May  31,  1900. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
Tbe  Olive  riy. — A  fortune  awaits  the  man  who  finds  a  means  of 
exterminating  the  Olive  fly,  for  in  Tuscany  in  a  single  year,  says  Mr. 
Vice-Consul  Carmichael  of  Leghorn,  he  and  his  can  easily  do  damage 
to  the  tune  of  five  millions  sterling.  What  seems  to  be  wanted,  says 
Mr.  Carmichael,  is  that  entomologists  of  experience  should  carefully 
study  the  habits  of  the  fly  with  a  view  to  finding  out  the  hitherto 
undiscovered  winter  habitat. 
Tbe  'World’s  Great  Forests. —  Canada  heads  all  other  countries 
in  the  extent  of  her  forests.  She  possesses  799,230,720  acres  of  forest- 
eovered  land.  Eussia  is  credited  with  498,240,000  acres,  about 
48,000,000  more  than  the  United  States.  India  comes  next  with 
140,000,000  acres.  Germany  has  34,347,000  acres,  France  23,466,450, 
and  the  British  Islands  only  2,695,000.  This  computation  does  not 
include  Africa  or  South  America,  both  of  which  contain  immense 
forests. 
Furcrsea  Bedlngbausl. — A  fine  specimen  of  this  Mexican  plant 
has  recently  flowered  in  the  Mexican  house  at  Kew.  It  consists  of  a 
stem  1  foot  long,  surmounted  by  some' fifty  or  more  glaucous  leaves 
4  feet  long  by  2  inches  wide.  From  the  centre  of  the  leaves  the  fiower 
spike  rises  to  a  height  of  10  feet.  The  main  stem  is  bright  red,  bearing 
numerous  bracts  of  the  same  colour.  Side  branches  are  freely  pro¬ 
duced  which  range  from  18  inches  down  to  3  inch  in  length.  From 
these  side  branches  numerous  narrow,  tubular,  pendulous,  green  fiowers 
hang,  the  whole  making  a  very  conspicuous  object  among  the  sur¬ 
rounding  plants.  For  the  sake  of  its  ornamental  foliage  alone  it  is 
worth  growing  for  decorative  purposes. — D. 
17 ote worthy  Asparagus. — Mr.  J.  Udale  has  sent  us  from  the 
County  Council  Experimental  Gardens  at  Droitwich,  a  small  sample 
bunch  of  remarkably  fine  Asparagus.  The  twenty-five  heads  weighed 
4  lbs.  10  ozs.,  and  some  of  the  larger  turned  the  scale  at  i  lb.  each.  The 
stems  ranged  from  9  to  12  inches  in  length,  4  or  5  inches  being  green 
and  tender.  Mr.  Udale’s  method  of  culture  was  described  and  a  fine 
specimen  figured  in  the  Journal  of  Horticulture  of  June  29th  last  year. 
Much  of  the  success  is  no  doubt  attributable  to  the  intelligent  selection 
of  crowns  for  planting,  as  raised  from  seed  sown  in  April,  1896.  Last 
year  the  heaviest  bunch  of  twenty-five  heads  weighed  3  lbs.  8  ozs. 
This  year  the  weight,  as  above  stated,  is  4  lbs.  10  ozs.  So  far  as  we 
remember  it  is  the  greatest  weight  that  has  been  recorded  in  these 
columns.  Has  it  ever  been  exceeded  in  this  country  ? 
A  Bamboo  Flower  Stand. — One  of  the  prettiest  flower  stands 
which  has  appeared  of  late  is  made  of  a  piece  of  bamboo  from  4  to 
5  feet  high,  nailed  upon  a  stand  of  two  smaller  cross-pieces  in  the  shape 
of  the  letter  X.  A  hole  of  about  3  inches  deep  is  cut  above  each  knot 
in  the  upright  bamboo,  and  a  natural  receptacle  for  flowers  is  made  in 
this  easy  fashion.  Bamboo  grows  in  sections,  so  that  as  there  is  a  solid 
piece  of  wood  between  each  portion  of  the  upright  stick,  and  nothing 
remains  to  be  done  but  to  pour  water  into  the  holes,  and  to  place 
flowers  in  each.  Lilac  and  Laburnum  look  exquisite  when  placed 
alternately  in  the  bamboo  flower  stand,  but  almost  any  kind  of  foliage 
is  effective  when  used  in  this  way.  The  flower  stand  should  be  placed 
in  the  corner  of  a  room  or  entrance  hall,  and  the  stand  becomes  almost 
invisible  when  it  is  nicely  filled  with  flowers.  These  useful  articles  for 
wall  decoration  cost,  says  a  daily  contemporary,  3s.  or  4s.  when  bought 
at  a  fashionable  florists,  but  they  can  be  made  at  home  for  a  third  of 
the  price. 
Carnation  Mrs.  Hemsley. — Whether  this  be  of  recent  origin  or 
not  I  am  unable  to  say,  but  the  name  certainly  is  not  a  familiar  one 
among  the  better  known  Carnations,  I  have  only  seen  it  growing  in 
one  garden,  that  belonging  to  W.  H.  Laverton,  Esq.,  Westbury,  Wilts, 
of  which  Mr.  G.  P.  Bound  has  charge.  The  great  charms  of  the  flower 
are  found  in  the  dove-like  scent,  the  unburst  calyx,  the  beautiful 
crimson  colour,  and  the  large  size.  Its  habit  of  growth  is  not  so 
commendable,  because  it  is  tall  and  spreading.  Mr.  Bound  overcomes 
this  failing  by  giving  it  a  position  at  the  end  of  the  house,  where  by  the 
aid  of  a  few  strained  wires  the  growths  can  be  trained.  It  appears  to 
be  as  free  to  root  as  it  is  in  growth,  which  cannot  be  said  of  every 
variety.  Those  who  cannot  accommodate  any  except  neat  growers 
should  avoid  this  one  ;  on  the  other  hand,  where  a  small  extent  of  wall 
can  be  given  up  to  it  in  the  manner  indicated,  and  careful  cultivation 
afforded,  results  cannot  be  other  than  satisfactory.  Large  pots  are 
better  avoided  unless  wall  space  is  such  as  to  accommodate  its  free 
growth. — W.  S. 
Rbododendron  Countess  of  Haddington. — In  the  Himalayan 
house  at  Kew  two  plants  of  this  hybrid,  planted  to  form  one  bush,  were 
at  the  end  of  April  making  a  fine  display.  It  is  said  to  be  a  hybrid 
between  R.  Dalhousim  and  R.  formosum.  In  the  foliage  and  the  shape 
of  the  flowers  the  former  is  readily  traced,  the  influence  of  R.  formosum 
being  slight,  but  the  colour  is  of  a  much  deeper  rose  than  is  ever  seen 
in  that  plant.  The  flowers  are  tubular,  2^  or  3  inches  long,  by  the 
same  across  the  mouth,  fragrant,  deep  red  when  in  bud,  bright  rose 
when  first  expanded,  fading  to  almost  white  before  they  fall.  It  makes 
a  fairly  compact  bush,  having  none  of  the  straggling  habit  of  R.  i)al- 
housiee,  and  is  at  the  same  time  more  floriferous  than  that  plant. 
A  cold  house  is  best  for  it,  as  if  grown  in  heat  it  soon  becomes 
exhausted.  It  makes  a  free  flowering  pot  plant,  but  is  much  better 
when  planted  in  a  border.  Anyone  with  the  room  to  spare  in  a  cool 
greenhouse  or  conservatory  could  not  fail  to  be  pleased  with  this 
charming  plant  if  they  gave  it  a  fair  trial. — W.  D. 
Cblswlck  and  Gunnersbury. — I  was  much  struck  with  a  moat 
pertinent  observation  in  relation  to  the  Chiswick  controversy  made  the 
other  day  by  that  able  gardener,  Mr.  Jas.  Hudson.  He  said,  “  Persons 
have  thoughtlessly  assumed  that  because  we  can  grow  things  pretty 
well  at  Gunnersbury,  that  the  same  conditions  exist  at  Chiswick  ;  but 
that  is  absurd.  Chiswick  Gardens  are  not  only  closely  surrounded  by 
buildings,  but  are  being  more  and  more  closed  in  every  year,  so  that 
every  season  atmospheric  conditions  become  worse.  Here  in  Gunners¬ 
bury  we  are  protected  not  only  by  belts  of  lofty  trees,  that  help  to 
purify  the  atmosphere,  but  we  are  in  the  midst  of  about  1000  acres 
of  open  land,  for  behind  is  the  great  expanse  of  Ealing  Common,  and 
all  round  a  big  area  of  land  belonging  to  the  Rothschild  family,  which 
they  will  not  allow  to  be  built  upon,  so  that  between  the  two  places  no 
fair  comparison  can  be  instituted.”  What  a  blessing  the  Gunnersbury 
estate  is  in  the  hands  of  people  who  are  not  subject  to  the  building 
fiend. — A.  D. 
Seed  Pockets. — The  old  time  seed  pocket,  with  its  tightly  sealed 
ends,  does  not  appear  to  be  worthy  the  notice  of  the  inventors’  atten¬ 
tion,  at  least  not  generally  speaking.  One  at  least  of  the  great  seed 
houses  has  departed  from  this  custom,  and  instead  use  a  folding 
form,  which  is  rendered  much  more  accessible  and  handy  at  sowing 
time.  In  the  case  of  many  seeds,  vegetable  or  flower,  the  gardener 
often  finds  it  necessary  to  divide  his  stock,  so  as  to  make  a  second  oii 
even  a  third  sowing,  and  to  this  the  ordinary  gummed  pocket  does  not 
lend  itself  very  conveniently,  for  once  the  seal  is  broken  it  is  not  always 
easy  to  repair.  Hard  seeds,  unless  securely  enclosed,  will  often  be 
found  loose  in  the  box  or  seed  chest  when  frequently  sorted,  and  thus 
become  wasted.  In  the  pockets  which  are  hand-folded  and  ungnmmed 
seed-sowing  is  much  simplified.  As  a  protection  against  loss  a  small 
pasted  label  is  used  as  a  seal,  bearing  the  season’s  date.  Old  customs 
die  hard.  Sealed  pockets  have  been  an  old  time  institution,  and  this 
being  so  reform  is  slow  in  gaining  headway. — S. 
Xerrlas  as  Town  Plants. — This  is  always  an  attractive  shrub 
in  the  spring  months.  Passing  some  small  front  gardens  abutting  the 
highway  leading  from  Trowbridge  towards  Devizes  1  could  not  resist 
a  halt  to  admire  what  to  me  was  the  prettiest  effect  I  have  ever  seen 
from  the  shrub  under  notice.  The  garden,  of  an  oblong  shape,  had  low 
boundary  walls  on  three  sides,  the  house  itself  forming  the  fourth,  and 
these  were  densely  furnished  with  luxuriant  growth  and  flower,  which 
made  a  picture  not  easily  described,  but  envied  by  many  beholders.  The 
double  form  was  that  represented,  and  certainly  the  example  is  one 
that  in  town  gardens  may  be  followed  with  both  advantage  and  pleasure. 
Owners  of  small  town  gardens  oftei^  vie  with  each  other  in  securing 
the  best  “  show,”  some  in  spring,  others  in  summer.  The  same  uniform 
results  may  not  be  obtained  in  every  case,  because  in  some  gardens  its 
growth  is  slow  and  weakly.  Poverty  of  the  soil  is  often  the  cause  of 
this,  and  for  which  it  is  not  difficult  to  find  a  remedy.  It  is  the  only 
instance  I  have  seen  where  the  Kerria  has  been  so  employed,  and  with 
such  striking  completeness,  and  a  record  is  given  of  it  so  that  others 
desirous  of  originality  in  planting  may  find  a  useful  hint  and  act  upon 
it  in  due  season. — R.  A. 
