June  10,  1897. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
509 
lutea  (common  yellow  Water  Lily),  Nuphar  advena  (yellow  American 
Lily);  Nymphasa  alba  (common  white  Water  Lily),  Hottonia  palustris 
(Water  Violet),  Aponogeton  distachyon  (Water  Hawthorn),  Stratiotes 
aloides,  a  plant  like  a  Pandanus,  with  white  flowers.  In  the  next  pond, 
with  1|  foot  of  water  and  6  or  8  inches  mud,  which  depth  I  find  suits 
most  ot  the  Water  Lilies  best,  plant  in  the  centre  Nymph  tea  Marliacea 
chrometella  (cream  coloured,  a  most  perfect  and  beautiful  flower,  which 
will  bloom  freely  from  June  till  October),  on  either  side  Nymphtea 
Laydekeri  rosea,  a  bright  carmine  rose  coloured  flower  ;  and  Nymphrea 
Marliacea  carnea,  a  grand  bloom  of  beautiful  flesh  colour.  These  should 
all  be  quite  4  feet  apart.  Now  you  have  a  good  centre,  and  round  about 
these  plant  the  following  sorts,  4  feet  apart :  —  Nymphma  odorata 
sulphurea  (a  sulphur  yellow,  with  large  blooms  and  marbled  leaveB), 
Nymphaea  odorata  rosea  (very  fine  rose  colour),  Nympbaea  Marliacea 
albida  (a  grand  white),  Nympbsea  odorata  Exquisite  (rather  dark  rose 
colour,  but  not  quite  such  a  strong  grower  as  many),  Nymphsea  flava 
(bright  yellow),  Nymphaea  Laydekeri  liliacea  (a  new  colour  amongst 
hardy  Water  Lilies  ;  this  I  think  will  prove  a  grand  thing,  but  it  is  too 
new  to  say  much  about  at  present),  Nymphsea  Candida  (white),  Nymphaea 
rubra  (rather  darker  than  carnea,  in  other  respects  very  similar), 
Nymphtea  alba  plenissima  (a  perfectly  double  white).  These  will 
produce  a  fine  disp’ay  of  flowers  that  will  be  greatly  admired  by  all 
who  see  them  in  bloom.  I  know  no  flowers  which  look  so  beautiful  on 
a  hot  summer’s  day. 
In  pond  No.  8,  with  water  1  foot  deep  and  6  inches  of  mud,  a  great 
variety  of  plants  can  be  grown,  and  most  of  these  will  stand  above  the 
water,  both  foliage  and  flowers.  These  look  best  in  groups,  kept  to  their 
sorts.  In  the  centre  place  a  group  of  Arums,  Richardia  aethiopica,  with 
Pontederia  cordata  (blue  spikes  of  flowers),  planted  about  4  feet  from 
the  Richardias  on  the  one  side,  and  Butomus  nmbellatus,  the  pink 
flowering  Rush,  on  the  other.  The  two  remaining  sides  can  be  furnished 
with  Sagittaria  montevidensis,  which  has  long  spikes  of  white  flowers 
with  dark  chocolate  centre.  This  is  a  fine  plant,  but  it  should  be 
protected  in  the  winter.  The  remaining  part  of  the  pond  can  be  filled 
with  groups  of  Sagittarias  japonica,  single  white  flower;  japonica  pleno, 
a  splendid  pure  white  double  variety  ;  gracilis,  a  very  pretty,  graceful 
variety,  white  single  flowers  ;  and  variabilis,  white  flowers,  with  darker 
centre,  and  closer  set  up  the  stems  than  the  other  varieties  ;  Peltandra 
virginica,  a  small  Arum-like  plant ;  Arontium  aquaticum  (golden  club¬ 
like  flower),  and  Alisma  plantago,  panicles  of  small  white  flowers.  These 
should  be  all  planted  with  a  good  space  of  water  between  each  group, 
and  in  that  space  small  floating  plants  may  be  utilised,  such  as  Nymphreas 
pygmasa,  pygmsea  helvola,  and  Nuphar  Kalmianum,  sagittaefolium. 
The  water  in  the  fourth  pond  should  be  6  to  9  inches  deep,  with  mud  and 
plenty  of  gravel  stones  at  the  bottom.  All  the  following  plants  will  do 
well  here  :  Menyanthes  tiifoli&ta  (a  feathery  pale  pink  flower),  Calla 
palustris  (while),  Limnocbans  Humboldtiana  (a  very  beautiful  pale 
yellow),  Alisma  natans  (white),  Villarsia  nympbasoides  (yellow), 
Villarsia  ovata  (panicles  of  yellow  flowers),  and  Utricularia  vulgaris 
(small  yellow  spikes).  All  the  plants  I  have  mentioned  for  the  various 
ponds  might  be  grown  in  one,  if  sufficiently  large,  and  the  water  at 
various  depths,  from  2  feet  to  6  inches.  Close  to  the  edges,  touching  the 
water,  may  be  planted  Cardamine  pratensis,  both  single  and  doubte ; 
Caltbas  of  sorts,  Saxifragas  Fortunei  and  peltata  ;  Sarracenia  purpurea, 
Cypripedium  spectabile,  small  herbaceous  Spiraeas,  and  Parnassias. 
I  find  the  test  way  of  treating  the  choicer  sorts  of  water  plants  is  to 
place  them  in  Orchid  pans,  in  well  decayed  loam,  and  coveiei  with 
half  an  inch  of  coarse  silver  sand,  then  sink  the  whole  into  the  mud.  The 
sand  keeps  the  soil  from  floating  out  of  the  pot  when  sinking  it,  and 
afterwards,  the  plant  will  soon  root  through  the  holes  and  over  the  top 
of  the  pot  and  take  care  of  itself.  The  commoner  sorts  may  Bimply  be 
pegged  .down  to  the  bottom  with  strong,  long,  wire  pegs,  or  sunk  by 
means  of  fastening  a  piece  of  lead  to  the  roots.  Some  of  these  Nympbseis 
make  very  long,  strong,  and  large  leaves,  and  if  not  carefully  looked 
after  will  soon  spoil  the  weaker  growers,  so  the  old  leaves  and  those  in 
the  way  should  be  kept  pulled  off  from  time  to  time.  Near  to  tbesr 
beds  of  water  plants  a  good  groupof  mixed  Cannas,  with  a  few  herbaceous 
Phlox  of  different  colours  dotted  amongst  them  looks  well,  andTarge 
Fuchsias,  with  Erythrina  crista  galli  and  Swainsonia  alba,  are  also 
effective. 
A  pretty  feature  near  the  ponds  in  our  garden  is  a  large  irregular 
mound,  with  a  common  Thorn  in  the  centre,  and  a  few  flowering  shrubs, 
planted  a  distance  apart,  on  the  top.  Round  the  outer  edge  of  these 
shrubs  are  planted  Hydrangea  paniculata,  and  amongst  these  shrubs  in 
the  summer  are  dotted  in  Cannas  of  various  sorts  and  clumps  of 
herbaceous  Phlox.  In  the  sloping  bank  tubs  of  Lilies  have  been  let  in 
here  and  there,  and  all  round  irregular  stones  are  fixed,  the  spaces 
between  being  filled  up  with  all  sorts  of  small-growing  plants.  In 
August  and  September  it  looks  charming,  and  is  always  much  admired  ; 
perhaps  more  so  because  it  is  something  out  of  the  usual  way  of  bedding. 
— ( Read  by  Mr.  W.  Townsend  at  a  meeting  of  the  Reading  Gardeners' 
Association.') 
Poisonous  Buttercups. — The  Lancaster  coroner  recently  held 
an  inquiry  into  what  he  described  as  one  of  the  most  extraordinary 
poisoning  cases  that  had  come  under  his  notice.  A  boy,  aged  four, 
named  William  Foxcroft,  ate  some  Buttercups— one  of  the  commonest 
flowers  gathered  by  children — and  died  in  a  few  hours  from  irritant 
poisoning.  It  was  stated  that  Buttercups  belong  to  an  extremely 
poisonous  class  of  plants.  A  verdict  ot  “Accidental  poisoning”  was 
returned. 
INSECT  INVASION. 
So  the  lightning  performer  with  the  pen  (see  footnote  to  his  article, 
p.  479)  is  not  a  gardener.  I  rather  thought  as  much.  I  am  referring, 
of  course,  to  our  well-lettered  friend,  “  Y.  B.  A.  Z.”  I  am  really  not 
concerned  about  the  arrangement  of  the  familiar  symbols  first  from  end 
to  end  and  vice  versa  of  the  alphabet  (nearly),  and  next  absolutely. 
I  have  sometimes  wondered  what  they  meant,  but  never  whose  they 
were.  The  only  meaning  that  I  could  attach  to  them  was  that  their 
genial  owner  was  a  Young  Bachelor  of  some  Association  of  Zoologists. 
If  that  should  be  so,  I  quite  agree  with  the  septuagenarian  young 
bachelor  that  there  is  “  some  charm  about  a  nom  de plume”  and  I  would 
not  have  this  one  of  more  than  thirty  years  wear  and  tear  changed  for 
the  best  insect  antidote  in  the  world.  It  is,  apart  from  its  familiarity, 
altogether  too  picturesque. 
I  have,  in  a  curious  and  unexpected  way,  made  a  discovery  in  which 
I  am  sure  our  friend  will  be  interested.  He  will  see  a  case  of  history 
repeating  itself,  and,  at  the  same  time,  admit  that  he  incited  curiosity 
as  was  recorded,  as  near  as  I  can  calculate,  thirty-two  years,  four 
months,  and  ten  days  ago.  Now  Mr.  “  Y.  B.  A.  Z.,”  I  can  almost  fancy 
hearing  you  ask  yourself,  What’s  coming  next? 
Do  you  remember  inviting  a  gentleman  who  had  been  adversely 
criticising  Malay  fowls  to  come  and  see  yours  and  be  confounded?  then 
do  you  remember  when  he  arrived  that  you  would  not  let  him  see  them 
till  after  lunch  ?  and  next,  do  you  recollect  raising  the  cover  at  table  and 
revealing  a  roasted  Malay,  which  the  critic  was  obliged  to  confess  was 
“most  excellent?”  Yes,  all  this  will  come  back  to  you  as  a  pleasant 
episode,  when,  in  a  very  old-fashioned  way  for  a  young  man,  you  had  the 
critic  “  on  toast.” 
Again,  do  you  not  remember  the  way  in  which  your  “cognomen” 
incited  interest  then,  not  to  say  vain  imaginings  ;  how  the  critic  was 
asked  whether  the  four  letters  stood  for  a  lady,  and,  if  so,  whether  she 
was  married  or  single,  short  or  tall,  dark  or  fair  ;  but  he  thought  prior  to 
his  visit  they  belonged  to  a  gentleman — an  Oriental  ? 
Possibly  you  may  remember  his  reasoning  it  out  in  this  way — “I 
looked  at  the  letters,  looked  again,  and  then  broke  out  triumphantly  :  I 
have  it ;  he  is  a  Persian  gentleman  ;  remove  the  periods  between  the 
letters  and  have  but  one  capital,  and  the  Oriental  name  comes  out  clearly 
enough  in  this  way  Ybaz.”  He  imagined  you  as  a  merchant  from 
Shiraz  or  the  Yale  of  Cashmere,  expected  to  see  you  in  Persian  costume, 
and  to  hear  you  quote  the  poems  of  Hafiz.  But  when  he  met  \  baz  he 
grasped  the  hand  of  a  thorough  Englishman,  and  you  were  friends  at 
once  ;  Ihen  he  says,  “  Ybaz  exclaimed,  ‘  There  is  the  bond,’  pointing  to 
our  Journal." 
This  is  very  pleasant.  The  Journal  has  made  many  friends  between 
its  readers,  and  than  this,  I  think,  evidence  has  not  been  wanting 
throughout  its  career  that  nothing  could  be  more  gratifying  to  its 
editors. 
No,  1  am  not  the  critic  in  disguise,  and  not  the  first  to  be  interested 
in  the  “  alphabeticals  and  you,  Mr.  “  Y.  B.  A.  Z  ,”  ought  to  be  glad  to 
incite  the  imaginations  of  your  readers  a9  a  relief  from  the  dull  prose 
and  grind  of  toil  which  tends  not  to  gladden  the  heart. 
But  how  do  I  know  the  details  of  the  meeting  and  the  Malays,  of 
the  Ybaz  and  the  critic,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  doings  of  that  day  in  the 
West  which  you  are  now  in  fancy  living  over  again  and  enjoying  ?  Are 
they  not  written  on  page  98,  vol.  viii.,  of  the  Journal  of  Horticulture , 
the  weekly  isme  of  January  31st,  1865  ?  No,  I  did  not  hunt  the  narra¬ 
tive  out  because  I  did  not  know  it  was  in  less  than  a  week  ago.  Enter¬ 
ing  a  library  I  took  the  volume  to  look  for  something  (that  was  not  in), 
and  the  first  casual  opening  was  at  the  very  page  on  which  the  narrative 
ot  “  Wiltshire  Rector  ”  appears — a  curious  “  find,”  under  the  circum¬ 
stances.  It  was,  and  is,  much  more  interesting  to  me  than  insects,  and 
I  am  asked  (on  page  479)  to  say  but  very  little  about  them. 
I  should  be  surprised  if  I  ever  suggested  that  “  fumigation  cures  red 
spider.”  Vines  and  Peach  trees  have  just  been  closely  scanned,  but  not 
a  solitary  mite  can  be  found,  I  think,  by  anyone.  This  was  not  always 
so.  The  eggs  were  destroyed  in  the  winter,  as  they  easily  can  be  by  a 
method  that  has  over  and  over  again  appeared  in  the  Journal  ;  then  with 
thoroughly  healthy  growth  in  root,  branch,  and  leaf,  a  genial  atmosphere 
and  pure  water  syringings,  of  Peaches  regularly,  Vines  very  occasionally, 
both  are  as  they  are,  absolutely  clean,  as  I  shall  be  very  pleased  to  Bhow 
the  old  journalist  when  his  “  time  and  temper”  permit.  As  in  the  case  of 
“spider,”  there  can  be  no  aphides  without  eggs,  nor  eggs  without 
insects,  and  these  can  easily  be  kept  out  of  houses  by  half  strength 
fumigations  that  would  be  neces  ary  to  kill  a  good  crop  of  the  pests.  It 
would  no  doubt  be  tfce  same  with  vapourisation — always  before  an  insect 
is  seen — at  fortnightly  or  three-weekly  intervals  in  spring  and  early 
summer,  according  to  the  weather,  much  less  frequently  as  the  season 
advances.  Then,  if  no  mistakes  are  made  in  watering,  ventilation,  and 
general  management,  p’ants  may  be,  and  are,  kept  absolutely  clean. 
It  is  a  case  of  no  eggs  no  insects,  or  no  insects  no  eggs,  whichever 
way  yen  like  to  put  it.  Of  course,  not  half  nor  perhaps  a  tenth  part 
of  aphides  come  direct  from  eggs,  but  these  are  the  original  source  of 
supply. 
A  point  too  often  overlooked  needs  to  be  strongly  enforced,  many 
persons,  and  Dot  amateurs  only,  invite  insects  by  errors  in  watering, 
heatiDg,  ventilation,  and  general  routine  under  which  the  health  of 
plants  is  so  impaired  that  their  enemies  seem  to  find  them  by  a  sort  of 
instinct,  or  in  other  words  they  choose  the  points  of  least  resistance. 
Of  this  there  can  te  no  doubt  wbatroever. 
Ttere  is  neither  novelty  nor  difficulty  in  keeping  insects  out  of  fruit 
and  plant  houses,  when  the  best  cultural  skill  is  displayed,  and  means. 
