Jane  7,  1900. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
479 
- - 
Notes  on  Flea  Life 
have  greater  substance.  Amongst  the  diverse  colours  we  find  crimson, 
crimson  purple,  purple,  rose,  flesh,  purple  violet,  pink,  pure  white, 
white  with  purple  blotches,  and  white  with  rose  blotches.  As 
indicative  of  their  floriferousness  it  may  be  added  that  on  one  footstalk 
were  counted  as  many  as  nine  perfectly  developed  flowers.  As  each 
plant  produces  several  spikes  one  can  readily  picture  the  effect  of  a 
good  collection. 
As  an  advance  upon  this  section  we  now  have  Streptocarpus 
achimeniflorns,  which  was  obtained  by  fertilising  S.  polyanthus,  a 
pretty  South  African  species  having  bluish  purple  flowers,  with  a 
white  form  of  one  of  the  firm’s  original  hybrids.  This  has  resulted 
in  a  plant  of  splendid  habit,  hardy  constitution,  and  even  greater 
freedom  of  flowering  than  the  hybrids.  The  photographic  illustration 
of  S.  a.  albns  (fig.  129),  and  which  was  lent  by  Messrs.  Veitch  &  Sons, 
gives  an  admirable  idea  of  the  habit  of  the  plant,  but  the  flowers  are 
shown  far  too  small.  One  can  scarcely  grasp  from  the  illustration  the 
breadth  of  the  flowers,  or  of  the  great  length  of  tube  whicb  add  so 
greatly  to  its  beauty.  Sub¬ 
sequent  to  this  a  type  with 
larger  flowers  has  been 
secured,  and  this  is  named 
S.  a.  giganteus.  These  give 
blooms  of  mauve,  Cam¬ 
bridge  blue,  and  lavender 
shades.  There  are  plenty 
of  Streptocarpus  at  Chelsea 
now,  and  those  who  wish 
to  see  them  may  do  so 
at  practically  any  time. — 
r.  W.  H. 
[An  award  of  merit  was 
recommended  for  this  strain 
by  the  Floral  Committee 
of  the  Royal  Horticultural 
Society  on  Tuesday.] 
A  FRIEND  of  mine  was 
remarking  lately  that  he 
thought  gardeners  often 
had  more  annoyance  from 
fleas  than  many  people ; 
the  idea  seemed  laughable, 
but  it  is  possible  he  was 
right.  In  such  a  matter  we 
cannot  expect  to  get  any 
•statistics  which  would  give 
conclusive  evidence.  It  is 
a  fact,  however,  that  gar¬ 
deners  have  often  to  do 
with  matting  and  sundry 
woollen  substances,  which 
are  presumed  to  be  nur¬ 
series  for  the  flea  tribe  j 
also  some  of  them  keep  tools  and  other  appliances  in  wooden  sheds 
not  of  recent  construction,  and  these  are  supposed  sometimes  to 
harbour  fleas.  Again,  dog  kennels  are  frequently  placed  in  a  yard  near 
to  the  garden,  and  they  afford  home  for  the  insects,  both  in  the  juvenile 
and  adult  stage.  Though  the  dog  flea  may  prefer  to  take  its  aliment 
from  the  quadruped,  I  consider  there  is  no  doubt  upon  the  point  that 
both  this  species,  and  the  one  infeating  cats,  will  attack  mankind  when 
they  have  the  chance. 
As  an  entomologist  I  am  obliged  to  own  that  the  history  of  the  flea 
is  lamentably  meagre,  and  we  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain  yet  some 
most  important  particulars  concerning  its  habits.  Thus,  for  instance, 
we  do  not  know  whether  there  is  only  a  yearly  brood  or  a  succession. 
There  are  certain  months  when  they  appear  to  be  more  numerous,  or 
active  at  least ;  these  are  in  the  spring  and  autumn.  The  erratic  habits 
of  Pulex  irritans  afford  one  excuse  for  this,  and  the  undesirableness  of 
much  acquaintance  with  it  is  another.  A  philosopher  who  has  studied 
the  character  of  the  flea  remarks  that  it  exhibits  a  singular  combination 
n.Tid  vonkless  hardihood,  which  is  probably  near  the 
Hybrid  Streptocarpus. 
One  can  name  few,  if  any,  florists’  flower  upon  which  the  grower 
has  not  exercised  his  skill  during  the  past  twenty  years.  By  the  aid 
of  hybridisation  and  cross  fertilisation  the  forward  movements  have 
been  numerous  and  singularly  advantageous.  When  we  look  at  the 
■Chinese  Primulas,  Cyclamens,  Gloxinias,  Chrysanthemums,  Roses,  and 
others,  we  see  that  while  one  or  two  in  each  may  have  been  with  us 
for  from  twelve  to  twenty  years,  the  great  majority  are  of  modern 
production.  The  craze  is  apparently  for  novelty,  and  naturally  enough 
the  skilled  hybridist  does  his  best  to  satisfy  the  general  demand. 
As  far  as  hybrid  Streptocarpus  are  concerned,  we  must  come  down 
to  within  seven  or  eight  years  before  we  find  them  being  operated 
upon  in  earnest.  Prior  to  that  the  range  of  colouration  provided  by 
the  species  was  comparatively  limited,  though  what  we  had  were  very 
distinct  the  one  from  the  other.  As  with  the  flowers  so  with  the 
■foliage,  which  presented 
marked  characteristics. 
Here,  then,  was  a  new  field, 
and  one  of  the  first  to 
venture  on  it  was  the  firm 
of  J.  Veitch  and  Sons  of 
Chelsea,  who,  seeing  the 
commercial  popularity  of  a 
hybrid  race,  urged  Mr.  John 
Heal  to  practise  his  hand. 
The  work  was  soon  under 
weigh,  and  at  the  present 
moment  we  are  feeling  the 
beneficial  results,  for  the 
advance  made  has  been 
most  extraordinary.  Where 
six  years  back  there  was  a 
limited  selection  of  colours, 
and  in  some  cases  ungainly 
foliage,  we  now  have  an 
abundance  of  shades  from 
which  to  choose,  and  the 
plants  are,  moreover,  of 
attractive  habit. 
The  section  known  as 
Veitch’s  hybrids  has  be¬ 
come  immensely  popular 
by  reason  of  the  varied 
colours  provided  in  the 
flowers,  the  ease  with  which 
they  may  be  grown,  and 
their  remarkable  florifer¬ 
ousness.  Of  course  some 
people  do  not  succeed  in 
their  culture ;  but  this  is 
the  case  with  all  kinds  of 
plants.  So  far  as  can  be 
gathered,  however,  the 
chief  cause  of  failure  is  the  j’£q.  i29. — Streptocarpus  achimeniflorus  albus. 
provision  of  too  much  heat. 
The  seedlings  should  be 
raised  in  a  warm  temperature,  but  during  all  the  subsequent 
stages  a  greenhouse  is  the  most  suitable  place  that  can  be  found  for 
them.  In  a  greater  heat  the  plants  are  subject  to  attacks  from  insect 
pests,  notably  mealy  bug,  and  the  peculiar  formation  of  the  leaves 
makes  their  eradication  almost  impossible.  Thus  the  plants  soon 
commence  to  suffer,  and  the  results  attained  to  are  frequently  the 
reverse  of  satisfactory.  But  when  the  plants  are  treated  on  more 
rational  lines,  as  is  the  case  at  the  Feltham  Nurseries  of  Messrs.  Veitch 
and  Sons,  one  may  look  in  vain  for  insect  pests  ;  they  are  absolutely 
kept  at  bay  by  good  cultivation.  The  spectacle  presented  by  a  house 
100  feet  long  full  of  splendidly  flowered  plants  will  be  readily  imagined 
by  those  persons  who  saw  the  collection  at  the  Temple  Show. 
The  strain  now  in  all  justice  termed  Veitoh’s  New  Hybrids 
continues  to  make  material  advance,  and  never  prior  to  this  year  have 
the  plants  been  so  good.  It  is  very  apparent  from  their  condition  that 
they  are  similar  to  most  other  plants  in  preferring  a  purer  air  in 
which  to  make  their  growth  to  the  tainted  atmosphere  of  the 
•metropolis.  The  flowers  are  clearer  in  colour,  and  with  the  leaves 
