342 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
April  17,  1902. 
Baahinia  acuminata. 
It  is  feared  that  few,  if  any,  of  the  nursery  firms  cultivate  the 
Bauhinias,  a  genus  of  tropical  Leguminous  plants,  whose  pretty 
flowers  and  the  growth  of  the  plants  themselves  form  glorious 
objects  in  tropic  soener3^  But  the  lack  of  sunshine  in  England 
seems  to  be  deteri'ent  tO'  their  success  as  floriferous  objects.  At 
Kew  some  years  ago,  and  probably  since  then  as  well,  the  species 
■we  figure  on  the  opposite  page  attracted  considerable  notice  when 
it  flowered.  The  blooms  are  beautiful  "white,  with  greenish  veins, 
and  are  borne  in  clusters  in  the  axils  of  the  leaves  at  the  points 
of  the  shoots.  Some  of  the  individual  flowers  measured  nearly 
4in  across.  This  Kew  plant  flowered  in  the  Palm  house,  and  was 
raised  from  seed  sent  from  Madras  in  1883  by  Sir  M.  E.  Grant- 
Duff.  A  synonym  of  B.  acuminata  is  B.  Candida.  Propagation 
is  effected  also  by  cuttings  of  half-ripened  wood,  and  the  plants 
succeed  in  a  mixture  of  sand,  loam,  and  peat.  It  would  be 
gratifying  to  learn  of  other  plants  of  the  genus  cultivated  out- 
.side  of  Botanic  Gardens. 
Peculiarities  of  the  Persian  Cyclamens. 
Writing  to  the  Scientific  Committee  of  the  R.H.S.,  the  under¬ 
signed  says: — “The  Cyclamen  persicum  (latifolium)  is  charac¬ 
terised  by  its  ‘  sporting  ’  tendencies,  to  the  investigation  of 
which  I  have  given  much  care  and  attention.  The  main  points 
of  intere.st  are  these :  — (a)  The  Persian  Cyclamens  rai.sed  from 
seeds  cannot,  after  the  third  or  fourth  year,  be  induced  tO'  retain 
their  former  characteristics,  as  regards  the  colour  of  the  flowers, 
&c.  (b)  Although  the  flowers  are  liable  to  ‘  sport,’  they  camiot 
be  regarded  as  specific  characters,  because  they  will  not  repro¬ 
duce  the  same  sporting  tendencies  when  raised  from  their  own 
seed,  (c)  The  same  plant  frequently  produces  two  floAvers  of  dis¬ 
tinctly  opposite  colours  ;  or,  on  the  other  hand,  a  plant,  say  Avith 
pure  Avhite  floAvers,  Avill  produce  a  mixture  of  colours  after  an 
interval  of  three  or  four  years,  (d)  The  sporting  peculiarities  of 
the  Cyclamen  being  such,  what  steps  may  be  taken  to  ensure  the 
retaining  of  the  distinctive  colours  of  the  plants  under  con¬ 
sideration  ? 
“Let  us  briefly  consider  the  first  point: — The  ‘Persian’ 
Cyclamen,  quite'  apart  from  the  other  species*,  cannot  be  induced 
to  retain  its  seedling  characteristic  colour  after  an  interval  of 
three  to  four  years.  Now,  why  are  these  peculiarities  so  marked  ? 
The  plants  which  were  under  trial  were  quite  secure  from  the 
Arisits  of  insects^  tO'  cross  fertilise  the  blooms ;  and  further,  even  if 
the  floAA^ers  were  visited  by  insects,  how  comes  it  about  for  the 
flowers  produced  on  the  old  plants,  to  ‘  sport  ’  from  their  original 
colour  ?  Whereas  seedlings  from  the  same  plants  do*  not  exhibit 
signs  of  ‘  sporting,’  but  retain  the  original  colour  of  the  seed¬ 
bearing  plant,  unless,  of  course,  the  flowers  Avere  hybridised.  I 
am  conAunced  that  the  peculiarity  is  due  to  some  changes  Avhich 
take  place  in  the  bulb  previous  to  its  floAvering  for  the  third  year, 
and  that  it  is  not  effected  by  the  intervention  of  foreign  agencies, 
such  as  insects,  &c.  It  must  be  understood  that  these  pecu¬ 
liarities  are  not  exceptional,  as  some  suppose,  but  rath'^’  the 
reverse;  it  is  the  rule. 
“  From  about  fifty  plants  groAvn,  I  do*  not  notice  one  that  aas 
not  ‘  sported,’  tlie  Avhite  flowers  have  been  spotted  Avith  pink,  and 
vice  versa ;  the  red  and  purple  have  been  distinctly  darkened  in 
colour,  while  the  natural-spotted  flowers  have  been  changed 
either  into  pure  white  or  red,  as  may  be  the  case — .some  plants, 
again,  as  before  mentioned,  bearing  two  flowers  of  opposite  dis¬ 
tinct  colours.  Let  us  now  compare  the  Cyclamen  persicum  Avith 
the  hardy  species;  take  any  of  them,  for  instance,  the  C.  euro- 
paeum,  0.  repandum,  or  any  of  the  others;  have  they  been  known 
to  sport  ?  No !  And  yet  these  are  daily  visited  by  myriads  of 
insects,  without  apparent  results.  This,  then,  proves  that  the 
suggestion  Avhich  I  have  put  forward  is  correct,  and  further  tliat 
this  peculiarity  is  confined  to  the  Persian  Cyclamen  a.lone.  As 
it  is  not  due  to  the  intervention  of  foreign  agencies,  or  external 
conditions,  the  sporting  element  must  take  place  in  the  cormous 
root  of  the  plant. 
“  The  plants  of  the  order  ‘  Primulacese  ’  are  conspicuous  in  the 
vegetable  kingdom  for  their  sporting  peculiarities;  but  of  the 
whole  genus  none  can  possibly  excel  the  Cyclamen  in  this  resjject, 
and  in  addition  to  this  the  flowers  are  often  malformed,  i.e., 
examples  have  been  seen  which  instead  of  the  usual  single  flower 
bore  three  and  four  blooms,  and  a  number  of  foliage  leaves  on  the 
same  stem.  After  a  cursory  glance  over  the  former  points,  Ave 
come  to  the  final  one :  What  steps  may  be  taken  to  retain  the 
original  and  distinctive  colours  of  the  floAvers?  I  can  see  no  Avay 
out  of  the  difficulty,  Avith  the  exception  of  growing  none  but 
young  plants,  and  discarding  them  after  they  are  three  or  four 
years  old.  Could  Ave  trace  this  deficiency  to  insects,  &c.,  or  if 
we  could  have  any  proof  that  the  peculiarities  are  due  to  the 
flowers  themselA'es,  then  Ave  could  possibly  find  a  remedy.  But 
in  spite  of  all  these  lusus  naturae,  the  point  is  one  Avhich  appeals 
to  the  scientist  more  than  to  the  horticulturist.” — J.  Denman, 
Brynvella,  Tremeirchion,  St.  Asaph. 
Spider  Runners  and  Lurkers. 
Speaking  generally,  we  may  say  that  the  spiders  whose  habit 
it  is  to  rove  from  place  to  place  fare  better  at  the  hands  of 
gardeners,  and  the  public  too,  than  those  Avhich  have  a  Aveb  as 
a  home  and  a  trap.  Often  this  web  is  conspicuous,  and  it  is 
roughly  swept  away,  the  maker  not  always  escaping;  if  it  does, 
the  work  has  to  be  done  again.  W^andering  spiders  are  frequently 
unobserved,  sometimes  Avhen  seen  they  are  mistaken  for  other 
insects ;  certainly  they  may  Avell  be  spared  for  the  services  they 
render.  Gardeners  occasionally  kill  them  should  they  chance  to 
be  ill  floAvers  or  partly  folded  leaves;  usually,  such  spiders  are 
cautious  in  avoiding  the  approach  of  man,  their  colour,  Avith  some 
spwies,  serves  as  a  disguise.  One  of  the  imnning  spiders,  indeed, 
which  species  seems  uncertain,  is  considered  to  be  lucky,  and  if 
a  specimen  comes  near  us,  it  is  thought  to  indicate  the  arrival  of 
unexpected  money.  A  feAv  of  the  hunting  spiders,  though  they 
have  no  Aveb,  make  a  silken  cell,  attached  to  a  plant  or  wall, 
into  which  they  can  retreat,  and  perhaps  take  their  prey. 
We  have  about  twenty-seven  species  of  Lycosa  in  Britain, 
familiarly  called  the  Avolf  spiders  ;  but  none  of  them  so  large  as 
the  celebrated  tarantula  of  Italy,  AAdiich  belongs  to  the  tribe. 
No  particular  ill  result,  howeAmr,  follows  its  bite  or  sting,  the 
irritation  being  but  temporary,  and  the  stories  concerning  it 
are  fabulous.  Still,  there  are  exotic  spiders,  the  bite  of  which 
is  followed  by  dangerous  results.  No  doubt  some  of  our  British 
spiders  possess  poison  fangs  capable  of  inflicting  a  painful  bite ; 
but  apparently  they  are  inclined  to  be  pacific — it  may  be  our 
cooler  climate.  Gardeners  may  have  many  chances  of  a  bite 
from  both  the  Aveb-makers  and  the  AAundering  species,  especially 
the  wolf  spiders.  Their  name  arose  from  their  predatory  habits ; 
but,  unlike  the  quadrupeds,  they  do  not  go  in  packs,  hunting 
solitarily.  For  a  sample  of  this  group  we  may  take  the  common 
L.  amentata,  a  spider  partial  to  low-groAving  and  large-leaved 
plants :  also  often  seen  upon  heaps  of  stones,  waiting,  doubtless, 
for  insects  apt  to  settle  upon  them.  Yellow  and  black  while 
young,  they  become  brownish  as  they  grow  older,  having  the  legs 
hairy.  It  is  not  easy  to  catch  one,  if  a  male  especially,  since  he 
goes  both  by  runs  and  leaps.  When  looking  after  flies  or  other 
winged  insects,  a  wolf  spider  will  remain  quite  still  in  the  rib 
of  a  leaf,  and  rushes  suddenly  upon  its  prey.  Towards  the  end 
of  summer,  the  female  may  be  noticed  with  her  egg-bag,  which 
she  carries  about  attached  to  her  body,  and  watches  over  the 
young  brood  at  first.  Somehow  they  live  on  through  the  winter, 
except  those  which  afford  food  to  other  creatures,  attaining  the 
adult  stage  in  April  or  May.  We  have  a  species  of  the  tribe 
semi-aquatic.  Leaving  game  on  diy  land,  the  Dolomedes 
fimbriatus  constructs  a  raft  of  grasses  and  bits  of  leaves,  floating 
about  to  secure  its  victims. 
Then  we  have  hunting  spiders,  whose  usual  plan  is  to  secure 
they  prey  by  a  leap  or  spring,  and  they  are  rarely  unsuccessful. 
Most  of  us  know  Salicus  scenicus,  a  grey  Avanderer,  Avith  transverse 
Avhite  bars  upon  the  back  and  legs,  of  very  rapid  movement.  It 
has  been  noticed  that  when  one  of  these  is  going  to  jump  upon 
an  object  in  view,  it  does  so,  having  first  fastened  a  line  to  the 
place  whence  it  springs,  keeping  this  line  attached  to  its  body. 
This  is  presumed  to  be  as  a  guard  against  a  tumble,  should  the 
mark  be  missed.  It  is  in  the  family  Thomisidse  that  Ave  have  the 
most  crab-like  type  of  British  spiders.  Most  of  them  have  long 
and  poAverful  fore  legs  ;  the  hinder  pairs  are  feebler,  but  they  are 
so  constructed  that  the  spiders  can  run  forwards,  backwards,  or 
sideways  quite  easily.  Some  of  them  chase  their  prey,  while 
others  lurk  for  them  in  holes  and  folded  leaves.  A  few  species 
throw  out  threads  which  enable  them  to  rise  in  the  air,  and  float 
a  long  distance ;  these  are  familiarly  called  gossamers,  the  object 
of  these  migrations  is  open  to  conjecture. 
One  of  the  above  tribe  furnishes  a  good  illustration  of  insect 
mimicry.  Going  past  some  plants  of  the  common  Orchis 
maculata,  a  gentleman  observed  that  several  flies  were  hanging 
from  the  flowers  in  a  very  odd  position.  Making  an  examination, 
he  discovered  the  flies  were  in  the  clutches  of  a  species  of  spider, 
others  that  had  been  killed  and  sucked  lying  at  the  roots.  But 
the  spiders  so  closely  resembled  the  Orchis  flowers  that  they  were 
