508 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
November  28, 1895. 
-  CiMiciFTTGA  JAPONICA.’ — This  Japanese  Bugwort  is  very 
Bhowy  jast  now  in  the  herbaceous  border,  where  its  tall  pure  white 
flower  spikes  make  a  pleasing  display  at  a  time  when  the  regular 
occupants  of  the  border  are  somewhat  scanty  in  their  flowering.  In 
manner  of  growth  and  almost  in  the  formation  of  the  flower  spikes  this 
plant  resembles  Actma  spicata,  but  it  is  much  superior  to  it.  This 
Cimicifuga  grows  from  3  feet  to  4  feet  high. — M. 
- Acacia  platyptera. — This  plant  is  well  adapted  for  pot 
culture,  and,  like  most  of  the  Acacias,  is  of  easy  culture.  After  flower¬ 
ing  the  plants  should  be  cut  back  and  kept  syringed  so  as  to  make  them 
break  freely.  When  the  plants  are  growing  the  worst  enemy  is  thrip  ; 
a  good  syringing  with  tobacco  water  will  rid  the  plants  of  this  pest.  To 
insure  a  good  crop  of  flowers  stand  them  outside  during  the  summer 
months,  so  as  to  ripen  the  growth.  If  this  is  omitted  the  result  will  be 
a  lack  of  flowers. — T.  J. 
-  Cornell  University.— In  the  Horticultural  Department  of 
Cornell  University,  in  addition  to  the  courses  formerly  given,  among  the 
new  subjects  to  be  taken  up  next  year  are  :  (1)  the  literature  of  horti¬ 
culture,  including  what  has  been  written  of  plants  in  cultivation  in  all 
parts  of  the  world,  with  reviews  of  periodical  literature  ;  (2)  green¬ 
house  management  and  construction  ;  (3)  floriculture  ;  (4)  the  botany 
of  cultivated  plants  ;  (5)  theory  and  practice  of  spraying  plants.  These 
courses,  in  connection  with  those  of  pomology,  landscape  gardening, 
the  propagaiion  of  plants,  and  handicraft,  will  make,  says  the  “  Garden 
and  Forest,”  the  horticultural  course  in  Cornell  very  complete  and 
attractive. 
'  Tea  in  Assam. — Statistics  relating  to  Tea  culture  in  Assam, 
made  up  to  the  end  of  last  year,  show  that  there  were  then  823  Tea 
gardens  against  794  on  the  same  day  in  1893.  Figures  are  given  showing 
the  area  under  mature  and  immature  plants,  and  the  total  area  held 
under  Tea  grants  for  each  year  since  1881,  and  from  these  it  appears 
that  the  area  under  mature  plants  has  increased  each  year  in  the  period, 
from  133,293  acres  in  1881  to  229,316  acres  in  1894.  The  area  under 
immature  plants  has  increased  from  25,134  to  39,480  acres,  and  the 
whole  area  under  Tea  grants  from  706,649  to  1,059,237  acres  between  the 
same  dates.  The  estimated  yield  of  Tea  for  1894  was  94,829,059  lbs.,  or 
414  lbs.  per  acre,  against  94,219,904  lbs.,  or  426  lbs.  per  acre,  in  1893. 
-  Look  Ahead. — As  the  season  is  now  drawing  to  a  close  it  is 
the  best  possible  time  to  prepare  for  another  season’s  work.  We  can 
now  .plainly  see  what  will  be  desirable  for  another  year.  To  that  end 
we  should  not  only  take  an  inventory  of  our  own  garden,  but  of  others,  in 
order  to  see  what  there  is  of  special  merit  that  we  may  have  overlooked. 
If  we  find  anything  desirable  make  a  note  of  it,  and  how  much  space  we 
want  it  to  occupy.  At  the  same  time  see  if  there  is  not  something  we 
have  grown  for  years  that  can  be  discarded  for  something  better.  Now 
is  the  time  to  make  a  note  of  any  changes  that  can  be  made  for  the 
better.  When  the  spring  fever  of  gardening  comes  on,  and  the  pulse 
beats  high,  it  seems  to  require  immediate  relief,  and  we  are  too  apt  to 
look  after  spring  or  early  summer  flowers.  The  present  only  is  con¬ 
sidered  ;  if  the  garden  only  starts  off  well  in  the  spring  it  matters  but 
little  how  it  will  look  in  the  autumn.  Many  do  not  realise  the  fact  that 
each  flower  has  but  a  limited  season  of  beauty,  or  how  important  it 
is  to  have  our  arrangements  so  perfected  that  there  will  be  beauty  in 
the  garden  at  all  times. — (“  American  Gardening.’’) 
-  Electricity  in  Plant  Growth.— Lieutenant  Stuart-Smith 
suggests  a  reason  for  the  great  variation  in  the  plant  growth  when 
there  is  but  little  apparent  difference  in  the  climatic  conditions ;  he 
also  offers  a  possible  explanation  of  the  action  of  light  in  producing 
chemical  decomposition.  In  connection  with  the  first  part  he  states 
that  bare  wires  placed  in  the  ground,  so  that  the  current  passing 
between  them  tends  to  pass  through  the  roots  of  the  plants,  will  greatly 
enlarge  the  roots  of  certain  vegetables  and  the  tops  of  others ;  and  he 
suggests  that  earth  currents,  such  as  are  known  to  exist,  might  have 
such  an  effect  on  the  crops.  A  carefully  kept  record  may  possibly 
show  that  over  a  large  area  during  some  years  these  earth  currents  may 
be  much  above  the  normal,  while  daring  other  seasons  they  may  be 
much  below,  and  an  examination  of  the  crops  might  show  heavy  and 
light  crops  during  those  periods.  Some  correspondence  has  been  found 
between  crops  and  sun  spots,  and  he  suggests  that  earth  currents  may 
be  the  cause,  as  they  certainly  correspond  with  the  activity  of  the  sun. 
He  then  discusses  at  some  length  the  effect  of  light  on  plants,  and 
offers  an  explanation  of  the  action  of  light  in  producing  chemical 
decomposition  on  the  basis  of  a  true  lesonance  effect. — ("  Electrical 
Engineer.”) 
-  Blood  Poisoning  and  Chemical  Manures.  —  In  the 
province  of  Brandenburg  a  strange  malady  broke  out  among  the 
country  people,  their  hands  being  swollen  in  places,  and  sometimes  *o 
inflamed  that  amputation  was  necessary.  It  was  ultimately  discovered 
that  the  labourers  thus  afflicted  had  been  scattering  chemical  manure  on 
the  fields.  This  manure  contains  Chilian  saltpetre  and  chloric  salts, 
and  these  stuffs  penetrating  small  wounds  or  scratehes  on  the  hands  of 
the  peasants  had  caused  inflammation  of  the  lymph  vessels  and  blood- 
poisoning.  Chemical  manure  ought,  therefore,  to  be  carefully  handled. 
-  Mignonette. — Although  Mignonette  is  a  great  favourite  with 
most  people,  and  much  frequented  by  bees,  it  is  not  cultivated  to  the 
extent  as  it  might  be,  nor  in  a  manner  to  prolong  its  flowering. 
Treated  as  a  hardy  annual  it  is  seldom  seen  in  bloom  before  the  end  of 
July,  but  when  treated  as  a  biennial  it  may  be  had  in  flower  from  the 
end  of  April  or  the  beginning  of  May  in  the  open  ground,  just  as  the 
plants  have  been  treated.  I  used  to  preserve  the  plants  in  frames,  and 
sometimes  in  dry  sheltered  positions  the  whole  winter,  and  when  spring 
came  had  only  to  plant  them-ijut  in  any  vacancies  in  tlje  flowe? 
garden. — T.  W. 
-  Hypericum  adpressum. — This  herb,  with  slender  rigid  stems, 
slightly  woody  at  the  base  and  about  a  foot  high,  spreads  rapidly  by 
underground  stolons  ;  and  a  bit  of  the  root  planted  in  good  soil  will 
become  at  the  end  of  a  couple  of  years  a  dense  mat  4  or  5  feet  across.. 
It  has  lanceolate  bright  green  leaves  and  terminal  few-flowered  cymes- 
of  small  bright  yellow  flowers.  It  grows  in  rather  moist  soil,  and  i& 
distributed  from  the  island  of  Nantucket,  off  the  coast  of  southern 
Massachusetts,  and  Ehode  Island  southward.  Its  compact  habit,  low 
stature  and  ability  to  spread  rapidly,  suggest  that  this  pretty  little 
Hypericum  may  be  a  good  plant  to  cover  the  ground  of  shrub  beds. — 
(“  Garden  and  Forest.”) 
- The  Vitality  of  Seeds. — On  this  subject  it  seems  there  are 
to  be  those  fluctuations  we  often  find  amongst  scientists.  The  old 
stories  of  "  Mummy  Wheat,”  and  others,  which  were  said  to  show  the 
long  time  seeds  might  retain  their  vitality,  have  for  some  years  past 
been  held  to  be  unworthy  of  belief.  But  Sir  W.  Thompson  did,  as  far 
back  as  1870,  suggest  whether  the  seeds  of  plants  might  not  have 
reached  our  earth  in  aerolites  from  other  planets,  which  would  be 
favourable  to  a  vitality  of  a  good  many  years.  Just  now.  Professor 
Italo  Gigliolo  of  the  Eoyal  Agricultural  School  of  Portica,  near  Naples, 
has  stated,  that  from  experiments  made,  he  believed  the  life  of  seeds 
may  be  prolonged  indefinitely.  So  that  after  all  the  germination  of 
seeds  taken  from  ancient  tombs  may  be  a  fact. 
-  Plants  with  Differing  Leaves. — Many  aquatic  plants,, 
such  as  the  Water  Buttercup  and  the  Water  Crowfoot,  have  aerial  and 
subaqueous  leaves  ;  the  former  flat  and  the  latter  minutely  subdivided 
into  slender  spines.  In  the  Shepherd’s  Purse  the  leaves  on  the  lower 
part  of  the  plant  differ  in  shape  from  those  of  the  upper.  The  Australian 
Eucalyptus  globulus,  or  Blue  Gum,  has  broad  and  nearly  circular  bluish 
leaves  in  the  earlier  part  of  its  growth,  and  at  maturity  long,  narrow, 
dark  green  leaves.  Lastly,  a  twining  plant,  called  by  botanists 
Dischidia  Eafflesiana,  has  little  flat,  shield-like  leaves,  and  others  which 
are  curled  up  into  the  shape  of  pitchers.  The  common  Ivy  has  different 
leaves  on  its  climbing  stems  and  its  flowering  stems  ;  those  on  the 
former  are  rather  triangular,  and  those  on  the  latter  are  oval,  but 
pointed  lancewise  at  the  ends. — ("  Eural  World.”) 
-  A  Plague  of  Garlic. — In  his  report  on  the  agriculture  of 
Bedfordshire,  Mr.  Hunter  Pringle  calls  attention  to  a  remarkable 
change  which  has  taken  place  on  some  of  the  heavy  clay  soil  to  the 
north-west  of  Bedford  town.  Not  only  the  arable  land,  but  recently 
established  pasture  have  been  overrun  by  Garlic  or  wild  Onions.  This 
abominable  weed  grows  from  a  bulbous  root,  and  it  possesses  such  a 
powerful  odour  that  it  taints  the  grain  of  any  corn  with  which  it 
may  have  been  gathered,  besides  rendering  the  straw  unfit  for  fodder. 
Wherever  it  exists  on  pasture  land  the  stock  will  not  graze,  and  from 
the  statements  made  to  him  by  the  farmers  on  whose  land  he  saw 
it,  Mr.  Pringle  was  led  to  believe  that  all  attempts  to  obliterate  it  by 
fallowing  have  failed,  and  that  it  is  increasing  in  quantity  and  widen¬ 
ing  its  area  of  occupation  every  year.  Whether  the  growth  of  Garlic 
may  be  favoured  by  any  particular  variety  of  season  Mr.  P/ingle  i* 
unable  to  say,  but  he  is  of  the  opinion  that  if  nothing  ciu  be  done  to 
eradicate  such  an  objectionable  pest,  land  subject  to  it  will  sooner  or 
later  become  useless  for  agricultural  purposes. — (“  Midland  Countijs 
Herald.”) 
