February 1, 1913. 
THE GARDENERS’ MAGAZINE. 
75 
The orifice is very broad, with a diameter 
of 8 mm. The bright chestnut-red seeds, 
about 4 mm- long, nre long-oval, not com¬ 
pressed, and therefore not at all angular. 
All this differs conspicuously from the fruit 
of typical Rosa. 
Pollination of Hardy Fruits.— 
To a recent meeting of the Linnean 
Society, Mr. Cecil H. Hooper contri¬ 
buted a paper of considerable import¬ 
ance on the pollination of hardy fruits, 
in which was embodied his observations on 
the insect visitors to the flowers. Accord¬ 
ing to Mr. Hooper’s observations, straw¬ 
berries, provided there is wind, set fruit 
well without insects. Raspberries and 
loganberries set fruit imperfect in shape 
if insects are excluded. Currants and 
gooseberries, owing to the construction of 
their flowers and pollen, cannot be polli¬ 
nated and set their fruit without the visits 
of insects. All these plants set fruit per¬ 
fectly with pollen of the same variety, or 
even of the same flower; but in the case 
pollen. Out of nearly 3,000 insects ob¬ 
served last spring visiting the blossoms of 
the various fruit bushes and trees, 88 per 
cent, were hive-bees, 5^ per cent, bumble 
and other wild bees, and per cent, flies, 
ants, beetles, wasps, and other insects; 
but the latter group have not fluffy bodies 
for carrying pollen, and amuse themselves 
by eating the pollen. 
Peat Moss Litter Manure.— In 
the issue of the Journal ” of the Board of 
Agriculture for December, 1911, an article 
was published on peat moss litter manure 
in which Dr. Voelcker attributed the ill- 
effects of this manure to its acidity, and to 
the consequent unhealth>% imperfectly 
oxidised condition of the soil. In “ Bieder- 
mann’s Zentralblatt fiir Agrikulturcheurie” 
for November last reference is made to the 
foregoing article, and it is stated that good 
results have been obtained in the use of this 
manure in oher countries. It is contended 
that the acidity of peat moss litter manure 
is not too large to be neutralised by the 
on the manure ; and that the manure made 
from it is more eflficacious than when other 
materials are used as litter. 
The Cultivation of Sweet 
Peas continues to occupy the attention 
of very large numbers of both professional 
and amateur gardeners; at this season of 
the year seed-sowing and the question ot 
varieties are upj>ermost in the minds of 
growers, consequently “ Sweet Peas and 
Their Cultivation,” by Chas. H. Curtis, 
comes very opportunely, with its supple¬ 
ment dealing with the best varieties, new 
varieties, and giving other information 
that brings the book up-to-date. The book 
is a most compact and readable guide to 
the history, cultivation, and exhibition of 
the Queen of Annuals. 
Physiologrical Effect of Bor¬ 
deaux Mixture. —During the past five 
or six years experiments were carried out 
in Germany with a view to determine 
whether the increased yield resulting from 
spraying with Bordeaux mixture was due 
MESSRS. SUTTON AND SONS’ FINE EXHIBIT OF GIANT CYCLAMEN AT THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETl’S 
MEETING, 
Held on January 22 and awarded the Silver Flora Medal. The principal varieties represented are Giant White, Giant Crimson, and 
Vulcan, all of which are remarkable for the high development of their flowers and for their finely variegated leaves. ior luller 
particulars of this exhibit, see page 69 of our last issue. 
uf the apple, pear, plum, and cherry, th 
IS not always the case, many varietic 
being self-sterile, and almost all produc 
more abundant and finer fruit with polle 
^ variety. In these trees thei 
IS httle transference of pollen by the wine 
ana even if a self-fertile tree is enclosed i 
muslin whilst in blossom (there being amp 
ovement of the wind, insects only bein 
xcluaed), it is the exception for any fru 
on ^ same with gooseberries an 
trials with apples, only nim 
sixty-five proved sel 
nln.!, ’ of thirty; i 
rliAr ^^'onty-one out of forty-one; i 
out of twelve; whilst, whe 
j . 'Po ^^bated, in three-quarters of tl 
Tlio/ more fruits set on a trus 
^o^bis to be a preference as to pollei 
oim setting better with pollen ( 
some with that of another ; an 
some varieties will „ot set with certai 
bases of a normal soil without causing the 
reduction of FcgOs compounds into FeO 
compounds. Laboratory experiments were, 
it is stated, carried out at Jonkoping with 
two samples of peat moss litter of marked 
acidity, mixed with various manures and 
examined when fresh, and when four weeks, 
six weeks, and three months old. In each 
case it was shown that the acidity of the 
peat moss litter was neutralised by the am¬ 
monia of the manure. At the experimental 
grounds at Flahult and Torestorp peat moss 
litter manure on both ordinary and moor 
soils gave good results with garden crops, 
both as a top dressing and when mixed with 
the soil. The manure is also much used by 
Swedish commercial gardeners for all crops. 
The advantages claimed are that it is the 
beet material for absorbing excreta and 
for minimising the unavoidable loss of 
nitrogen in stable manure ; that it has a 
deodorising and hence disinfecting effect 
to a physiological effect on plants. In some 
experiments with potatoes, radishes, and 
beans, the crop decreased with an increased 
strength of Bordeaux mixture used. The 
mixture was found to have a favourable 
physiological effect only in dry weather, the 
mixture acting by hindering transpiration 
from the leaves. It was considered possible 
that the coating of copper sulphate also 
acted as a shade to the plant from an ex¬ 
cessive amount of sunlight in hot, sunny 
weather, and thus prevented an early ripen¬ 
ing of the haulm. The repeated spraying 
of currants and gooseberries with Bordi'aux 
mixture had the effect of increasing the 
sugar content of the sap of these fruits. 
This was shown not to l>e due to the fun¬ 
gicidal action, as spraying immune varie¬ 
ties of fruits had the same effect; nor to 
any increased assimilative activity of the 
leaves, the latter, indeed, decreasing as a 
result of the spraying. 
