May  3,  1900. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
877 
A  Wew  Saffodll. — At  the  recent  spring  show,  which  was  held  in 
Ballsbridge  under  the  auspices  of  the  Royal  Dublin  Society,  Messrs. 
Hogg  &  Robertson,  Dublin,  displayed  a  few  blooms  of  their  new 
Daffodil  Cloncurry.  The  perianth  segments  are  curious;  three  of  them 
are  twisted,  and  the  remaining  ones  broad  and  flat,  the  tortuous  ones 
are  likewi.=e  narrow.  The  large  cup  is  a  deep  orange  scarlet.  Rumour 
places  the  honour  of  raising  this  variety  to  the  late  Mrs.  Lawrenson  of 
Salerno,  Killiney. — A.  O’N. 
Acacia  lophantlia. — Apropos  of  your  reply  to  “Miss,”  respecting 
the  hardiness  of  Acacia  lophantha,  I  cannot  from  my  own  experience 
regard  it  as  hardy.  On  the  contrary,  when  situated  in  Kildare  a 
number  of  seedlings  was  raised  annually  for  planting  out  in  a  sheltered 
nook  devoted  to  subtropical  gardening,  and  although  these  compared 
favourably  with  the  usual  bedding  plants  by  withstanding  early  frosts, 
they  invariably  succumbed  to  even  a  fairly  mild  winter.  As  a 
decorative  plant  for  house  work  it  was  at  that  time  much  used,  but 
owing  to  closing  up  its  foliage  at  night,  and  its  appearance  under 
artificial  light,  it  was  eventually  discarded  for  Jacaranda  mimossefolia, 
a  plant  something  similar  in  appearance  but  far  superior  to  the  Acacia 
for  decorative  purposes,  and  without  the  drawback  noticed.  Acacia 
lophantha  has  certainly  an  elegance  peculiarly  its  own,  but  it  quickly 
develops  into  a  coarse  habited  plant  under  glass.  It  may  also  be 
remarked  that  its  roots  emit  an  offensive  odour,  very  noticeable  when 
the  plant  is  turned  out  for  potting. — K. 
Prunus  Amygdalus  perslcoldes. —  Of  the  many  forms  of  the 
Almond  which  are  cultivated  for  the  sake  of  their  flowers,  this  is 
perhaps  the  best  for  all-round  purposes.  It  forms  a  well-shaped  tree 
15  to  20  feet  high,  of  a  rather  stricter  habit  than  the  type.  The 
flcwers,  which  open  in  March,  are  of  a  deep  rosy  pink,  and  are  freely 
produced  on  every  part  of  the  tree.  It  is  extremely  probable  that  this 
is  the  same  plant  as  that  which  was  described  nearly  fifty  years  ago  as 
the  Peach  Almond,  a  supposed  cross  between  the  Peach  and  the 
Almond,  and  which  was  said  to  produce  two  kinds  of  fruit  on  the  same 
tree,  and  sometimes  on  the  same  branch,  one  of  which  was  fleshy  and 
succulent  like  a  Peach,  but  bitter ;  and  the  other  hard  and  dry  like  the 
Almond,  but  both  containing  a  stone  with  a  fairly  sweet  kernel.  As 
the  plant  which  is  the  subject  of  this  note  does  not  fruit  in  this  country, 
it  has  been  impossible  up  to  the  present  to  exactly  verify  this;  but 
whether  a  hybrid  or  no,  it  is  a  plant  which  is  worthy  of  a  place  in  any 
garden  for  the  beauty  and  freedom  of  its  flowers.  It  is  propagated  by 
budding  or  grafting  on  the  common  Almond. — J. 
Town  Front  Flower  Cardens. — To  the  credit  of  the  present 
Miyor  of  Kingston-on-Thames,  Alderman  Moatt,  is  it  due  the  fact  that 
rather  than  spend  money  on  food  and  wine  he  has  instituted  this  year 
a  front  flower  garden  competition  in  the  borough,  finding  the  prize 
money  himself.  He  is  aided  by  Mr.  A.  Dean,  who  prepared  the 
schedule,  some  members  of  the  corporation  and  of  the  Chrysanthe¬ 
mum  Society  constituting  the  committee,  with  Councillor  Thyne  as 
secretary.  The  Mayor’s  object  is  to  encourage  flower  gardening  in  the 
hui'dreds  of  forecourts  of  the  streets,  and  thus  help  to  beautify  the 
town.  As  these  forecourts  vary  in  dimensions,  though  none  are  large, 
three  classes  have  been  formed — viz.,  those  of  1  rod  in  extent,  half  a 
rod,  and  a  quarter  of  a  rod.  There  is  also  a  further  class  for  front 
window  or  house  decoration.  In  all  these  classes  the  houses  must  not 
be  rated  over  £20,  so  as  to  keep  out  the  villas,  which  are  outside  the 
Mayor’s  intentions.  It  is  also  made  conditional  that  no  hired  labour 
be  employed  in  the  planting  or  keeping  of  the  gardens.  Five  prizes  are 
given  in  each  class,  and  they  range  from  20s.  down  to  4s.,  making  up 
a  total  of  £9  128.  6d.  A  farther  class  is  for  workmen’s  allotments  held 
under  the  corporation  on  the  Fair  Ground,  five  prizes  being  given  in 
this  case  also.  It  is  one  of  the  unfortunate  features  in  the  allotments 
that  because  a  statute  fair  is  held  on  the  ground  in  November  the 
crops  are  of  no  value  for  the  winter,  having  to  be  removed  or  destroyed. 
A  good  group  of  allotments  that  have  permanence  for  the  occupiers  is 
badly  needed  in  the  town,  but  land  is  scarce,  and  building  is  proceed¬ 
ing  rapidly  in  all  directions. — Observer. 
A  Warm  Bath  for  Phylloxera. — A  correspondent  on  page  351 
tells  ns  that  “washing  Vine  roots  with  water  at  110°  will  disinfect 
them  from  phylloxera.”  If  he  means  by  that  the  pest  will  be  killed 
he  has  had  a  tenderer  variety  of  it  than  the  sample  I  had  to  deal 
with.  In  a  very  bad  attack  of  the  enemy,  dipping  the  roots  in 
warm  water  had  no  effect ;  but  by  letting  them  remain  for  a  day 
in  water,  warm  or  cold,  the  lice  appeared  to  succumb — were,  in  fact, 
drowned.  Simply  washing  or  watering  the  roots  with  water  at  110° 
would  be  as  likely  to  make  phylloxera  comfortable  by  a  soothing  bath 
as  to  rid  the  roots  of  the  destructive  parasite.  Ammoniacal  liquor, 
or  gas  water  diluted  with  five  volumes  of  clear  water,  was  bad  for 
the  Vine  louse  and  good  for  the  Vines. — A  Victim. 
Planting  Vines. — No  doubt  the  practice  described  by  “  G.  A.” 
of  washing  all  the  soil  from  Vine  roots,  and  spreading  them  out  in 
the  orthodox  way  has  answered  very  well  with  him  and  other 
planters.  A  few  years  ago  when  planting  a  large  vinery,  a  discussion 
was  being  conducted  in  the  Journal  of  Horticulture  on  different  modes 
of  procedure.  Reflecting  that  I  had  shifted  fruiting  Vines  from 
12-inch  into  18-inch  pots,  and  noted  the  advantage  of  it,  I  transferred 
a  few  Vines  much  in  the  same  way  to  a  border.  The  drainage  was 
removed  and  some  of  the  roots  disentangled,  also  all  loose  surface 
soil  cleared  away,  but  the  great  mass  of  soil  and  the  bulk  of  the 
roots  were  undisturbed.  The  growth  these  Vines  made  excelled  those 
treated  as  described  by  “  G.  A.,”  and  gave  better  crops  earlier,  without 
revealing  any  signs  of  weakness  in  subsequent  years. — J.  Watson. 
Phlox  dlvarlcata. — “  F.  R.”  speaks  in  terms  of  high  approval  of 
Phlox  canadensis  on  page  351  last  week.  His  description  of  the 
flowers — “  bluish  lilac  of  a  shining  hue  ” — would  apply  equally  to 
P.  divaricata.  This  North  American  species  is,  so  far  as  I  have  seen, 
and  I  have  seen  many,  one  of  the  finest  spring  flowering  Phloxes  in 
cultivation.  The  plants  are  not  creeping  in  habit,  but  the  stems,  about 
a  foot  high,  more  or  less  erect,  and  in  the  aggregate  forming  perfect 
bouquets  of  well-formed  flowers  of  the  colour  above  described.  I  think 
I  have  read  of  this  Phlox  being  extensively  employed  at  Belvoir  Castle, 
which  is  famed  for  spring  gardening.  Since  writing  the  foregoing  I 
have  referred  to  “Johnson’s  Gardeners’ Dictionary,”  and  gather  that  the 
proper  name  for  P.  canadensis  is  divaricata.  When  planted  too  late  in 
the  spring  uniformly  satisfactory  results  are  not  obtained. — R.  Hill. 
Forced  Stocks  In  Sprlngr. — At  the  present  time  few  flowers  are 
more  appreciated  than  the  delicately  scented  Ten-week  or  other  forcing 
varieties  of  garden  Stocks.  Princess  Alice  for  cutting  purposes  can 
scarcely  be  surpassed,  and  in  vases  of  a  suitable  kind  they  are  very 
effective  as  well  as  agreeable  in  dwelling  rooms.  One  great  point  in 
favour  of  these  Stocks  is  their  adaptability  for  growing  iu  small  pots. 
Large  60-pots  furnish  capital  plants  and  blooms  quite  as  large  as  those 
growing  in  others  up  to  6-inch  sizes.  They  are  of  easy  culture,  and 
anyone  having  a  cold  pit  and  greenhouse  may  grow  them.  Seeds  are 
sown  in  June  and  July,  so  as  to  give  a  succession  of  bloom,  and  until 
the  winter  is  advanced  frame  room  only  is  given,  as  this  insures  dwarf, 
sturdy  growth.  They,  however,  endure  gentle  forcing  well,  and  by 
these  means  an  earlier  and  continuous  display  is  maintained.  There  are 
other  varieties  probably  as  good  as  these,  one  particularly  good  Wall¬ 
flower-leaved  I  have  seen,  but  whose  name  I  cannot  remember. — R.  A. 
Baffodlls  In  Shrubbery  Borders. — Where  sufficient  margin  can 
be  provided  these  make  a  beautiful  display  during  the  spring  months, 
but  in  dealing  with  them  I  observe  that  they  thrive  much  better  in 
sunny  positions  than  where  they  are  shaded  by  dense  shrubs  or  over¬ 
hanging  trees.  There  is  no  comparison  between  those  grown  in  our 
garden  in  shade  and  sunshine.  I  refer  more  particularly  to  the  variety 
N.  telamonius  plenus,  for  while  others  are  planted  in  varying  numbers, 
including  the  bright  N.  trumpet  major,  the  double  variety  has  the 
greater  space  devoted  to  it.  In  the  open  where  the  full  benefit  of 
sunshine  is  felt,  and  in  soil  enriched  with  decayed  tree  leaves,  these  are 
magnificent  both  in  size  and  depth  of  colour.  A  background  of  shrubs 
affords  excellent  relief,  and  when  the  Daffodils  have  attained  to  strong 
masses  are  gorgeous  in  the  extreme.  Those  having  pots  of  forced  roots 
may  do  well  to  plant  them  without  disturbance  in  out  of  the  way 
corners,  where  with  light  and  suitable  soil  they  will  give  telling  bits  of 
colour  in  spring  ;  if  not  in  the  next  year,  they  will  in  others  to  follow. 
They  can  either  be  planted  now  or  in  a  dormant  state  in  the  autumn. 
From  newly  imported  roots  an  immediate  return  is  given,  and  once 
established  they  do  not  require  disturbing  for  a  few  years,  or  until 
they  have  become  too  dense  and  overcrowded  to  give  fine  blooms.  The 
finest  flowers  no  doubt  come  from  roots  thinly  disposed. — W.  S. 
