36 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
January  11,  19(0. 
LIVERPOOL  NOTES. 
Highfield,  AVoolton. 
What  pleasanter  time  can  be  spent  than  one  gets  in  visiting  Mr. 
■George  Haigh,  the  practical  gardener  to  Sir  AV.  H.  Tate,  Bart.  Sir 
William,  too,  takes  the  keenest  interest  in  his  splendid  collection  of 
plants,  the  houses  being  of  the  most  approved  style.  In  the  matter  of 
attention  to  his  workmen’s  comforts  he  stands  out  prominently,  and  no 
better  criterion  can  be  arrived  at  than  the  excellent  opinions  of  past 
and  present  workers  on  the  estate. 
Orchids  are  without  doubt  splendidly  grown,  the  choice  stock  (just 
going  out  of  flower)  of  some  hundred  plants  of  the  popular  Cattleya 
labiata  betokening  extra  good  culture.  Laelia  superbiens,  that  excellent 
Jesting  Orchid,  was  abundantly  flowered,  and  those  with  weakly  plants 
Fig.  6. — Excrescence  on  Apple  Tree  Boot  (f  Natural  Size). 
References :  a,  Normal  condition  of  root  above  the  excrescence ;  h,  clean  state  of 
root  below  the  swelling  ;  c,  small  fibres  ;  d,  healthy  tibrelets  on  roots  ;  e,  fibre¬ 
less  roots  ;  /,  swellings  on  roots  ;  g,  fibres  at  ends  of  long  small  roots  ;  h,  small 
protuberance  on  main  root  ;  i,  division  in  excrescence. 
will  do  well  to  follow  Mr.  Haigh’s  advice  and  not  let  such  flower,  as  it 
only  increases  the  evil.  I  had  sufficient  testimony  adduced  as  to  the 
value  of  such  a  system  by  many  plants  brought  under  my  notice,  and, 
as  in  everything  else,  a  sound  constitution  is  the  mainstay  for  future 
flowering. 
Oncidium  Forbesi,  richest  of  brown  shades,  was  well  flowered, 
with  odd  plants  of  Cattleya  Harrisonise,  delicate  in  colour  at  this  season, 
and  much  appreciated.  Fine  forms  of  Lselia  anceps  were  open  and 
unfolding.  The  Lselia  purpurata,  which  London  travellers  know  so 
well,  are  wonderfully  strong  in  bulb  and  root,  the  majority  having  been 
divided  this  season ;  these  with  huge  spikes  of  Oncidium  macranthum 
wrapped  round  and  round  their  tall  stakes  will  give  me  something  well 
worth  talking  about  in  a  later  note. 
Odontoglossum  vexillarium  puzzled  Mr.  Haigh  greatly,  but  the 
difficulty  has  been  thoroughly  overcome  by  finding  suitable  houses. 
Cool  Orchids  find  a  congenial  home  in  an  e.xcavated  pit  leading  from 
the  fernery.  A  useful  stock  of  Poinsettias,  mixed  with  a  capital 
selection  of  stove  plants,  added  brightness  on  a  wintry  day.  A  few 
Chrysanthemums,  in  which  Niveus  played  a  great  part,  were  what 
were  left  of  a  show  that  has  been  greatly  admired. 
And  for  a  close  to  this  short  note,  may  I  make  one  brief  allusion  to 
Masdevallia  tovarensis  ?  Most  people  see  so  little  in  these  smaller 
flowering  Orchids  against  the  grandeur  of  the  larger  flowers;  but  I  should 
be  quite  outside  myself  did  I  fail  to  admire  and  to  add  a  special  word 
on  the  charming  row  of  plants  -I  saw  in  full  bloom,  the  pure  white  and 
quaintly  beautiful  flowers  and  short  dark  green  leaves  being  an 
unqualified  success  as  they  stood,  or  when  used  for  varied  floral  work. 
Dove  Park,  AVoolton. 
I  must  be  excused  if  I  extol  the  richly  flowered  Poinsettia  somewhat 
mor-e  than  is  usually  the  case,  but  I  never  saw  such  excellent  results  as 
have  been  achieved  this  season  by  Mr.  Carling,  the  esteemed  gardener  to 
Mrs.  Cope.  There  were  altogether  about  one  hundred  plants  in  pots 
from  5  to  7  inches  in  diameter,  the  dwarf  condition  making  them  all 
the  more  valuable.  Old  and  young  plants  are  included,  with  leaves 
level  to  the  pots.  I  am  not  one  to  argue  the  point,  when  so  good  a 
collection  is  brought  together,  as  to  the  size  of  bracts,  but  a  few 
measured  at  random  gave  from  15  to  20  inches,  which  will  give  an  idea 
of  quality. 
I  was  particular  to  inquire  as  to  how  Mr.  Carling  kept  his  plants  so 
dwarf,  and  he  informed  me  that  he  never  removed  them  from  the  frames 
which  they  occupy  during  the  summer  until  the  growth  is  finished  and 
bracts  just  set,  the  latter  responding  freely  when  placed  in  heat.  He 
is  of  opinion  that  tall  ungainly  plants  are  seen  through  being  placed  in 
heat  too  early. 
Bouvardias  also  are  a  specialty,  and  few  persons  grow  them  better. 
Double  Bouvardias  are  not  much  grown,  the  grace  and  elegance  of  the 
single  varieties,  such  as  Vreelandi,  Priory  Beauty,  and  President 
Cleveland,  being  of  intrinsic  value  and  merit.  The  fernery  is  handsome 
and  as  fresh  as  summer,  while  the  large  stove  furnishes  many  pleasing 
features.  Zygopetalum  Mackayi  was  well  flowered;  and  the  outside 
grounds,  varied  and  extensive,  must  (I  am  told)  be  visited  in  spring 
when  Daffodils  in  thousands  greet  the  eye. — R.  P.  R. 
EXCRESCENCE  ON  APPLE  TREE  ROOT. 
The  growth  of  the  Apple  tree  root  submitted  by  “  C.  W., 
Weyhridge,”  and  shown  in  the  illustration,  fig.  6,  was  5  inches  in 
depth  by  4i  inches  in  diameter  and  very  remarkable.  It  weighed, 
free  from  soil  and  as  figured,  1  lb.  2  ozs.  The  appearance 
was  that  of  a  series  of  unnatural  protuberances  super-imposed, 
the  wart-like  prominences  being  quite  clear  looking  and  healthy. 
The  root  was  normal  above,  a,  and  below  the  swelling,  h,  but 
there  was  a  strange  deficiency  of  fibres.  Some  of  these  were  small,  c ; 
others  possessed  the  characteristic  tibrelets  of  the  Paradise  stock 
roots,  d,  while  some  rootlets  were  fihreless,  e,  and  others  again  had 
outgrowths  on  them,  /.  A  root  issuing  from  the  mass  had  no 
fibres  except  at  the  extremities  of  the  forked  part,  g.  A  small  pro¬ 
tuberance  was  present  on  the  main  root  at  h. 
Beyond  a  sort  of  division  in  the  excrescence  at  i,  there  was  nothing 
to  indicate  the  origination  of  the  preternatural  growth.  It  seemed 
strange  if  it  had  arisen  from  the  clean-looking  Apple  tree  root,  and 
not  much  less  so  if  it  was  from  some  other  root.  The  clean-looking 
Apple  tree  root  had  apparently  gone  through  the  mass  from  a  to  b.  To 
ascertain  this  definitely  the  excrescence  was  broken  up  carefully, 
and  the  facts  now  to  be  referred  to  demonstrated. 
The  excrescence  was  easily  broken  into  four  parts,  one  break 
transversely  at  i,  and  each  of  the  divisions  thus  made  vertically 
in  line  with  the  root.  It  was  then  seen  that  the  root  was  forked 
(fig.  7,  i)  about  an  inch  within  the  excrescence,  and  one  of  the 
roots  thus  divided  had  gone  through  the  lower  part  of  the 
protuberance,  this  having  grown  over  and  enclosed  it.  The  root  was 
as  clean  within  as  without  the  excrescence,  and  in  no  way  connected, 
or  even  contracted  or  distorted  or  deviated  from  a  straight  course.  A 
slight  scar  was  present  at  the  point  k,  such  as  occurs  when  a  fibrelet 
has  been  broken  off.  A  side  root  from  it  near  the  fork  was  a  mere 
stub,  and  swollen  at  the  extremity,  1.  The  root  shown  oi  the  face  of 
the  excrescence  in  fig.  6  had  sprung  from  the  main  root  at  the  point 
ni,  and  appeared  to  have  been  grown  over  and  partly  enclosed,  as  a  too 
tight  ligature  round  a  branch  is,  by  bark  and  wood. 
The  other  main  root  ramification  or  branch,  n,  had  come  to  grief, 
having  been  arrested  in  its  growth  downward  at  the  point  o,  and  in 
consequence  pushed  outgrowths  of  cellular  tissue  resulting  in  the 
excrescence.  The  only  part  of  woody  tissue  was  that  represented 
in  the  figure,  the  remainder  of  the  protuberance  being  of  the  character 
of  bark,  not  unlike  that  of  burrs,  hard  and  knot-like,  such  as  occur 
on  the  branches  of  the  Burr-knot  Apple  tree. 
AA’hat  caused  the  unnatural  protuberance  ?  Unquestionably  it  had 
a  small  beginning,  and  commenced  growing  when  the  root  was  young, 
being  visible  only  as  a  pinhead-like  speck  on  a  small  root.  Some  such 
beginnings  are  shown  in  tig.  6,  at/.  Look  at  the  excrescence  hundreds 
of  times  larger,  and  notice  that  its  extreme  points  are  precisely  similar 
