March  17,  1898. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
239 
-  Hardiness  op  Clematis  indivisa  and  Swainsonia 
GALEGIFOLIA. — Touching  the  Editor’s  footnote  on  page  178  of  this 
Journal,  I  desire  to  say  it  was  ray  intention  to  write  “Clematis 
montana,”  and  not  C.  indivisa  lobata,  which  is  a  recognised  greenhouse 
climber.  A  plant  under  the  name  of  “Swainsonia  galegifolia,”  is' 
however,  growing  and  thriving  at  the  foot  of  a  west  wall  in  Bedford¬ 
shire,  and  receives  no  protection  whatever. — T.  P. 
-  CLIANTHUS  PUNICEDS  in  THE  ISLE  OP  WIGHT.  —  Mr. 
Charles  Leslie  Melville  sends  us  flowering  sprays  of  the  New  Zealand 
Glory  Pea,  gathered  from  a  plant  growing  in  the  open  air  on  the 
verandah  of  the  cottage  of  Miss  Hue,  at  St.  Lawrence,  about  two  miles 
from  Ventnor.  Accompanying  them  was  a  branch  of  Ribes  sanguineum, 
laden  with  fully  expanded  flowers — the  first  we  have  seen  during  the 
present  spring  which  have  developed  in  the  open  air. 
-  Daffodil  Prizes  for  Spring,  1898.— Since  issuing  the 
schedule  of  arrangements  for  1898  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society 
has  received  from  Messrs.  Barr  &  Sons  of  King  Street,  Covent  Garden, 
the  offer  of  a  silver  cup  for  Daffodils,  to  be  competed  for  at  the 
Society’s  meeting  at  the  Drill  Hall,  James  Street,  Victoria  Street, 
Westminster,  on  Tuesday,  April  12th,  open  to  all  amateurs.  Notice 
of  entry  should  be  addressed  to  the  Secretary,  R.H.S.  Office,  117, 
Victoria  Street,  S.W.,  and  must  be  posted  on  or  before  Thursday, 
April  7th.  The  particulars  are  : — Collection  of  cut  Daffodils  (Polyanthus 
section  excluded),  each  of  the  three  groups — Magni-coronati,  Medio- 
coronati,  and  Parvi-coronati  —  being  represented,  the  flowers  to  be 
arranged  in  bottles  which  will  be  provided  by  tbe  R.H.  Society.  Not 
less  than  forty  different  varieties,  and  not  more  than  three  bottles  of 
any  one  sort  to  be  staged.  Correct  naming  and  elegance  of  arrange¬ 
ment  will  be  taken  into  account. 
-  Stocks  for  Apples. — I  note  the  remarks  on  page  205  on  this 
subject,  and  gather  from  them  that  the  general  practice  is  to  employ  only 
the  two  quoted — the  Paradise  and  the  Crab.  As  I  understand  the 
matter  there  is  a  third — namely,  the  “  free  ”  stock,  that  is  largely 
employed.  This  is  obtained  from  the  pips  coming  from  the  cider  mills. 
It  is  distinct  from,  and  is  much  more  extensively  used  than  the  Crab 
stock.  Por  general  culture,  especially  where  the  soil  is  inclined  to  be 
heavy,  and  the  trees  have  ample  space  in  which  to  grow,  my  experience 
is  that  the  free  stock  is  far  superior  to  the  Paradise,  as  better  growth  is 
secured,  and  this  means  eventually  a  fuller  crop  of  fruit.  If  the  trees  are 
correctly  treated  they  will  bear  freely  and  early  on  the  seedling  Apple 
stock.  Whether  the  trees  will  make  fibrous  roots  instead  of  the  reverse 
depends  very  much  on  cultural  methods.  If  no  encouragement  is  offered 
to  keep  the  roots  near  to  the  surface  it  is  not  to  be  expected  that  fibrous 
roots  will  be  found  in  quantity,  and  without  these  successful  crops  of 
fruit  cannot  be  secured. — E.  M. 
-  Epping  Forest.  —  The  Epping  Forest  Committee  of  the 
Corporation  have  just  issued  their  report  upon  the  work  carried  out  in 
the  forest  during  the  past  year.  It  is  stated  that  a  large  area  of  the 
forest  has  been  judiciously  thinned  in  order  to  encourage  the  growth  of 
young  and  promising  trees — namely.  Oaks,  Beeches,  and  Hollies — and 
with  a  view  also  to  making  the  beauties  of  the  domain  more  accessible. 
The  portions  thus  dealt  with  include  Theydon  Coppice,  St.  Thomas’s 
Quarters,  Honey  Lane  Quarters,  Loughton  Forest,  Whitehouse  Plain, 
Lord’s  Bushes,  and  Walthamstow  Forest.  The  Committee  also  report 
that  they  have  made  an  inspection  of  other  portions  of  the  forest  where 
thinning  is  required,  and  instructions  have  been  issued  for  the  carrying 
out  of  the  work.  In  order  to  hide  from  view  brick  walls  and  other 
enclosures,  which  do  not  improve  the  appearance  of  the  forest  in  places, 
the  planting  of  small  clumps  of  trees  has,  says  a  contemporary,  been 
carried  on.  Planting  of  a  similar  nature  has  been  done  on  a  portion  of 
Wanstead  Flats.  At  the  desire  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  locality  a 
portion  of  Bell  Common  has  been  planted  with  an  avenue  of  trees  in 
commemoration  of  her  Majesty’s  .Tubilee.  The  digging  out  of  a  large 
piece  of  swampy  land,  known  as  Holloer  Pond,  has  been  accomplished  at 
a  cost  of  £1228,  to  which  the  Leyton  District  Council  contributed  £300 
and  the  Corporation  £650.  The  result  is  a  fine  piece  ot  water  some 
8  acres  in  extent.  A  suggestion  by  the  Essex  Field  Club  that  the  local 
museum  in  the  forest  should  be  enlarged  has  received  due  consideration 
from  the  Committee,  who  report  that  the  cost  of  the  work  is  estimated 
at  £250.  The  proposal  will  be  further  considered.  The  sale  of  thinnings 
during  the  year  amounted  to  £64.3  13s.  9d.  The  keepers’  wages  were 
£1150,  and  labourers’  wages  £1085.  The  Committee  recommend  that 
£4000  should  be  placed  to  the  credit  of  the  Committee  to  meet  the 
expenses  of  the  coming  year. 
-  Tea  Rose  Madame'  Lambard. — On  the  12th  inst.  I  gathered 
two  beautiful  flowers  of  this  Rose,  one  of  which  I  send  to  you.  The 
plants  are  growing  on  the  terrace  walls  near  the  Castle,  and  flowers  are 
the  result  of  buds  formed  late  last  autumn.  The  same  plant  made  young 
shoots  6  Inches  long  with  flower  buds  also  in  .January,  but  these  are 
not'^yet  expanded. — W.  H.  Divers.  [The  flower  was  a  richly  coloured 
one,  but  unfortunately  dropped  to  pieces  when  taken  from  the  box.] 
-  Mint.— I  see  on  page  196  “  E.  D.  S.”  speaks  of  manuring  Mint 
as'  being  beneficial.  This  is  contrary  to  my  experience,  and  also  that  of 
several  gardening  friends.  I  find  that  manuring  it  causes  a  kind  of 
fungus,  which  destroys  the  whole  of  the  stock.  My  method  of  dealing 
with  Mint  beds  is  to  top-dress  with  about  2  inches  of  good  soil,  and  this 
has  invariably  proved  successful.  I  should  like  to  know  if  any  readers 
have  had  a  similar  experience  to  mine. — H.  S. 
ROYAL  HORTICULTURAL  SOCIETY. 
N 
March  8th. 
Scientific  Committee. -Present  :  Dr.  M.  T.  Masters  (in  the 
chair)  ;  Rev.  W.  Wilks,  Mr.  A.  Sutton,  and  Bev.  Prof.  Henslow,  lion. 
Sec. 
jP/t^io^JtMsri6»s.  —  An  interesting  letter  was  received  from  Miss  Ormerod 
giving  an  account  of  what  is  being  done  experimentally  at  the  Duke  of 
Bedford’s  fruit  farm  at  Woburn,  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Spencer 
Pickering,  F.R.S.  As  to  the  possibility  of  obtaining  “mite-proof” 
Black  Currants,  the  only  result  has  been  some  plants  received  from 
Budapest,  which  she  has  distributed  to  the  Toddington  fruit  grounds,  to 
Mr.  Speir  Newton’s  farm,  Glasgow,  and  to  Woburn.  Miss  Ormerod  has 
given  as  exhaustive  an  account  as  she  could  form  of  the  disease  in  a  special 
appendix  to  her  twenty-first  annual  report,  from  the  period  of  its  first 
appearance  until  the  present  time.  A  series  of  experiments  are  now  being 
set  on  foot  at  Woburn  directed  to  every  point  which  is  open  for  ser¬ 
viceable  action,  including  chemical  applications.  These  will  be  followed 
by  expert  examinations  of  the  contents  of  the  galled  buds  treated  ;  and 
with  coincident  examination  of  galled  buds  under  precisely  similar 
circumstances,  but  not  treated  chemically.  These  experiments  will  be 
found  detailed  in  the  appendix,  pp.  141-158.  A  conclusion  anticipated 
is  that  there  should  be  “  a  difference  in  broadscale  method  of  growing.” 
Scotch  Fir,  Malformation. — Mr.  V eitcli  sent  a  curious  mass  of  stunted 
boughs,  the  whole  resembling  a  hedgehog,  and  probably  caused  originally 
by  a  phytoptus  or  fungus.  Dr.  Masters  observed  that  short  boughs  struck 
from  such  specimens  were  used  as  miniature  trees,  for  rockwork,  &c. 
Sprouting  Broccoli. — A  remarkable  specimen  was  received  from  Mr. 
W.  P.  Wright,  Willesborough,  Ashford,  Kent,  from  the  central  and  much 
enlarged  stem  of  which  a  large  number  of  good  sized  lateral  shoots  had 
appeared.  It  was  suggested  that  if  it  be  capable  of  being  “fixed  ”  it 
would  probably  prove  a  valuable  acquisition. 
Phytoptus  on  Hazel.— llv.  G.  Gordon  sent  specimens  of  this  well-known 
complaint,  allied  to  the  Currant  mite.  The  samples  were  received  from 
Kent,  where  the  Black  Currant  is  badly  infested.  It  was  first  observed 
at  the  locality  on  the  Hazel  last  year. 
Orchid  Roots  with  Fungus. — With  reference  to  the  specimen  brought  to 
the  last  meeting,  Mr.  Murray  of  The  Gardens,  Oakwood,  Wylam-on- 
Tyne,  writes  to  say  that  he  is  “  convinced  that  it  is  from  no  other  cause 
than  from  the  want  of  air,  or,  rather,  circulation  of  air,  among  the  plants.” 
In  a  previous  communication  to  Mr.  Douglas  he  expressed  agreement 
with  Mr.  "V^eitch's  interpretation,  but  not  quite  in  the  manner  he 
explained,  for  he  observes,  “  I  ventilate  the  houses  day  and  night  with 
the  ventilators,  .  .  .  but  the  air  upon  the  stages,  or,  rather,  above 
the  stages,  when  the  plants  are  standing  close  together,  travels  very 
slowly,  even  with  ventilators  open,  in  comparison  with  that  around  the 
centre  staging,  as  plants  thereon  seldom  show  signs  of  fungus.” 
Two  and  Three-Spathed  Arums.— Mrs.  Richards  of  Westridge,  near 
Ryde,  forwarded  two  flowers,  one  with  two  spathes,  the  other  with  three, 
both  from  the  same  plant.  They  were  very  fine  instances,  and  it  was 
reasonable  to  expect  such  might  prove  constant.  If  so,  a  permanent  form 
with  two  or  more  spathes  would  be  very  desirable. 
Azaleo-dendron. — A  hybrid  between  an  Azalea  mollis  or  sinensis  and 
a  Rhododendron,  received  from  Sir  Trevor  Lawrence,  was  unanimously 
awarded  a  botanical  certificate.  It  was  raised  by  M.  Le  Prof.  Pynaert 
of  Ghent. 
Large  Ivy  Stem.—Proi.  Henslow  exhibited  a  section  of  Ivy,  some 
10  by  8  inches  across.  It  grew  round  a  tall  Holly,  about  50  feet  in  height, 
at  Zeals  Rectory, 'Wilts. 
Twin  Apple. — A  remarkable  monstrosity  was  sent  from  Mr.  Bar-at-Gin, 
3,  Praed  Street.  Instead  of  being  the  result  of  the  fusion  of  two  flowers, 
as  occurs  in  Tomatoes,  &c. — i.e.,  a  “synanthic”  condition,  a  vertical 
section  revealed  the  fact  that  they  were  the  result  of  a  bifurcation  of  the 
axis  below,  the  under  side  of  the  Apple  giving  no  signs  of  its  being  a 
twin.  1  .  •  u 
Cypress  Diseased. — A  specimen  received  from  Dr.  Church,  having  the 
bark'  split  and  detached  and  infested  with  fungi,  was  forwarded  to  Kew  for 
further  examination.  The  following  report  was  received  : — “  Cupressus 
dolabrata. — This  is  a  typical  example  of  bark-scorching,  the  cortex  being 
first  killed  by  exposure  to  the  sun’s  rays,  afterwards  splits  and  forms 
sun  cracks,  and  finally  separates  from  the  wood.  The  fungus  present 
Corticium  lacteum.  Fries — is  simply  saprophytic  on  the  dead  parts.” 
