March  20.  1000 
27G  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
«nd  are'mucb  cheaper  when  obtained  in  this  manner.  If  kept  free 
from  dust  they  will  remain  in  good  condition  for  an  indefinite  period. 
‘  It  is  a  great  raving  of  labour  to  the  bees  to  use  comb  foundation  ; 
sufficient  should  therefore  be  obtained  to  last  throughout  the  season. 
It  will  also  keep  in  good  condition  for  several  years.  All  that  is 
required  if  it  becomes  dry  and  brittle  is  to  place  it  in  the  sun  for  a 
few  minutes.  Holding  it  before  the  fire  will  have  the  same  effect.  It 
is  not  necessary  to  use  the  thick  foundation  often  recommended  for  the 
brood  combs,  and  which  only  averages  six  to  eight  sheets  standard 
size  to  the  pound.  It  thus  becomes  expensive  when  numerous  colonies 
have  to  be  supplied.  We  always  use  the  thin  for  all  purposes,  which 
averages’sixteen  sheets  to  the  pound. — An  English  Bee-keeper. 
All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should  be 
directed  to  “The  Editor,”  12,  ItXltre  Court  Chambers, 
Fleet  Street,  Iiondon,  E.c.  It  is  requested  that  no  one 
will  write  privately  to  any  of  our  correspondents,  seeking 
information  on  matters  discussed  in  this  Journal,  as  doing  so 
subjects  them  to  unjustifiable  trouble  and  expense,  and  depart¬ 
mental  writers  are  not  expected  to  answer  any  letters  they 
may  receive  on  Gardening  and  Bee  subjects  through  the  post. 
If  information  be  desired  on  any  particular  subject  from  any 
particular  authority  who  may  be  named,  endeavour  will  be  made 
to  obtain  It  by  the  Editor.  Letters  of  inquiry  must  be  accom¬ 
panied  by  the  names  and  addresses  of  the  writers,  but  these  will 
neither  be  published  nor  disclosed  when  initials  or  noms  de  flume 
are  given  for  the  purpose  of  replies. 
■Correspondents  should  not  mix  up  on  the  same  sheet  questions  relating 
to  Gardening  and  those  on  Bee  subjects,  and  it  is  convenient  when 
each  question  is  written  on  a  separate  sheet.  All  articles  intended 
for  Insertion  should  be  written  on  one  side  of  the  paper  only  ;  and 
the  name  and  address  of  each  writer  must  be  known  by  tht 
Editor,  though  not  necessarily  for  insertion.  We  cannot,  as  a 
rule,  reply  to  questions  through  the  post,  and  we  do  not  under¬ 
take  to  return  communications  which,  for  any  reason,  cannot 
he  inserted. 
Matricaria  eximia  Golden  Ball  {Somerset) . — It  will  be  best  to  treat 
"this  as  a  half-hardy  annual,  sowing  as  soon  as  possible  in  heat  ;  prick 
off  into  boxes  or  pans  to  strengthen,  and  plant  out  at  the  end  of  May. 
It  will  flower  well  in  autumn.  Seeds  may  also  be  sown  outdoors  at  the 
end  of  April.  With  good  treatment  these  plants  will  also  flower  the  same 
summer  or  autumn. 
Schizophragma  hydrangeoides  (Climbing  Hydrangea)  (Idem). — This 
evergreen  greenhouse  shrub,  of  climbing  habit,  which  was  introduced 
from  Japan  in  1879,  requires  to  be  grown  in  good  well  drained  soil  on  a 
sunny  wall.  As  it  is  hardy  it  may  also  be  grown  outdoors  on  a  sunny 
sheltered  south  wall.  Plant  in  April.  It  is  self-clinging,  and  will 
reach  a  height  of  12  to  18  feet.  The  flowers,  which  are  produced  in 
autumn,  are  pink. 
Pressing  Wild  Flowers  (Tyro). — The  principal  point  needing  atten¬ 
tion  is  in  the  drying,  as  this  process  must  be  performed  gradually,  or 
the  characters  of  the  plants  will  not  be  preserved.  Thick  porous  paper 
is  used,  and  the  specimens  must  be  carefully  spread  out  in  as  natural  a 
manner  as  possible,  preserving  the  form  of  flowers  and  leaves,  and  in 
the  case  of  small  plants  the  natural  habit.  The  sheets  of  paper  and 
specimens  should  then  be  placed  in  small  piles,  with  a  stout  board  below, 
and  one  on  the  top;  upon  the  latter  weights  can  be  placed  to  provide 
the  necessary  pressure.  The  specimens  must  be  frequently  examined 
in  the  early  stages,  and  if  there  is  much  moisture  on  the  paper  fresh 
sheets  should  be  supplied  and  the  others  dried  before  being  used  again. 
Do  not  be  in  too  great  a  hurry  to  complete  the  process,  some  plants 
require  a  long  time,  and  if  any  attempt  is  made  to  “  mount  ”  them 
before  drying  is  completed  it  will  cause  much  after  trouble.  When, 
however,  it  is  seen  that  the  substance  of  the  plants  is  thoroughly  dried 
the  specimens  can  be  secured  to  stout  sheets  of  white  paper,  by  means 
of  thin  glue  or  strong  gum  applied  to  the  principal  parts  of  the  leaves 
or  stem,  or  what  is  preferable,  by  means  of  narrow  strips  of  paper 
placed  across  the  stem,  leaf  and  flower  stalks,  and  fixed  to  the  paper  by 
their  ends  with  the  glue.  Always  employ  large  sheets  of  paper,  so  that 
ample  room  can  be  allowed  to  the  specimen,  and  do  not  fi.x  them  all  in 
the  centre  of  paper,  but  let  some  be  near  the  sides,  as  it  will  be  more 
convenient  for  arrangement  in  the  herbarium,  as  it  equalises  the 
pressure.  At  the  base  of  the  sheet  the  botanical  and  common  name  of 
the  plant  should  be  given,  its  natural  order,  and  the  place  where  it  was 
found,  with  the  date. 
Rose  Seven  Sisters  (H.  S.  J.). — Yes,  there  is  a  Rose  bearing  the 
common  name  of  Seven  Sisters.  It  is  a  variety  of  Rosa  multiflora,  a 
very  beautiful,  free-growing  and  flowering  class  of  Rose,  introduced  into 
this  country  from  China  over  three-quarters  of  a  century  ago,  under  the 
name  of  Rosa  multiflora  Grevillia.  The  name  of  Seven  Sisters  was  no 
doubt  applied  to  this  Rose  in  consequence  of  the  great  diversity  of 
colours  displayed  in  the  blooms,  which,  as  you  correctly  state,  grow  in 
clusters  of  seven  or  more.  As  the  blooms  expand,  one  will  assume  a 
crimson,  one  a  purple,  and  another  a  rose  colour,  and  when  matured 
and  beginning  to  fade,  the  three  colours  may  be  seen  blended  beauti¬ 
fully  together  in  a  single  bloom.  Unfortunately  these  Roses  are  not 
sufficiently  hardy  for  general  planting  out  of  doors  on  account  of  their 
disposition  to  start  into  growth  early  in  spring,  and  thus  getting  their 
shoots  killed  by  the  frost.  On  a  well-sheltered  south  wall  the  Seven 
Sisters  would  do  well  if  the  precaution  is  taken  to  cover  it  up  with 
mats  during  winter  and  early  spring.  Planted  out  in  a  cool  greenhouse 
or  conservatory  and  allowed  to  ramble  along  the  roof  it  would  succeed 
better  still. 
Fairy  Rings  on  Lawns  (G.  S.  C.). — The  so-called  fairy  rings  are 
caused  by  fungi,  the  most  common  being  the  Pairy-ring  Mushroom  or 
Champignon,  Marasmius  oreades  (fig.  75).  It  grows  on  lawns,  grassy 
hills,  wind  swept  pastures,  and  amongst  the  short  grass  of  roadsides. 
Many  other  fungi  are  capable  of  making  fairy  rings,  that  is,  they  grow 
Fig.  75.— Fairy  Rings. 
in  circles,  that  of  the  species  named  being  usually  narrow  and  regular 
in  outline.  The  ring  probably  starts  from  a  single  fungus  (a),  which  has 
grown  from  wind-carried  spores,  and  the  growth  of  the  spawn  from  it 
(b)  in  the  ground  renders  the  spot  unfit  to  produce  another  fungus  of  the 
same  class.  When  the  ring  of  fungi  dies  it  acts  as  a  rich  nitrogenous 
manure  for  the  grass.  This  circle  contrasts  strongly  with  the  adjoining 
grass  infested  at  the  root  by  the  spawn  of  the  fungus,  which  is  very 
sickly  and  yellow.  The  rings  are  not  always  regular,  being  broken  here 
and  there,  according  as  circumstances  favour  the  development  of  the 
spawn.  The  large  fungi  giving  rise  to  fairy  rings  do  not  often  occur 
on  lawns.  The  St.  George’s  Mushroom,  Tricholoma  gambosum,  which 
appears  in  spring,  produces  very  bold  fairy  rings,  the  spawn  eating  up 
the  roots  of  the  grass,  and  the  fungus  itself  manuring  the  circle  in  a 
very  decisive  manner.  The  common  Mushroom  does  not  give  rise  to 
fairy  rings,  but  the  Horse  Mushroom,  Agaricus  arvensis  often  pro¬ 
duces  rings,  and  other  instances  of  ring  formation  by  fungi  are  well 
known.  These  rings  do  not  occur  in  rich  pastures  to  any  marked  extent, 
hence  manuring  may  be  said  to  be  the  best  means  of  getting  rid  of 
them,  the  soil  being  made  equally  rich  all  over  as  that  of  the  fairy  ring. 
This  is  sound  in  practice,  for  on  a  lawn  the  fairy  rings  were  a  great 
eyesore,  and  a  good  dressing  of  thoroughly  decayed  manure  in  February, 
the  rough  being  raked  off  at  the  end  of  March  and  the  lawn  rolled, 
obliterated  them,  the  ground  being  top-dressed  with  a  mixture  of  soot, 
air-slaked  lime,  and  wood  ashes  in  equal  parts  by  measure,  a  peck  of 
the  mixture  being  used  per  square  rod,  after  clearing  off  the  rough  parts 
of  the  manure.  In  another  case  excellent  results  followed  the  use  of 
lawn  manure  at  the  rate  of  3  to  4  ozs.  per  square  yard.  As  to  taking 
out  the  soil  where  the  fairy  rings  are  it  is  probable  they  would  appear 
again,  for  it  is  hardly  likely  the  whole  of  the  mycelium  would  be 
removed.  Besides,  there  will  be  plenty  of  spores  about,  and  it  is  only  a 
question  of  their  being  wind-carried  on  the  lawn  to  start  fresh  rings. 
We  therefore  advise  the  manuring  of  the  lawn,  and  as  a  special  means 
of  destroying  the  mjcelium  of  the  fungus  make  holes  with  an  iron 
rod  or  crowbar  about  6  inches  apart  and  deep,  extending  6  inches 
outside  the  ring  as  well  as  in  it,  and  fill  these  with  a  solution  of  Jeyes’ 
fluid,  a  wineglassful  or  2  fluid  ozs.  to  about  4  gallons  of  water,  applying 
also  to  the  surface  by  means  of  a  rose.  When  soaked  in  the  holes  may 
be  filled  with  gimd  soil  made  firm.  Then  manure  the  lawn  all  over  or 
supply  a  lawn  manure  according  to  the  instructions  supplied. 
