26 
January  12,  1899'. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
CYPRIPEDIUM  INSIGNE. 
AVhat  a  useful  i^lant  this  is  for  supplying  cut  flowers  at  this 
season  of  the  year,  and  it  is  because  we  have  realised  its  great  value 
I  am  prompted  to  send  a  few  facts  that  may  prove  interesting  to  my 
fellow  readers.  From  one  flant  in  a  12-incli  pot  we  Lave  taken 
fifty-two  flovers,  and  from  six  plants  in  9-inch  pots  the  number  of 
flowers  have  been  twenty-five,  thirty-six,  forty,  thirty-two,  thirty-six, 
and  thirty-six  respectively,  or  a  total  of  257  from  the  seven  pots.  We 
also  have  three  plants  in  48-pots  carrying  eighteen  flowers  in  the 
aggregate,  and  I  venture  to  think  these  results  very  satisfactoiy. 
It  is  now  four  years  since  the  large  plants  were  placed  in  the  pots 
they  now  occup\’,  in  a  compost  of  turfy  loam  and  peat,  chopped 
sphagnum,  coarse  sand,  pieces  of  broken  soft  brick,  and  charcoal. 
Last  season  we  had  seven  twin  flowers,  the  previous  year  eighteen 
twin  flowers,  but  this  season  not  one  twin  spike  has  been  produced. 
This  would  lead  one  to  think  that  a  free  root  run  is  more  conducive 
to  the  production  of  twin  flowers  than  well-noutished  plants  in  a 
root-bound  condition.  1  am  under  the  impression  that  I  do  not  apply 
water  so  freely  as  some  do,  and  as  a  consequence  the  plant  food  is 
more  concentrated,  hence  their  floriferousness.  Our  plants  from 
October  to  May  are  given  an  intermediate  temperatu-c,  while  the  other 
portion  of  the  year  they  spend  in  a  Peach  house  (not  forced)  or  a 
span-roofed  cold  fame  thinly  shaded. — Tiios,  Ciiosswell,  Homewood, 
Becl-enliam. 
[The  photograph  sent  with  the  above  notes  represents  an  admirably 
grown  plant  of  an  excellent  varitt}’,  but  it  cannot  be  reproduced  satis¬ 
factorily.] 
.  THE  CRYSTAL  PALACE  FRUIT  SHOW. 
“  Don’t  you  think  something  should  be  done  to  help  to  arouse 
more  public  interest  in  this  annual  show  ?  ”  said  a  friend  to  me  the 
other  day.  \\ell,  I  am  entirely  of  that  opinion,  and  have  for  some 
time  thought  that,  in  spite  of  all  that  has  been  attempted  and  done, 
public  interest  in  fruit  culture  is  in  this  country  at  a  low  ebb.  Wlien 
I  think  of  what  public  attention  is  bestowed  on  sport,  and  how  little 
is  given  to  such  matters  as  fruit  culture,  I  think  of  those  lines  vhich 
Shakespeare  put  into  the  moulh  of  the  fallen  cardinal,  “Had  I  but 
served  my  God  as  diligently  as  I  have  served  my  king  He  would  not 
have  left  me  in  my  grey  hairs  to  perish.” 
It  will  be  a  sad  time  for  Great  Britain  if  in  years  to  come  her 
people  should  have  to  paraphrase  that  bitter  lament,  and  find  cause 
for  regret  that  more  attention  had  not  been  given  to  practical  good 
It  is  a  long  time  yet  to  the  next  show,  which 
wrll  be  held  at  the  close  of  September  next.  Tet  time  flieth  fast,  and 
any  arrangements  needful  for  getting  more  of  publicity  and  notoriety 
attached  to  the  show  need  to  be  made  in  good  time. 
^ine  years  ago,  in  the  palmy  days  of  the  international  Potato 
exhrbitions,  it  was  not  difficult  to  secure  the  attendance  of  the  Lord 
Maj  or  of  London  and  the  Sheriffs  in  state,  with  a  big  following, 
umere  seems  attached  to  visitations  of  public  men  or  prominent 
officials  to  shows  a  degree  of  publicity  not  commonly  found  when  no 
such  visits  are  arranged.  ’To  the  general  public  a  fruit  show  at  the 
Crystal  Palace  is  but  an  ordinary  occurrence,  few  realising  that  it  is 
the  product  of  a  great  home  industry,  that  it  represents  food  of  the 
healthful  description,  and  that  it  is  also  an  industry 
which  It  is  at  once  desirable  greatly  to  improve  and  widely  extend. 
I  do  not  assume  that  the  Lord  Mayor  or  the  City  Sheriffs  are  the 
only  or  the  most  fitting  persons  to  invite  to  -grace  the  opening  of  the 
show.  We  have  nob'omen  and  gentlemen,  occupying  distinguished 
positions,  w'hose  lives  and  acts  aie  practically  public  pioperty,  who 
have  the  interests  of  fruit  cultuie  at  heart,  and  who  wouhl  certainly 
secure  at  a  show  of  this  nature  a  great  following.  'The  primal  y 
object  of  the  exhibition,  and  of  all  associat'd  with  it,  w'ould  be  less 
the  mere  awarding  of  money  prizes  or  of  winning  them,  but  rather 
cieating  a  fine  demonstration  ot  British  fruit,  with  the  view  to  secure 
for  it  wider  culture  and  a  greatly  extended  demand. 
Ihe  dropping  out  of  the  conference  last  year  seemed  to  be  a 
mistake,  and  it  is  hoped  one,  not  necessarily  for  each  day,  will  be 
arranged.  But  the  Palace  authoiities  should  be  invited  to  place  a 
convenient  room  at  the  disposal  of  the  R.H.S.  for  the  purpose.  Some¬ 
thing  bettir  and  T'ss  noisy  than  was  the  barn  in  which  one  or  two 
previous  conferences  were  held,  and  the  subjects  chosen  for  papers 
should  bo  severely  restricted  to  one  per  day.  Papers  as  a  rule  are  far 
too  long.  Ihe  readeis  have  been  given  much  rope,  and  in  a  spirit  of 
kindness,  in  which,  of  course,  there  is  no  egotism,  they  proceed  to  use 
it  by  strangling  the  conference.  Papers  should  not  exceed  twenty 
minutes  duration,  allowing  ample  time  for  their  discussion,  and  chair¬ 
men  should  be  severe  in  keeping  speakers  closely  to  the  subject  in  hand. 
If  subjects  are  wanted  we  can  find  them  in  “  How  best  to 
picjmote  the  culture  of  Apples  and  Pears  for  maiket  purjioses;’’ 
“  How  best  to  place  fruit  into  commerce  to  meet  public  require¬ 
ments;  ”  and  “How  best  to  develop  the  existing  demand  for  fruit 
and  its  consumption.  ’  Thus  in  these  three  subjects  we  deal  wuth  the 
4 
primary  hardy  autumn  fruits  for  culture,  marketing,  and  expansion. 
Papers  on  these  subjects  should  be  sought  for  a  little  outside  the 
general  reach  of  readers.  Surely  there  are  others  willing  to  furnish 
them  beside  the  few  who  constitute  generally  the  R.H.S.  stock  in 
trade  of  readers  of  papers. 
Turning  to  the  show  itself,  it  •will  be  well  worth  the  consideration 
of  the  Council  whether  more  effect  cannot  be  obtained  from  a  closer 
arrangement  of  the  tables.  Not  only  effect  but  interest  is  much  lost 
when  a  show  is  so  widely  distributed.  Still  farther,  it  is  so  difficult 
to  follow  the  run  of  the  classes,  of  which  there  seem  to  be  too  many, 
especially  of  the  single  dish  ones,  of  which  at  least  a  score  might  be 
lopped  off  with  advantage.  It  is  folly  to  offer  prizes .  for  varieties 
that  are  seldom  represented  by  but  two  or  three  dishes.  Even  of  very 
popular  Apples  it  does  not  follow  that  classes  should  be  made  for  them 
every  year,  if  there  be  other  good  varieties  generally  grown  that  get  left 
out  in  the  cold. 
In  arranging  the  single  dish  classes,  whilst  good  reputed  popular 
varieties,  that  have  well  stood  the  test  of  time,  should  to  kept  well 
before  the  public,  yet  some  others  as  good,  perhaps  better,  should  be 
occasionally  noticed  and  encouraged  also.  Specially  must  care  be 
taken  to  keep  the  schedule  from  being  a  trading  compilation.  The 
object  of  the  show  is  less  to  develop  novelties,  which  growers  are  at 
liberty  to  do  their  utmost  in  their  own  collections,  than  to  show 
to  the  public,  and  especially  to  the  consuming  public,  what  fine 
varieties  w'e  have  in  cultivation,  and  how  superbly  they  can  be  produced, 
Very  much  might  be  done  to  make  the  show  more  attractive  by 
introducing  small  plants  freely  about  the  tables,  and  by  dividing 
sections  or  classes  with  small  groups  of  cut  flowers.  But  whatever  is 
done  should  be  done  with  a  will,  with  full  resolve  to  “boom”  the  show 
and  fruit  culture,  and  compel  interest  and  patronage  from  the  public 
at  large. — A.  Dean. 
AMERICAN  BLIGHT  AND  NURSERYMEN. 
Many  gardeners  know  what  a  troublesome  pest  American  blight 
is  when  it  gets  an  extensive  footing  on  Apple  trees,  especially  on  those 
of  considerable  size  and  age.  A  very  common  way  by  which  this  pest 
is  introduced  into  gardens  and  orchards  is  with  consignments  of  young 
trees  from  nurseries.  I  have  scarcely,  if  ever,  received  a  number 
of  tiees  from  a  nursery  without  some  of  them  being  affected  with 
more  or  less  of  blight.  If  only  one  in  a  consignment  be  infested  it  is 
more  than  likely  that  the  foe  will  spread  over  the  remaining  trees. 
In  the  autumn  of  1897  I  had  an  experience  of  this  sert. 
My  present  object  is  to  refer  to  how  I  have  got  rid  of  the  pest,  and 
to  make  a  suggestion  to  nurserymen  that  I  think  would  be  a  safeguard 
to  themselves,  but  especially  to  their  clients.  I  first  washed  the  roots 
of  the  trees  with  clean  water  to  free  them  from  all  soil  and  any  insects 
that  might  be  burrowing.  The  trees  were  then  thoroughly  moistened 
through  a  syringe  with  a  mixture  of  three  wineglassfuls  of  petroleum 
to  a  gallon  of  soapy  water,  and  in  two  or  three  minutes  syringed  with 
clean  warm  water.  The  insect  vanished  instantly  under  the  petroleum 
bath,  and  I  have  never  seen  anything  of  it  since. 
My  suggestion  to  nurserymen  is,  I  think,  one  that  is  quite  prac¬ 
ticable.  It  would  increase  their  reputations,  save  gardeners  some 
trouble,  and,  I  think,  be  a  means  of  staying  the  spread  of  blight  if, 
when  trees  were  being  lifted  in  the  nurseiies,  a  piece  of  isolated  ground 
were  set  apart  on  which  any  affected  trees  eould  be  “  heeled  in”  till 
it  avere  convenient  to  deal  with  them,  instead  of  sending  them  away  in 
the  heart  of  a  package  of  clean  ones.  I  conceive  that  it  might  be 
inconvenient  to  deal  with  them,  as  I  have  described,  in  the  bustle  of 
the  despatching  season,  but  they  could  be  dealt  with  when  it  was  over. 
I  feel  certain  that  what  I  have  recommended  as  an  application  is  a 
complete  remedy,  and  the  tax  on  the  nursery  man  would  not  be  great. 
1  was  very  much  interested  on  visiting  a  garden  a  few  weeks  since, 
and  inspecting  a  number  of  espalier  Apple  trees,  most  of  which  were 
almost  covered  with  blight.  They  are  trees,  I  should  say,  fifteen  or 
more  years  old.  There  were  a  few  varieties  amongst  them  that  were 
all  but  entirely  free  from  the  insect ;  yet  in  several  cases  the  branches 
of  the  foul  ones  and  clean  ones  were  running  side  by  side — in  fact, 
fastened  with  the  same  ties.  On  asking  the  gardener  if  the  clean 
ones  always  remained  clean,  his  answer  avas  that  they  did. — 
David  Thomson. 
[A  case  is  recorded  in  i\\e  Journed  of  Horticulture  oi  a  nursery¬ 
man,  on  discovering  some  American  blight  (which  was  introduced  by 
certain  varieties  of  Apples)  in  his  collection,  employing  a  boy  whose 
first  morning’s  work  throughout  the  spring  and  summer  was  to 
search  for  the  blight  and  with  a  brush  apply  a  strong  yet  safe  solution 
of  Gishurst  compound.  In  this  way  the  pest  was  extirpated.  We 
believe  our  chief  nurserymen  are  most  careful  not  to  propagate  this 
great  enemy  of  Apples.  Wo  have  recently  seen  a  number  of  young 
Apple  trees  uprooted  and  burned  because  of  the  infestation. 
The  trees  ware  a  “cheap  lot,”  obtained  from  a  local  market, 
Mr.  Thomson’s  effective  winter  mixture  would  not  be  safe  to  aptply  to 
trees  in  summer.] 
