September  30,  1897. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
313 
-  Trop^olum  speciosum. — Your  correspondent’s  note  on  the 
above,  in  last  week’s  Journal,  reminds  me  of  a  beautiful  sight  I  saw  in 
the  flower  gardens  at  Chillingham  Castle  in  the  month  of  August.  Two 
Yew  hedges,  running  parallel  with  the  whole  length  of  the  garden,  were 
a  perfect  mass  of  scarlet.  A  few  plants  had  found  their  way.  by  accident 
or  otherwise,  to  the  roots  of  the  hedges,  and  Mr.  Henderson  last  year 
increased  these,  and  covered  the  whole  length,  with  the  above  beautiful 
result.  The  fine  old  wall  bounding  the  garden  on  the  western  side  had 
also  some  masses  on  wire  supports  of  the  same  lieautiful  climber,  which, 
viewed  from  the  terraces  above,  have  a  fine  effect. — T.  H.  Bolton. 
-  Davallia  fijiensis.  —  A  few  weeks  ago,  on  a  Saturday 
afternoon,  whilst  working  in  a  fernery  of  which  I  have  the  charge,  I 
had  occasion  to  get  up  to  a  large  hanging  basket,  containing  a  plant  of 
Davallia  fijiensis,  which  at  this  time  of  the  year  is  usually  thickly  covered 
with  a  yellowish-looking  powder.  I  was  perspiring  rather  freely  at  the 
time,  and  happened  quite  unsuspectingly  to  brush  my  face  with  the  large 
overhanging  fronds  ;  in  a  few  seconds  my  face  was  smarting  so  acutely 
that  for  quite  an  hour  I  could  scarcely  open  my  eyes,  after  which  the 
pain  went  gradually.  A  few  days  later  in  my  hurry  I  unthinkingly  did 
the  same  thing  again,  with  similar  results,  which  quite  convinced  me 
as  to  the  peculiar  nature  of  the  plant  under  notice.  Since  that  time, 
when  watering  or  working  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Davallia,  I  always  keep 
my  face  at  a  distance  from  the  fronds.  As  I  was  unaware  beforehand 
that  the  Davallias  had  any  poisonous  properties,  I  was  totally  unprepared 
for  the  disagreeable  suri)rise  I  received.  I  should  like  to  know  if  any 
of  the  .Journal  readers  have  had  a  similar  experience  to  the  above. 
— Journeyman. 
-  Sugar  prom  Potatoes. — Even  as  Beet  sugar  has  to  a  great 
extent  replaced  Cane  sugar  and  turned  the  industry  upside  down  in  the 
process,  so,  it  appears,  may  Potato  sugar  eclipse  Beet  sugar  and  again 
upset  the  trade.  A  Dutch  correspondent  states  in  the  “Westminster 
<S.azette  ”  that  Dr.  11.  C  Prinzen  Geerlings,  Director  of  the  Proof- 
station  in  Kagok-tegal  (.Java),  formerly  of  the  University  of  Amsterdam, 
and  many  years  assistant  in  the  chemical  laboratory  of  that  University, 
has  discovered  a  simple  method  of  converting  the  starch  of  Potatoes  into 
sugar.  He  has  sent  in  a  sealed  envelope,  as  is  customary,  the  description 
of  his  method  to  the  Drench  Academic  des  Sciences  ;  this  to  secure  the 
priority  of  his  invention,  as  his  discovery  is  not  yet  quite  at  the  stage 
for  being  made  public.  Dr.  Prinzen  Geerlings  has  so  much  official 
business  upon  his  hands  that  some  months  may  elapse  before  he  can 
prepare  the  discovery  for  publication.  Starch-producing  plants  are  much 
less  liable  to  climatic  influences  than  sugai’-producing  vegetables,  and 
with  regard  to  the  sugar  industry,  the  only  question  is  to  find  the  means 
for  converting  on  a  big  scale,  and  at  small  cost,  so  that  the  method  may 
take  the  place  of  the  manufacture  of  sugar  from  Cane  or  Beet.  If  this 
■yan  be  done  there  is  one  of  the  biggest  economical  revolutions  in  sight. 
-  The  Rose  op.Tericho. — The  plant  commonly  known  as  the  Rose 
of  .Jericho  is  Anastatica  hierochuntica,  L.,  and  that  it  has  borne  that 
name  for  centuries  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  it  is  figured  and  described 
as  such  by  nearly  all  the  early  herbalists.  I.ionitzer  (I^onicera),  the  first 
edition  of  whose  “  Kreuterbuch  ”  appeared  in  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  writes  of  it  as  a  well  known  foreign  herb,  bearing  the  names 
Rosen  von  Hiericho,  Rosa  Hierichuntis,  Rosa  S.  Maria?,  and  Rosa 
Hierosolimitana.  Several  other  sixteenth  century  authors  write  more 
fully  on  it.  But  it  is  now  claimed  that  Asteriscus  pygmaeus,  Coss.  et  Dur. 
(Compositas),  is  the  true  Rose  of  .Jericho.  The  Abb^  Michon,  who 
accompanied  De  Saulcy  on  his  travels  in  the  East,  describes  (“  Voyage 
Religieux  en  Orient,”  vol.  ii.,  page  383)  a  plant  under  the  name  of 
Saulcya  Hierochuntica,  which  he  regarded  as  the  true  Rose  of  Jericho 
of  the  pilgrims  of  the  Middle  Ages,  because  it  is  introduced  into  the 
arms  of  several  French  noble  families.  Boissier  (“Flora  Orientalis,” 
iii.,  page  179)  identified  Saulcya  with  Asteriscus,  and  cites  Michon’s 
opinion  as  to  its  being  the  true  Rose  of  .Jericho.  Here  the  matter  rested 
apparently  until  1882,  when  Dr.  P.  Ascherson  brought  the  subject  before 
the  Botanischen  Vereins  der  Provinz  Brandenburg  (“  Verhandlungen,” 
xxiiL,  page  44).  ^lore  recently  (1886)  Dr.  G.  Schweinfurth  has  written 
on  “  La  Vraie  Rose  de  .Jericho”  (“Bull,  de  I’lnst.  Egypt.,”  2116  series, 
n.  6,  pages  92-96),  where,  according  to  .Just  (“  Bot.  .lahresber.,”  1886, 
2,  page  196),  he  recognises  Asteriscus  pygmasus  as  the  plant.  This 
covers  a  wider  geograj  ihical  area  than  the  Anastatica,  ranging  from 
Algeria  to  Baluchistan,  and  it  is  very  abundant  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Jericho.  In  Asteriscus  it  is  the  involucral  leaves  especially  that  are 
hygroscopic,  being  closely  incurved  over  the  fruit  in  a  dry  state,  and 
<juickly  opening  out  to  an  almost  horizontal  position  under  the  influence 
of  moisture.— (“  Kew  Bulletin.”) 
-  The  Devon  and  Exeter  Gardeners’  Association. — The 
autumn  programme  of  this  Society,  which  holds  its  meetings  in  the 
Council  Chamber  of  the  Guildhall,  Exeter,  on  Wednesdays  at  eight  o'clock 
prompt,  is  as  follows  : — October  13th,  Mr.  .T.  Mayne,  Bicton,  “  The 
(Qualifications  and  Duties  of  a  Gardener.”  October  27th,  Mr.  R.  Hodder, 
I’onsonby,  Torquay,  “  How  a  Knowledge  of  Botany  is  a  Help  to  Garden¬ 
ing.”  November  10th,  Mr.  T.  H.  Slade,  Poltimore  I’ark,  “  Pruning  and 
the  General  Management  of  Fruit  Trees.”  November  24th,  Mr.  W. 
Andrews,  Elmfield,  Exeter,  “Herbs  :  Their  Cultivation  and  their  Uses.” 
December  8th,  Mr.  G.  Camp,  Culver  Gardens,  Exeter,  “  Winter-flowering 
and  Foliage  Begonias.”  December  22nd,  Papers  by  the  juniors. 
-  Damsons.-  I  paid  4d.  per  lb.  for  these  fruits  in  one  of  our 
Kingston  shops  recently,  apparently  Farleigh  Prolific.  That  is  a  j)rice 
to  make  one’s  mouth  to  water,  and  how  much  growers  would  like  to 
get  one-half.  As  good  Damsons  range  to  about  60  lbs.  per  bushel,  the 
price  is  20s.  for  the  latter  quantity.  It  would  be  interesting  to  learn 
what  Damsons  are  just  now  really  fetching  in  the  market,  but  certainly 
a  long  way  below  20s.  The  disproportion  between  growers’  wholesale 
and  consumers’  retail  prices  is  out  of  all  reason.  No  wonder  we  have 
what  are  termed  gluts  in  some  seasons,  as  it  is  impossible  for  the 
glower  to  get  to  the  million  the  full  benefit  of  his  abundant  crops. 
Our  method  of  trading  is  so  complicated  that  not  one  only,  but  half  a 
dozen  persons,  must  have  their  profits  out  of  an  article. — A.  D. 
-  Fuchsias  at  Egham.— Several  weeks  since  there  was  a 
complimentary  note  made  in  the  Journal  of  Horticulture  in  reference  to 
the  remarkable  display  of  Fuchsias  and  other  plants  which  Mr.  II.  Paice, 
C.C.,  the  well-known  corn  merchant,  makes  in  his  roadside  garden  in 
Egham.  I  jiassed  that  garden  but  a  few  days  since,  and  was  surprised 
to  see  how  wonderfully  the  Fuchsias  were  still  blooming.  The  arch  of 
these  plants  leading  from  gate  to  door  of  house,  a  most  unusual  feature 
everywhere  else,  but  seen  here  every  suiiimer,  was  a  veritable  bower  of 
drooping  flowers.  The  tall  standards,  that  are  some  6  to  8  feet  in  height, 
were  blooming  profusely  still,  so  also  were  dwarfer  ones,  and  also  were 
standard  Heliotropes.  Some  tall  bushes  of  Calceolaria  amplexicaulis,  so 
very  showy  and  etfective  grown  on  in  this  way  from  year  to  year,  were 
blooming  finely.  Mr.  Paice  has  indeed  a  remarkable  front  garden,  and  it 
is  a  distinct  attraction  to  this  ancient  Surrey  town.  —  Wanderer. 
-  Camphor  Culture. — An  account  of  the  range,  cultivation’ 
uses,  and  products  of  the  Cami>hor  tree  (Cinnamomum  camphora)  is  given 
in  a  circular  (No.  12)  just  distributed  by  the  U.S.  Department  of  Agi-i- 
culture  (Division  of  Botany).  Notwithstanding  the  comparatively  narrow 
limits  of  its  natural  environment,  the  Canqihor  tree  grows  well  in 
cultivation  under  widely  different  conditions.  It  has  become  abundantly 
naturalised  in  Madagascar.  It  flourishes  at  Buenos  Ayres.  It  thi’ives  in 
Egypt,  in  the  Canary  Islands,  in  South-Eastern  France,  and  in  the  San 
.Joaquin  Valley  in  California,  where  the  summers  are  hot  and  dry.  Large 
trees,  at  least  200  years  old,  are  growing  in  the  temple  courts  at  Tokyo, 
where  they  are  subject  to  a  winter  of  seventy  to  eighty  nights  of  frost, 
with  an  occasional  minimum  temperature  as  low  as  12=’  to  16°  Fahr.  The 
conditions  for  really  successful  cultivation  ajjpear  to  be  a  minimum  winter 
temperature  not  below  20°  Fahr.,  50  inches  or  more  of  rain  during  the 
warm  growing  season,  and  an  abundance  of  plant  food,  rich  in  nitrogen. 
In  the  native  forests  in  Formosa,  Fukien,  and  Japan  camphor  is  distilled 
almost  exclusively  from  the  wood  of  the  trunks,  roots,  and  laiger 
branches.  The  work  is  performed  by  hand  labour,  and  the  methods 
employed  seem  rather  crude.  The  Camphor  trees  are  felled,  and  the 
trunk,  larger  limbs,  and  sometimes  the  roots,  are  cut  into  chips,  which 
are  placed  in  a  wooden  tub  about  40  inches  high  and  20  inches  in 
diameter  at  the  base,  tapering  towards  the  to]i  like  an  old-fashioned 
churn.  The  tub  has  a  tight-fitting  cover,  which  may  be  removed  to  put 
in  the  chips.  A  Bamboo  tube  extends  from  near  the  top  of  the  Uib  into 
the  condenser.  This  consists  of  two  wooden  tubs  of  different  sizes,  the 
larger  one  right  side  up,  kept  about  two-thirds  full  of  water  fiom  a 
continuous  stream,  which  runs  out  of  a  hole  in  one  side.  The  smaller  one 
is  inverted,  with  its  edges  below  the  water,  forming  an  air-tight  chamber. 
This  air  chamber  is  kept  cool  by  the  water  falling  on  the  top  and  running 
down  over  the  sides.  The  upper  part  of  the  air  chamber  is  sometimes 
filled  with  clean  Rice  straw,  on  which  the  camphor  crystallises,  while  the 
oil  drips  down  and  collects  on  the  surface  of  the  water.  In  some  cases 
the  camphor  and  oil  are  allowed  to  collect  together  on  the  surface  of  the 
water,  and  are  afterwards  separated  by  filtration  through^  Rice  straw  or 
by  pressure.  About  twelve  hours  are  reiiuired  for  distilling  a  tubful  by 
this  method.  Then  the  chips  are  removed  and  dried  for  use  in  the 
furnace,  and  a  new  charge  is  put  in.  At  the  same  time  the  camphor  and 
oil  are  removed  Rom  the  condenser.  By  thi.s  method  20  to  40  lbs.  of 
chips  are  reipatred  for  1  lb.  of  crude  camphor.  (“Nature.  ) 
