THE GARDENERS’ MAGAZINE, 
794 
October yy i 
AUCTION SALE AT COOMBE 
WOOD NURSERY. 
An event of unusual interest and import¬ 
ance in the horticultural world was the sale 
of nursery stock on the Coombe Wood Nur- 
seriee which opened on Monday, October 13, 
and continued until Friday, October 17. The 
interest was twofold, first on account of the 
wonderful variety and high quality of the 
trees and shrubs offered for sale, and 
secondly by reason of the fact that the event 
marked a further step towards the depar¬ 
ture of the illustrious firm of James Veitch 
and Sons from the field of British horticul¬ 
ture. It has become common knowledge that 
Sir Harry Veitch intends to retire from busi¬ 
ness, and that the whole business of the firm, 
whose name is a household word throughout 
the realm of horticulture, will ere long ter¬ 
minate its operations. The seed business has 
already passed into the hands of Messrs. 
Sutton and Sons. The collection of orchids 
and the orchid houses has been sold, and the 
week just ending has witnessed the sale by 
auction of a large portion of the stock of 
trees and shrubs, including many choice 
Chinese plants which have been recently in¬ 
troduced to commerce by the firm. Messrs. 
Protheroe and Morris have during their 
career conducted many important sales of 
nursery stock, but even they must have felt 
that this week’s sale was by way of being 
unique. As Mr. Slade remarked at the open¬ 
ing, the name of Veitch has long been held in 
highest esteem throughout the horticultural 
world. Not only has the firm been renowned 
for the quality of the plants grown, but 
they have been raisers and introducers of 
probably more plants of sterling merit than 
any other firm. In the course of an appro¬ 
priate and well-received speech, Mr. Slade 
referred to the personal qualities and busi¬ 
ness abilities of Sir Harry Veitch, whose 
courtesy, benevolence, and knowledge had 
won him the respect and esteem of all who 
had come in contact with him, and he ex¬ 
pressed the wish that eve^ horticulturist 
will heartily endorse, that Sir Harry will live 
to enjoy many years of weU-earned peace and 
happiness after he finally severs himself from 
the sphere of commercial horticulture, to 
which he has been an ornament and a bene¬ 
factor. Sir Harry Veitch, in a few well- 
chosen words, expressed his appreciation of 
the kind remarks that had been made, and 
also thanked the company for their presence 
at the sale. One might have expected a 
larger gathering, but it soon became evident 
that those who attended were there for 
business, and some brisk bidding was made. 
We noticed among the buyers General Sir 
Alfred Paget, the Hon. Lady Eonald Greville 
Mr. W. Watson (Kew), Mr. Whitton (Glas¬ 
gow), Mr. D. Thomson (Edinburgh), Mr. P. 
Weathers (Manchester), Mr. Boyle (Ireland), 
and Messrs. Hutton, Davidson, Fletcher, 
Matthews, Kelly, Paul, and Jackman. The 
lots were arranged in convenient numbers, 
and the trees and shrubs, being for the most 
part useful kinds of convenient size for re¬ 
moval, very fair prices were realised without 
difficulty. The larger material, such as speci¬ 
men hollies, golden yews, cedars, etc., went 
cheaply, but smaller trees, flowering shrubs, 
cut-leaved acers, magnolias, etc., in many 
instances realised fully catalogue prices. 
One particular lot that ran up to a re¬ 
markably good figure was a row of nine 
plants of Berberis Wilsonae, which realised 
63s. Lots of various ornamental shrubs, num¬ 
bering about 2o plants, made up to £4> and 
£4 5s., and climbers in pots sold at from 9s. 
to 15s. per dozen. There were some fine 
stools of lilacs, spiraeas, philadelphus, etc., 
with rooted layers attached, and these 
formed the chief attraction to the trade; 
whilst the superintendents of public parks 
were keen on the well-furnished specimens 
that would produce immediate effect. Alto¬ 
gether the auctioneers may be complimented 
on the manner in which this great sale was 
handled, and Messrs. Veitch may be con¬ 
gratulated upon having brought forward a 
remarkable stock of most useful plants and 
trees. 
ANSWERS TO 
CORRESPONDENTS. 
Editorial Oomimuiiioationa should be addressed to the 
Editor of The Gardeners’ Magazine, 148 and 149, 
AJdersgate Street, E.C. 
Secretaries of horticultural societies are invit^ to 
send early notification of forthcoming’ exhibitiong 
and meeting’s, and are requested to advise us oon- 
oerning changes of dates. 
Specimens of plants, flowers, and fruits for naming 
or opinion should he sent to the Editor of The 
Garden5:rs’ Magazine, “ Endsleigh,” Priory Park, 
Kew, Surrey, and as early in the week as possihle. 
All parcels must be sufficiently prepaid. 
BORAX AS MANURE.—A. M. B., Waver- 
tree: I have a quantity of borax, and am 
told that it will make a good manure. WiU 
you kindly tell me if this is so, and how it 
should be used?—Borax is of very little value 
as manure, and would be of much greater 
service if used as a cleansing medium. It 
is used in glass-making, glazing, and in 
medicine, as well as in domestic washing as 
a substitute for or economiser of soap. If 
you desire to dispose of your borax in the 
garden, spread it thinly, say, 2oz. to the 
square yard, in spring, over borders occu¬ 
pied by fruit trees, or among quick-growing 
crops in the kitchen garden. 
OOTONEASTERS.—G. S.. Bournemouth; 
Will you please tell me which of the coton- 
easters are evergreen, and which deciduous? 
—Among the better-known coton east ers the 
evergreen kinds are C. bnxifolia, C. micro- 
phylla, C. pannosa, C. rotiindifolia, and C. 
thymifoUa; and the deciduous sorts a^ C. 
acuminita, C. affinis, C. bacillaris, C. frigida 
(almost evergreen), C. horizontalis. C. inte- 
gerrima, C. laxifolia, C. multiflora, C. 
nummularia, C. Simonsi, and C. tomentosa. 
VARIETIES OF SOLOMON’S SEAL.— 
C. M. S., Bridgwater: I shall be glad if you 
will inform me, through your columns, 
whether there are any varieties of Solomon’s 
seal. I grow this plant very succ^fully, 
both in the open and in pots, and if there 
are varietal forms I should like to obtain 
them; so any help you can afford will be 
appreciated. — There are several varietal 
forms- of Polygonatum multiflorum, and the 
chief of these are the variegated variety 
P. m. striatum; P. m. roseum, from 
the Altai Mountains, with rosy flowers; 
P. m. flore pleno, with double flowers; P. 
m. bracteatum, a late variety with strongly- 
developed bracts; and P. m. Broteri, a large- 
flowered or “ gigantea ” form. 
BLACKENED LEAVES OF CHRYSAN¬ 
THEMUMS.—R. B., Bickley : Please tell me 
what is the matter with the chrysanthemums 
I s‘8nd you. In many cases the leaves have 
beco-me blackened like those sent, and this 
lowers the vigour of the plants considerably. 
Any help you can give will be much appre¬ 
ciated.—An insect has pierced the epidermis 
of the leaves, and the punctures are readily 
discernible; what the insect is we cannot say, 
but probably Lygus pratensis, a sort of bug 
that is a fairly common enemy to the chry¬ 
santhemum. The pest pierces the epidermis 
of the leaf and sucks out the sap, and so the 
leaves blacken and. decay. Through the punc¬ 
tures it is a quite simple matter for a fungus 
to enter the leaves and complete the work 
of destruction, but the insect attack is the 
beginning of the trouble, and spraying 
regularly with a paraffin emulsion would 
render the foliage distasteful and do a great 
deal to ward oft' attacks. 
TURF FOR A GRAVE.—Anemone, Ewell; 
I should be pleased if you could help me in 
regard to obtaining some nice green turf 
on a grave. The grave was turfed about 
eighteen months ago, but I am afraid the 
turf was of very poor quality. I have tri^ 
to improve it by tlie use of fertilisers, by 
beating, by sowing seeds, and by keeping t^ 
grass cut regularly once a week, but the turf 
i.s very weedy, and a tiny creeping weed is 
now becoming quite plentiful.-—If you could 
protect the surface from birds it would be an 
excellent plan to eow the grave-top with 
lawn grass seeds in spring; but as this will, 
in all probability, be out of the question, the 
next best thing will be to obtain some first- 
rate turf from someone who has to do with 
tennis lawns, golf links, or cricket 
or you might write to Mr. Jas. 
Harpenden, who makes a speciality of u . * 
grass on a prepared material all i^ajv 
laying down. 
PIG NUTS OR EARTH XUTS.-E. M. - 
Belfast; You will ver\' greatly oblige 
of your readers in the North of Irclaid t 
stating, in your columns, the name . f \ 
plant, fairly common in the northern p^r. 
of the Sister Isle, which goes bv tb* 
of pig nut. The root is more or le>> 
rous, and when roasted it is said to he rt 
much like a chestnut.—The plant is 
dium denudatum, an umbellifer, about 
high, with umbels of tiny white flowei' I* 
is of rather wide distribution, and found •. 
the British Isles from Shetland to the (ca:- 
nel Isles. The brownish root-stock is ah 
the size of a chestnut. St. Anthon,v’> Nu* . 
also a title sometimes given to the pig - ’ 4 ! 
probably because St. Anthony was the patp 4 
saint of pigs. 
YARROW IN A BOWLING GREK.N- 
D. R. Y., Ayr; We have a bowling gTM 
which is badly infested with what I a.: 
yarrow ”; it is, I think, an achUlea, ard • 
growing very strong. Can you suggest ir- 
remedy for this weed, one that will r<i 
damage the grass?—If the yarrow has 
very much and killed tlie grass, it must !» 
cut out, and the bare places must 
turfed; but if it is as yet a minor evil, ’h 
application of lawn sand, followed later bt 
a suitable top-dressing, will no doubt rt n; 
the trouble. 
NAMES OF PLANTS. 
Under this heiading we can only undertake to mw 
speoiee and well-marked varieties of pUalA 
not Wrists’ flowers. Specimens should b* 
in stout boxee with damp (not wet) mow, or 
leaves, as packing material, to ensure 
ing us in a fresh state. It ie e«ential 
must accompany specimens of flowering 
fern fronds be fertile, and that numbeiv w ^ - 
attached to the specimens w that JU 
seen w-ithout any untying. «e cannot pr^^ 
name more than six specimens at one tim# 
any one correspondent. 
R. G. W., Kettering.—1, Polygonum 
schuaiiicum ; 2, Coronilla varia. ^ 
T A., Harrow.—1, Oncidium pubt-; • 
quite good form of Cattleya Hardvana 
H. H., Tenterden.-1, Physalis Alkektnf 
2, Berberis Tliunbergi; 3, B. stenophTa*_ 
W. K. R., Winchester.—1, Lib^a 
bunda; 2, Aglaonema oost-ata; 3, > wia 
iiuta; 4, not recognised. :» 
A. J. F., Horsham.-L Cedrus atlan_ 
glauca- 2, Cotoneaster horizontalis; d, -• 
cifuga simplex; 4, Rhus cotinus. 
P J., Ok^hampton.-l. 
2, Rudbeckia spcciosa (this ^ . . 
monly known in gardens as R. - 
Arbutus Unedo. ^ 
F. B. C., Lichfield.-l Rufcu- 
2, Pteris umbrosa; 3, / 
4,' probably Mackaya ^Ua, s®" , 
flower; 5, Todea snperba; b, neu 
dentata. 
NAMES OF 
"VMien se-nding fruits for u ^ *'2 
good enough to send dvt. rw 
these it is not possible to tm c-r 
varietie®. Pack firmly. 
boxes, and send not more t ^ r ^ 
once. Label each * 
tin? fruit, whether a to the 
een* or not. Address the pac^^ i,, ■ 
Gardeners’ Magazine, as « 
the head of “Answers ^ j,, Sl< 
B. C. K., Haverford.—1, 
2, Warner’s King- T.ine's 
2, Bismarck; 3, Court P^ 
Pearmain. . reco^^^’ htv 
W. B., Calcot.-l,.not 3, 
again lator; 2, ^ornis - ^ ^ 
landbury ; 4, Fearn s P-PP j sent 
G. R. S., Alnwick -Th® ^ srto i* 
"11 -«ry small, and did /f we ■ 
I character._ J the othen^. f Ri- 
