April  2,  1896. 
JOURNAL  OR  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
301 
-  Propagating-  Dahlias. — When  buying  new  Dahlias  I  order 
two  of  a  sort,  one  each  to  plant  out  for  big  blooms,  the  other  to  pro¬ 
pagate  from.  Place  the  latter  in  large  60-pots,  and  plunge  them  1  foot 
apart  in  the  open  ground.  Give  enough  water  to  prevent  flagging,  and 
in  the  autumn  the  pots  will  be  filled  with  tubers.  They  can  be  stored 
in  the  pots.  This  may  be  of  assistance  to  Mr.  T.  Pendered,  on  page  260, 
—A.  L.  G. 
-  Sugar  Beets.  —  An  American  contemporary  says,  “After 
expensive  experiments  in  Sugar  Beet  culture  in  various  parts  of  the 
State,  the  Indiana  station  finds  chat  all  parts  of  Indiana  are  suited  to 
the  growth  of  that  root.  It  costs  41  dollars  to  produce  an  acre  of  Beets  ; 
the  average  yield  was  12  tons  fit  for  the  factory  and  10  tons  fit  for  stock 
food,  or  22  tons  in  all,  per  acre  ;  the  Beet  industry  is  easily  learned,  but 
will  always  be  a  special  industry,  as  the  general  farmer  cannot  give  it 
the  attention  necessary  at  all  times.  The  bulletin  has  also  the  very 
important  observation  that  at  present  prices  the  crop  will  not  pay  in 
the  United  States.” 
-  The  Violet. — In  dissecting  the  blossom  of  the  Sweet  Violet, 
the  students  of  phytography  will  have  clearly  demonstrated  to  them  the 
utility  of  the  nectary  to  the  parts  of  fructification.  What  is  termed  the 
spur  calcar  of  the  Violet,  wherein  the  honey  is  secreted,  is  a  little  bag 
formed  by  the  lower  petals.  In  carefully  taking  off  the  petals  of  the 
Violet,  and  splitting  open  the  nectary  with  a  pointed  penknife,  it  will 
be  seen  that  the  two  lower  anthers  have  a  tongue  or  tube  attached  to 
them,  which  descends  into  the  spur,  evidently  to  draw  up  the  nectareous 
juice  for  the  invigoration  of  the  anthers,  or  to  assist  in  the  decomposition 
of  the  farina.  As  the  Violet  blossoms  in  a  season  when  there  are  but 
few  plants  in  flower,  Nature  seems  to  have  taken  a  double  precaution  to 
secure  the  entrance  of  the  spur  against  intrusion.  For  this  purpose  the 
two  side  petals  are  furnished  with  a  kind  of  beard,  which  keeps  out  the 
smallest  insect,  at  the  same  time  admitting  air,  which  appears  to  be 
necessary  in  the  formation  of  the  nectar  or  honey.  The  entrance  of  the 
spur  is  grooved  in  the  under  side,  but  this  channel  is  occupied  by  the 
stigma,  which  bends  its  hook  into  the  groove,  as  if  to  partake  of  the 
effluvia  of  the  nectar. — (“  Rural  World.”) 
-  The  Mesilla  Valley.  —  This,  says  “  St.  Paul’s,”  is  the 
“  Garden  of  Eden  ”  of  the  New  World  ;  it  is  a  sub-division  of  the  Rio 
Grande  Valley  proper,  the  Nile  Valley  of  America.  In  no  other  part  of 
America  can,  it  is  said,  equal  advantages  be  found,  it  being  generally 
conceded  that  the  soil  and  climate  of  the  Rio  Grande  are  about  as  near 
perfection  as  anything  in  this  world  can  be.  Not  only  is  the  soil  rich, 
but  the  waters  of  the  Rio  Grande,  when  used  for  irrigation,  fertilise 
the  land  afresh  each  year,  rendering  it  absolutely  inexhaustible.  The 
climate  and  soil  are  peculiarly  suited  to  the  highest  forms  of  fruit  and 
Vine  culture,  and  experts  sent  to  the  valley  by  the  French  Government 
have  stated  that  pests — so  destructive  in  other  fruit-growing  countries 
— cannot  exist  in  Southern  New  Mexico,  owing  to  the  extreme  dryness 
and  altitude.  The  Mesilla  Valley  is  from  1200  to  1500  miles  nearer  than 
California  to  Chicago,  New  York,  and  the  other  great  cities  and  centres 
of  population  in  America,  and  the  fruiting  season  in  Southern  New 
Mexico  is  from  three  to  seven  weeks  earlier  than  the  Californian  season  ; 
the  Mesilla  Valley  settlers  practically  have  no  competitors,  as  they  are 
able  to  place  a  large  proportion  of  their  products  on  the  market  before 
the  Californian  growers  begin  shipping. 
-  Pea  Roots  Penetrating  Potatoes.— Some  important  points 
in  the  growth  of  plants  and  the  capacity  of  roots  to  penetrate  into  living 
tissue  have  been  determined  by  Dr.  George  James  Pierce,  a  graduate 
of  Harvard  and  of  Leipzic,  whose  curious  and  interesting  experi¬ 
ments  are  described  in  a  recent  number  of  “  The  American  Cultivator.” 
Dr.  Pierce  took  a  Potato,  split  it  in  half,  and  cut  a  number  of  small 
slits  in  one  of  the  halves,  planting  in  each  a  seed  of  Rape  or  of  White 
Mustard.  He  put  the  two  halves  together,  binding  them  tightly  with 
string,  and  placed  them  with  the  cut  surfaces  lying  horizontally  in  a 
vessel  containing  damp  sawdust.  After  twelve  days  it  was  found  that 
nearly  all  the  seeds  had  germinated.  Some  had  grown  between  the  cut 
surfaces,  but  others  had  pushed  their  rootlets  vertically  into  the  Potato, 
in  some  instances  sticking  completely  through  it  Rnd  the  corky  layer  of 
its  skin  into  the  sawdust  outside.  The  young  roots  were  almost  entirely 
devoid  of  hairs.  The  cells  of  the  Potato  in  immediate  contact  with  the 
roots  were  contorted  and  torn,  while  two  or  three  of  the  nearest  layers 
had  been  divided  by  walls  and  become  corky,  enclosing  the  root  in  a 
sort  of  sheath  and  cutting  it  off  from  the  unharmed  part  of  the  tuber. 
The  starch  grains  were  in  every  instance  unaltered,  and  by  an  ingenious 
process  Dr.  Peirce  has  shown  that  what  little  disintegration  there  is 
is  due  to  bacteria  and  not  to  fermentation. 
-  The  National  Amateur  Gardeners’  Association. — The 
next  meeting  of  the  Association  will  be  held  on  Tuesday  the  7th  April 
at  the  Memorial  Hall,  Farringdon  Street,  E  C,,  at  7  P.M.,  when  Mr.  J.  C. 
Tallach  of  Livermere  Park  Gardens,  Bury  St.  Edmunds,  will  read  a 
paper  on  “  The  Amateur’s  Greenhouse.”  The  special  classes  for  the 
evening  are,  six  sprays  of  Narcissus  (distinct),  and  four  bunches  of  cut 
flowers,  for  both  of  which  prizes  are  offered  by  the  Association.  New 
members  will  be  elected  at  this  meeting,  and  application  forms  and  all 
further  particulars  may  be  obtained  of  the  Honorary  Secretary,  Mr. 
Leonard  Brown,  The  Cottage,  Seven  Arches,  Brentwood,  Essex. 
- Lilium  Bulbs  as  Food. — Among  the  Ainos  of  Japan  the 
chief  article  of  vegetable  food  is  the  root  of  the  Lilium  Glehni  (Tiger 
Lilies).  They  extract  the  starch,  of  which  they  make  a  kind  of  cake 
with  a  hole  in  the  middle.  By  this  means  a  number  of  cakes  are 
suspended  on  a  string.  In  Japan  Lily  roots  are  largely  used  in  lieu  of 
Potatoes,  the  bulbs  of  Lilium  auratum  and  L.  tigrinum  being  most  in 
request.  The  bulbs  of  wild  plants  are  preferred  to  cultivated  ones.  They 
are  usually  eaten  boiled  with  sugar.  They  may  also  be  served  as  a  salad 
or  with  rice. 
— —  Distribution  of  Seeds  by  the  Wind.  —  Bolley  records 
some  interesting  facts  on  the  distribution  cf  seeds  by  the  wind.  In 
2  square  feet  of  a  three-week-old  and  3-inch  deep  snow-drift,  on  the 
ice  of  a  pond  10  yards  from  any  weed,  he  found  nineteen  weed  seeds, 
and  in  another  drift,  similarly  situated,  thirty-two  seeds,  representing 
nine  distinct  species.  While  the  wind  was  blowing  twenty  miles  an 
hour  he  poured  out  a  peck  of  seeds  on  the  snow-crust,  and  ten  minutes 
after  191  Wheat  grains,  fifty-six  Flax  seeds,  forty-three  Buckwheat 
seeds,  and  ninety-one  (American)  Ragweed  seeds  were  found  30  rods 
from  where  they  had  been  poured  out. — (“  Pharm.  Journ.”) 
-  The  Germination  of  Oily  Seeds.— According  to  M.  Leclerc 
du  Sablon,  the  reserve  substance  of  oily  seeds,  whether  they  are  stored 
up  in  the  embryo  or  in  the  endosperm,  consists  chiefly  of  oil  and 
aleurone  ;  starch  is  but  rarely  found  in  them.  In  the  species  examined 
the  proportion  of  oil  decreases  regularly  during  the  period  of  germi¬ 
nation.  By  the  action  of  a  diastase  the  oil  is  transformed  into  fatty 
acids  without  any  separation  of  glycerine.  During  germination  these 
fatty  acids,  instead  of  accumulating,  are  themselves  transformed  into 
carbo-hydrates,  especially  into  those  belonging  to  the  group  of  saccha¬ 
roses.  This  saccharose  is  again  converted  by  the  action  of  a  diastase 
into  glucose,  which  is  directly  assimilated  by  the  plant.  Starch  is  also 
temporarily  present  as  an  intermediate  product  between  oil  and  glucose. 
— (Bonnier’s  “  Revue  Gdnbrale  de  Botanique.”) 
-  When  to  Eat  Fruit. — As  everyone  knows,  most  fruits 
contain  acids,  and  these  acids  may  be  made  to  assist  digestion,  but  much 
depends  on  the  time  and  quantity  taken.  Fruit  should  always  be  eaten 
in  moderate  quantity  and  after  a  meal,  because  if  it  is  taken  before  a 
meal  it  may  so  affect  the  natural  juices  of  the  stomach  that  they  cannot 
perform  their  function  in  digestion.  An  analysis  of  most  domestic  fruits, 
such  as  Apples,  Peaches,  Pears,  Grapes,  Plums,  Strawberries,  and 
Raspberries,  shows  that  they  contain  similar  ingredients,  and  in  very 
much  the  same  proportions.  Thus  we  find  about  1  per  cent,  of  malic, 
citric,  hydrochloric,  or  other  acids,  1  per  cent,  of  albuminoids  or  flesh- 
producing  substances,  with  about  80  or  85  per  cent,  of  water.  Any  of 
these  domestic  fruits,  therefore,  when  taken  after  a  meal  containing  a 
considerable  amount  of  fats  or  oily  matter,  will  be  beneficial  because 
they  will  supply  any  deficiency  of  acids  that  may  be  found  in  the  stomach, 
Epecially  is  this  true  of  a  weak  stomach. — (“  Rural  World.”) 
- -  Canning  Maize. — A  contemporary  says  that  the  canning  of 
Maize  for  winter  use  has  become  a  most  important  industry  in  the 
United  States,  employing  thousands  of  hands  and  a  large  capital 
invested  in  buildings  and  machinery.  Mr.  B.  Landreth  stated  in  a  paper 
read  before  the  Pennsylvania  Horticultural  Society  that  the  number  of 
tins  put  up  during  the  summer  of  1893  was  93  millions,  and  it  was 
expected  that  during  the  summer  of  1895  the  number  of  cans  had 
reached  125  millions.  New  York  State  cans  the  largest  quantity,  with 
Maine  not  far  behind,  and  Maryland  as  a  third.  The  operations  in  the 
State  of  Maryland,  of  growing  the  best  vegetable  sweet  corn  for 
canning,  have  reached  a  most  notable  development,  one  Maryland 
farmer  and  canner  alone  purchasing  for  several  years  the  seed  corn  to 
plant  1100  acres  of  his  own  land,  and  3400  acres  of  contracted  crop 
grown  by  neighbours,  every  grain  from  which  4500  acres  he  puts  up 
in  tin  cans.  His  particular  operations  are  not  now  so  extensive, 
but  the  work  of  C'-rn  canning  in  Maryland  is  increasing  every  year. 
