318 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
October  27,  1898. 
Weather  in  London. — A  considerable  quantity  of  rain  has  again 
fallen  in  the  last  seven  days,  and  despite  tho  rapid  fall  of  the  leaf,  vegeta¬ 
tion  looks  fresher.  From  Sunday  to  Wednesday  mid-day,  except  for  a 
heavy  shower  on  Monday  night,  it  was  dry,  and  at  intervals  the  sun  shone 
with  great  brilliancy. 
-  Birmingham  Gardeners’  Association.  —  At  a  recent 
meeting  of  the  above  Society,  Mr.  I{.  A.  Rolfe  of  tho  Kew  Herbarium 
gave  a  most  interesting  and  instructive  essay  on  tho  “Structure  and 
fertilisation  of  Orchids,  Mr.  W.  B.  Latham  occupying  the  chair.  Mr. 
Rolfe  illustrated  his  subject  with  the  blooms  of  several  Orchids,  whilst 
for  a  more  explicit  demonstration  of  the  structural  parts  of  an  Orchid 
flower,  use  was  made  of  the  flower  of  Fancratium  fragrans,  reference  also 
being  made  to  the  evolution  of  the  fumily  of  Orchids,  and  their  diverse 
fertilising  agencies.  The  lecture  was  listened  to  with  marked  attention. 
-  JUDGING  AT  THE  EDINBURGH  Show. — We  have  received 
letters  on  the  subject  of  judging  the  dessert  tables  at  the  above  show  so 
conflicting  in  character  that  their  publication  could  not  possibly  lead  to 
any  useful  result,  and  certainly  to  no  alteration  in  tho  awards.  We  are 
informed  that  if  a  protest  had  been  lodged  in  pr  per  form  at  the  show  it 
would  have  had  careful  consideration.  That  a  mistake  in  procedure  was 
made  appears  clear  in  not  recording  points  for  duplicate  dishes — an  over¬ 
sight  w  hich  could  not  have  occurred  had  the  judges  been  furnished  with 
pointing  sheets  similar  to  thoso  supplied  at  Shrewsbury.  Experience 
teaches  useful  lessons,  and  greater  '’are  must  be  exercised  another  year. 
Caryopteris  Mastacantiius.  —  For  upwards  of  half  a 
century  this  pretty  flowering  shrub  has  been  in  cultivation  in  British 
gardens,  but  it  has  never  appeared  to  become  very  widely  distributed. 
A  glance  at  the  plant  when  in  flower  is  sufficient  to  prove  that  the  merits 
it  possesses  are  by  no  means  insignificant,  for  whether  grown  outside,  or 
as  a  pot  p’ant  for  the  greenhouse,  it  is  equally  attractive,  and  flowering 
as  it  does  in  September  and  October,  it  is  doubly  acceptable.  It  is  a 
native  of  China  and  Japan,  and  has  ovate,  deeply  serrated  leaves,  green 
on  the  upper  surface,  and  white  on  the  under.  The  inflorescences  are 
produced  from  every  leaf  base  on  the  upper  foot  or  foot  and  a  half  of  the 
current  season’s  growths.  The  flowers  are  small,  blue,  and  the  largest 
segment  of  the  corolla  deeply  fringed.  They  aro  produced  forty  or  more 
together  in  upright  flattened  panicles,  as  many  as  thirty  inflorescences 
being  borne  on  some  shoots.  It  is  advisable  to  prune  the  shoots  back  to 
a  tew  eyes  in  spring,  longer  growths  and  more  flowers  resulting.  Except 
in  favoured  localities  the  protection  afforded  by  a  wall  will  bo  found 
necessary.  Several  plants  are  in  flower  at  Kew,  and  a  plant  4  feet  in 
diameter  may  be  seen  in  the  gardens  at  Gunnersbiny  House.  A  figure 
of  it  may  be  seen  in  the  “  Botanical  Magazine,”  t.  6799.— W.  1). 
-  I  he  Celery  Fly. — Complaints  as  to  the  mischief  done  by  the 
larva  of  the  Celery  fly  are  numerous.  We  owe  these  largely  to  the  long- 
continued  warmth  ard  dryness  of  the  soil,  for  even  up  to  tho  time  of 
writing  (tho  middle  of  October)  there  has  been  in  southern  districts  very 
little  rain,  and  tho  soil  is  damp  only  on  the  surface.  Without  doubt 
there  have  been  recurrent  attacks  of  the  fly  this  season.  The  lifo  of  the 
larva  is  short,  although  it  does  so  much  mischief  when  in  existence.  Had 
we  had  the  usual  autumn  rains,  no  doubt  thousands  of  the  maggots  would 
have  been  lulled  by  moisture  ;  but  becauso  the  soil  remained  so  dry  the 
period  of  by  bernation  was  shortened,  and  other  flies  deposited  other  eggs, 
and  thus  the  breeding  maggots  increased  ad  infinitum.  Except  that  the 
maggots  afford  such  evidence  of  their  presence  in  the  leaves,  and  can  be 
picked  off  or  be  destroyed,  it  is  little  that  can  otherwise  be  done  to  check 
them  once  they  get  into  the  leaves.  The  chief  preventive  is  found  in 
making  the  leaves  of  the  plants  offensive  to  the  fly,  and  that  can  be  done 
by  making  up  a  solution  of  softsoap  and  quassia  chips,  with  which  is 
mixed  a  very  little  petroleum,  and  after  spraymg  the  plants  with  it,  then 
lightly  dusting  with  soot.  Of  course  such  a  dressing  gives  tho  plants 
an  objectionable  appearance,  but  if  for  the  time  proves  effective  in 
keeping  off  the  fly  it  is  a  good  thing.  Too  often  Celery  growers  fail  to 
realise  the  harm  that  is  done  by  not  pinching  out  the  maggot-eaten 
leaves  as  soon  as  the  brown  spots  appear,  and  destroying  them  by 
burning  or  8"alding.  It  is  useless  to  take  this  precaution  after  the 
maggot  has  passed  into  the  ground  and  become  a  chrysalis. — A.  D. 
-  The  Hessle  Gardeners’  Society. — In  spite  of  a  wet  night 
there  was  a  good  attendance  of  the  members  of  the  above  Society  on 
Tuesday,  October  18th,  1898,  to  hear  Mr.  Garnett  of  Wakefield  read  a 
paper  entitled,  “Unsolved  Problems  in  Chrysanthemum  Culture.” 
Afterwards  a  capital  discussion  was  held,  in  which  Mr.  Daniels  of 
Dewsbury  and  other  members  joined.  Several  questions  were  asked 
and  ably  answered  by  the  essayist. — J.  T.  B. 
-  Pinching  Fig  Shoots. — In  dealing  with  the  summer  pruning 
of  Figs  on  page  268  Mr.  Abbey  mentions,  among  other  methods,  the 
pinching  system  as  a  good  way  of  insuring  the  maturity  of  the  wood 
and  crops  of  fruit.  I  am  inclined  to  think  that,  under  the  majority  of 
circumstances,  it  is  by  far  the  best,  and  I  have  known  trees,  both 
indoors  and  out,  brought  from  a  condition  of  useless  luxuriance  into  a 
good  state  of  bearing  by  systematic  pinching.  The  methods  of  summer 
pinching  are  so  clearly  defined  by  your  correspondent  that  there  is  no 
need  to  repeat  them,  but  the  advantages  aro  numerous.  In  the  first 
place  facilities  are  given  for  light  and  air  to  circulate  through  the 
branches  ;  secondly,  short,  close-jointed  shoots  aro  obtained,  and  the  flow 
of  sap,  instead  of  being  spread  over  a  long  length  of  shoot,  is  concentrated 
in  a  small  compass,  and  instead  of  a  few  fruits  showing  at  tho  tips  of  the 
long  branches,  the  short,  well-matured  shoots,  bear  a  Fig  at  tho  axil  of 
almost  every  leaf. — G. 
-  Underground  Onions. — Though  the  underground  Potato  or 
Onion  is  quite  unknown  in  many  private  gardens,  and  grown  in 
comparatively  few,  it  finds  favour  among  cottage  gardeners,  parti¬ 
cularly  in  districts  where  the  spring-sown  crop  is  liable  to  succumb  to 
attacks  of  the  maggot.  In  some  districts  in  tho  south  underground 
Onions  form  the  crop  in  many  cottago  gardens,  and  the  qualities  of  this 
kind  are  well  spoken  of.  It  is  often  urged  that  they  will  not  keep,  but 
when  planted  early,  and  properly  harvested,  they  keep  up  the  Onion 
supply  in  many  a  household  through  the  jwinter,  and  sufficient  bulbs  are 
reserved  for  planting  in  the  spring.  Like  Shallots,  the  underground 
Onions  rapidly  multiply,  and  requiring  less  care  in  cultivation,  as  well  as 
being  more  certain  than  those  raised  from  seed,  they  are  looked  on 
favourably  by  many  cottage  gardeners  with  whom  quantity  is  the  chief 
consideration. — H.  H. 
-  Potato  Up  to  Date. — In  the  last  issue  of  the  Journal  of 
H irticulture  I  noticed  that  Mr.  W.  Pea  states  that  the  above  variety  is  an 
excellent  disease  resister.  This,  unfortunately,  is  not  my  experience 
with  the  Potato  in  question.  During  tho  month  of  May  (rather  late, 
undoubtedly)  I  had  occasion  to  plant  about  1200  sets  of  this  Potato, 
e.ich  set  weighed  from  1>  to  2  ozs.  each.  Tho  soil  was  a  light  sandy 
loam  with  a  gravelly  subsoil,  and  was  not  enriched  by  adding  any  kind  of 
manure.  The  sets  were  planted  18  inches  opart  in  rows  30  inches 
asunder.  Tho  yield,  so  far  as  quantity,  was  everything  to  be  desired, 
there  being  a  good  crop  of  useable  sized  tubers,  but  which,  unfortunately, 
suffered  severely  rvith  the  disease  compared  with  The  Bruce,  The  Garton, 
Reading  Hero,  nnd  Magnum  Bonum  varieties  grown  in  tho  same  garden, 
planted  at  the  same  time,  cultivated  in  tho  same  way',  and  grown  frcin  sets 
about  the  same  time.  It  is  unquestionably  a  nice  looking  Potato,  and  has 
already  found  much  favour  in  tho  Garden  Isle  ;  but  in  this  garden,  which 
lays  rather  low  and  is  somewhat  enclosed,  it  was  one  of  the  first  out  of 
ten  varieties  grown  to  take  the  disease. — S.  IIraton. 
-  The  Cocoanut  as  a  Vegetable  Food.— Iq  its  life-sup¬ 
porting  qualities  the  cocoanut  is  quite,  equal  to  the  best  of  other 
vegetable  products  that  have  been  ranked  above  it,  and  although  these 
nutritive  qualities  are  admitted,  the  amount  of  nutrition  derived  is  much 
greater  than  is  generally  supposed.  As  an  example,  we  may  refer  to  the 
account  that  has  been  published  of  a  vessel  which  left  San  Francisco  with 
400  passengers  for  Sydney.  Running  short  of  stores  they'  were  obliged  to 
put  in  at  a  port  where  a  large  quantity  of  cocoanuts  was  obtained.  The 
remainder  of  the  passage  was  attended  Vvith  heavy  weather,  and  the  vessel 
becamo  water-logged,  only  reaching  Sydney  after  a  perilous  voyage  of 
eighty  days.  Owing  to  the  extreme  length  of  the  voyage,  their  provisions 
ran  out,  and  men,  women,  and  children  were  reduced  to  an  exclusive  diet 
of  cocoanut,  and  owing  to  tho  scarcity  of  these,  the  quantity  apportioned 
wrs  in  tho  proportion  of  one  cocoanut  to  each  adult.  Notwithstanding 
this  diet,  wholly  unrelieved  by  any  change,  not  a  life  was  lost,  not  a  single 
case  of  illness  occurred,  all  the  passengers  landing  in  a  healthy  and  well 
nourished  condition.  This  is  speaking  well  for  tho  trade  on  shredded 
cocoanut,  which,  with  the  improvement  in  manufacturing  the  last  few 
years,  has  almost  entirely  replaced  the  fresh  cocoanut.  This  is  because 
of  its  keeping  qualities,  and  when  prepared  in  a  careful  manner,  it  is  much 
healthier,  and  certainly  more  economical,  for  it  will  not  turn  rancid 
— (“  Indian  Gardening.”) 
