176 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
March  i,  1897. 
lait  year  that  the  Aidin  Snowdrop,  for  which  we  are  indebted  to 
our  good  friend  Mr.  Whittall,  did  not  prove  so  fine  as  in  the  year 
before.  This  year,  on  the  contrary,  it  has  surpassed  itself,  and  is 
even  finer  than  at  first.  It  has  all  along  shown  a  greater  tendency 
than  most  of  the  others  to  produce  two  flowers  on  one  stem,  and 
this  year  this  feature  is  more  than  usually  noticeable  in  the  case  of 
a  clump  in  a  low-lying  place  at  the  base  of  a  rockery.  Very  fine  is 
this  Aidin  Snowdrop,  which  botanists  call  Galanthu*  Elwesi,  var. 
unguiculatus — a  barbarous  name,  one  can  hardly  help  saying,  and 
not  a  bit  better  if  “  Englished  ”  into  the  “  Claw-petalled  Snow¬ 
drop,”  which  one  is  led  to  believe  is  what  it  means.  Doubtless  the 
segments  show  the  appearance  which  have  led  our  botanists  to 
distinguish  the  variety  by  this  name,  but  ’tis  a  pity  ’tis  so. 
Near  at  hand  is  a  clump  of  Galanthus  ochrospeilus,  said  by  some 
to  be  the  finest  of  all  Snowdrops.  The  bulbs  in  this  clump  were 
sent  by  Mr.  Whittall,  and  have  now  flowered  twice.  One  is 
inclined  to  hesitate  before  assenting  to  the  opinion  that  it  is  “the 
finest  of  all  Snowdrops,”  but  should  the  blooms  continue  the 
improvement  they  show  this  year  as  compared  with  last  one,  it 
would  be  difficult  to  find  much  fault  with  it.  The  flowers  in  the 
clump  are  variable,  but  the  great  majority  hare  long  shapely 
flowers  which  in  their  early  stages  are  exceedingly  beautiful.  The 
Cassaba  Snowdrops — exceedingly  handsome  as  they  were — are, 
alas  !  nearly  all  away.  There  were  no  signs  of  the  dreaded  fungus 
about  them  last  year,  but  now  there  is  only  a  solitary  flower  left 
and  (as  usual)  that  not  the  best.  Cultivate  as  we  may  the  spirit  of 
gaining  pleasure  from  our  gardens,  the  remorseless  hand  of  disease 
plucks  some  of  our  joy  from  our  grasp.  We  must  then  turn  to 
the  Crocus  to  gain  from  its  bright  flowers  some  cheering  draught  to 
allay  our  grief  and  console  us  for  our  disappointments. 
A  beautiful  little  Crocus  seen  in  bloom  by  the  writer  for  the 
first  time  only  a  day  or  two  ago  is  the  rather  rare  C.  Crewei  of 
Hooker,  thought  to  be  perhaps  the  same  as  C.  melanthera  of 
Boissier.  For  this  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  James  Allen,  who  received 
it  some  years  ago  from  my  kind  correspondent,  Mr.  Whittall.  This 
was  rather  an  unexpected  find,  as  the  first  record  of  this  plant 
was  from  the  island  of  Syra  in  1874.  Mr.  George  Maw  tells  us 
that  it  was  found  on  the  hill  above  the  town  by  Mr.  Elwe3  while  on 
the  island  on  his  way  to  Asia  Minor.  From  a  corm  flowered  by 
the  late  Rev.  Harpur  Crewe  in  1875  Sir  J  D.  Hooker  figured  the 
species  in  the  “  Botanical  Magazine  ”  (plate  6168).  Mr.  Maw  after¬ 
wards  searched  unsuccessfully  in  Syra  for  it,  and  one  of  his 
correspondents  also  looked  in  vain  for  it,  so  that  it  is  pleasant  to 
know  that  it  is  in  existence  in  Asia  Minor.  As  Mr.  Maw  remarks, 
it  is  “  closely  allied  to  C.  biflorus,”  and  is  “mainly  distinguished 
from  that  species  by  its  dark  chocolate  anthers.”  It  is  much 
smaller  than  C.  biflorus,  as  commonly  sold  under  the  name  of  the 
“  Scotch  ”  Crocus,  but  not  dissimilar  in  that  respect  to  some 
C.  biflorus  received  from  Mr.  Whittall,  or  to  some  of  the  others — 
such  as  C.  biflorus  estriatus.  The  dark  chocolate  anthers  show 
well  against  the  white  inner  segments  with  their  orange  throat 
and  the  orange-scarlet  stigmata.  The  outer  segment*  are 
suffused  with  buff,  and  prettily  feathered  with  dark  chocolate 
colour  also. 
A  pretty  little  Crocus  also — and  one,  too,  which  is  but  rare — is 
C.  tauri,  which  I  owe  to  Mr.  Whittall’s  kindness.  It  was  intro¬ 
duced  into  cultivation  by  that  gentleman  in  1892,  although  known 
previously  from  herbarium  specimen*  collected  by  Aucher-Eloy 
near  the  Cilician  Gates  of  the  Taurus.  Its  shade  of  colour  is  rather 
distinct,  and,  although  called  “  pale  purple,”  is  nearer  a  “  pale  blue” 
than  almost  any  other  in  this  garden.  The  segments  are  very 
pointed,  and  when  fully  open  the  little  flower  is  starlike  in  its  form. 
It,  like  C.  Crewei,  resembles  C.  biflorus,  its  differences  “  consisting 
in  the  exceptional  shortness  of  its  yellow  stigmata,  its  self-coloured 
flowers,  and  its  thinner  corm  tunic.” — ( Maw  )  Oae  is  tempted  to 
say  more  about  some  of  the  other  Crocus  species  or  varieties  now 
in  bloom.  There  are  some  selected  varieties  of  that  very  beautiful 
early  species  C  Imperati ;  some  are  varieties  of  Imperati  longifolius, 
and  there  are  also  some  selections  of  C.  Tommasinianus  which  show 
considerable  variations  from  the  ordinary  shade.  I  must  restrain 
myself,  however,  so  as  to  find  space  for  reference  t^  a  pretty 
little  Spring  Meadow  Saffron  received  last  year  as  Colchicum 
fasciculare.  The  name  is  at  present  sub  judice ,  as  I  have 
just  sent  a  flower  and  leaf  to  our  great  English  botanist, 
Mr.  J.  G.  Biker.  This  has  been  done  at  the  request  of  Mr. 
Gumbleton,  who  has  been  in  correspondence  with  Mr.  Baker  regard¬ 
ing  this  Colchicum,  but  whose  flower*,  grown  under  glass,  were 
over.  It  would  be  unbecoming  of  me,  and  would  almost  be  “con¬ 
tempt  of  court  ”  on  my  part  were  I  to  express  an  opinion  on  the 
question  of  nomenclature  now  referred  to  so  eminent  an  authority. 
It  is  Pot,  however,  out  of  place  to  say  that  this  is  a  very  attractive 
little  flower,  and  well  worth  growing.  The  leave*,  which  are  rather 
(broad,  appeared  about  the  end  of  the  year  ;  then  two  little  rosy 
tipped  and  shaded  buds  emerged  in  the  centre.  These  gradually 
developed  and  were  added  to,  until,  before  the  flower  was  sent  to 
Kew,  there  were  six  flowers  in  the  cluster,  which  appeared  from 
the  centre  of  the  leaves.  The  rosy-pink  of  the  flowers  has  become 
fainter  as  the  blooms  have  progressed  ;  but  still  they  are  very 
pleasing,  and  have  been  almost  “  pets  of  the  household  ”  since  their 
first  discovery.  The  leaves  look  as  if  they  would  still  extend,  but 
at  present  the  flowers  are  well  above  them.  This  little  Spring 
Meadow  Saffron  has  been  out  all  winter,  and  is  growing  in  rather 
light  soil  at  the  base  of  a  rockery,  its  exposure  being  S.S.E. 
Space  fails  me  now,  and  the  garden  tempts  one  to  lay  down  the 
pen  for  the  nonce  and  seek  pleasure  among  these  Snowflakes,  Snow¬ 
drops,  Crocuses,  Hepaticas,  Winter  Aconites,  Anemones,  Primroses, 
and  other  early  flowers — not  forgetting  Iris  histrioides,  so  well 
figured  in  the  Journal  of  February  11th  (page  111).  The  tempta¬ 
tion  must,  however,  be  foregone  for  an  hour  or  two,  as  less  congenial 
tasks  with  pen  and  ink  await  one  before  the  post  goes.  Still,  one 
can  steal  a  glance  through  the  window  and  see  some,  at  least,  of 
one’s  favourites.  With  theie  and  the  Hyacinths  and  Narcissi  in 
the  window  even  irksome  things  are  lightened,  and  our  hearts 
uplifted  by  the  beauty  of  the  flowers. — S.  Arnott. 
CURE  OF  CHLOROSIS  (OR  YELLOWS)  IN 
PEACHES. 
A  few  remarks  on  this  subject  from  one  who  had  the  disease 
for  several  years  in  its  worst  form  on  several  trees  under  his  charge 
may  be  of  interest  at  this  season.  These  were  all  grown  under 
glass,  and  are  now,  without  exception,  as  healthy  as  any  trees  in  the 
country . 
I  am  encouraged  to  state  my  failures  owing  to  a  letter  received 
from  an  unknown  reader  of  the  Journal  of  HorticuUure  whilst  the 
experiments  were  being  carried  out,  which  was  an  acknowledgment 
of  the  help  he  had  received  from  some  notes  of  mine  on  another 
subject  in  these  pages.  The  writer  *aid,  “  I  think  if  more  of  us 
would  only  confers  a  few  of  our  perplexities  and  failures  a  little 
oftener,  and  send  them  up  to  ‘  the  dear  old  Journal,’  all  the  horti¬ 
cultural  world  would  be  great  gainers.  For  thirty-five  years  have 
I  been  working  and  trying,  but  I  am  still  willing  to  confess  that 
I  am  often  perplexed.” 
In  the  first  place,  I  may  state  that  the  soil  here  is  cold  and 
heavy,  and  is  on  the  magnesian  limestone  formation.  Some  may 
be  tempted  to  remark  that  it  is  just  the  soil  for  fruit  trees.  So  it 
is  for  certain  kinds,  Apricot*  and  Plums  doing  remarkably  well, 
Apple*  and  Pears  indifferently.  The  foliage  always  has  a  yellow, 
unhealthy  appearance,  the  former  on  the  Crab  stock  cankering 
badly,  though  young  trees  on  the  Paradise  stock  planted  in  recent 
year*  are  more  promising. 
Vines  under  glass,  the  majority  of  which  are  forty  years  old, 
invariably  carry  heavy  crops  of  well  finished  fruit.  The  borders, 
however,  have  been  renewed  of  late  years. 
Peaches  not  being  a  success  on  the  open  walls  in  this  north¬ 
eastern  county,  a  house  wa*  built  50  yards  in  length  for  the 
express  purpose  of  growing  them.  The  border  was  well  drained 
in  the  usual  manner,  fresh  turf,  with  the  grass  side  downwards, 
being  placed  over  the  drainage.  The  best  of  the  old  soil  was 
retained,  but  quite  three  parts  of  the  border  was  composed  of  turf 
cut  from  an  old  pasture,  which  had  been  stacked  a  few  months 
previously.  Manure  was  not  used,  but  wood  ashes  and  charcoal 
were  freely  incorporated  with  the  soil. 
In  doe  course  the  trees  were  planted  and  grew  rapidly  the  first 
season,  the  foliage  being  exceptionally  healthy.  The  house  was 
not  heated  at  that  time,  so  the  trees  started  naturally  the  following 
spring.  They  grew  freely,  but  by  midsummer  several  of  the  trees 
showed  undoubted  symDtoms  of  the  yellows.  The  first  to  become 
affected  was  a  tree  of  Goshawk,  followed  by  Royal  George  and  two 
or  three  others.  By  autumn  the  foliage  on  the  affected  trees  was 
yellow  and  sickly  looking,  though  they  had  made  good  growth. 
These  trees  were  afterwards  lifted,  similar  soil  to  what  was 
first  used  being  given  to  them.  For  a  few  months  there  was  an 
improvement,  but  eventually  all  the  trees  (upwards  of  three 
dozen)  became  affected.  Stirling  Castle  suffered  the  least,  owing 
probably  to  this  variety  being  always  worked  on  the  Brompton 
stock. 
I  suggested  to  my  employer  that  the  soil  should  be  analysed. 
He  thought  that  was  unnecessary,  as  we  obtained  good  Peaches. 
But  after  the  trees  had  been  affected  for  two  or  three  years  the 
growths  became  weaker,  many  of  the  shoots  dying,  and  eventually 
some  of  the  worst  trees  were  destroyed.  In  the  meantime  many 
experiments  with  chemicals  were  tried.  Having  read  of  Professor 
Sach’s  experiments  with  sulphate  of  iron  at  Gie*mbeim,  I  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  iron  of  which  the  soil  was  *hort. 
I  therefore  dissolved  sulphate  of  iron  in  warm  water  and  applied  it 
to  the  trees.  In  some  instances  the  root*  were  bared  before  the 
