. 
I will now detail my method of culture. Cuttings of firm 
wood will root almost at any time. After being well rooted, 
pot up into 4-in. pots, using good loam, leaf-mould, and sand. 
When 9 in. high cut the points out to induce branching. 
Keep growing on in a. fair heat, giving abundance of water, as 
this plant grows naturally in swampy ground. When rapidly 
grown, they may require staking, but if given a lower tem¬ 
perature, the wood will he stiff and short-jointed. Tot. on as 
required, using good fibrous loam, a. little peat, and Mushroom 
dung, with enough sharp sand to keep it from souring with the 
copious waterings required. If in a hurry to get the plants 
into bloom, do' not again pinch, but if fine, bushy plants are 
wanted, pinch and train in the usual manner. 
As I have already said, these plants require a great amount 
of wafer. In fact, to allow them to get dry is disastrous, as 
both leaves and flower-buds will drop. They are also veiy 
grateful for a little feeding. A good sprinkling of an artificial 
manure in spring is good, and doses of Ichtlremic guano in 
water once a week are veiy beneficial. This may be varied by 
using liouicl made from cow or sheep choppings, and soot 
water. The Oleander (to give it its popular name) is a good 
subject for hard pruning. If it gets too large or straggling do' 
not fear to cut hard back, as such usage does no harm. Brown 
scale is its worst enemy, hut it is easily sponged, the leaves 
being tough and smooth. The' best varieties are X. splendens 
(deep pink), and X. Madonna grandiflorum (creamy-white). 
Preston, Linlithgow. C. Blair. 
Clematis alpina. 
This is one of the.earliest of the spring-flowering Clematises 
and also one of the prettiest, being particularly graceful and 
free flowering. It has been known under the name of Atragene 
alpina, but this is now dropped in preference for Clematis. 
Lhilike many of the Clematises, it has both sepals and petals, 
but, as in other species, the sepals form the showv part of the 
flower. It is a European plant, and is found growing on moun¬ 
tains in limestone districts of the southern parts of the Con¬ 
tinent. It has been in cultivation upwards of 100 years, but 
is not a common plant. The branches are slender and rise to 
a height of 12 ft. or move. The leaves are either temate. 
bitemate, or sometimes four or five lobed. The flowers are 
borne singly with a. tuft of leaves from the buds of last rears 
growth. They are on long, slender stalks, are 2 in. to 3 in. 
across, and may he either pumle, rosv-purple. blue, or white 
in colour. The best wav to cultivate it is to form a group of 
vouph Oak branches and let it scramble over and arrange itself. 
In this way it forms a. delightful informal mass, each branch 
jn spring-time hanging to form a garland of flower’s. M . D. 
