J\l  luai-v  5,  1^(3. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
115 
Floral  Designs. 
The  following  have  been  noted;  A  cross  furnished  with 
golden  Retinospora  pisifera  ;  a  heart  of  pink  Stocks  and  bouquet 
poised  on  the  centre  having  pink  Carnations  ;  a  wreath  of  dark 
l^iolets  with  huge  bunches  of  Snowdrops  top  and  b(?ttoin.  Blue 
and  white  Hyacinths  in  pots  contrast,  well. 
Trees  Aifect  Soil  Temperatures. 
That  this  is  true  has  been  proved  bj'  many  experiments.  In 
South  Australia  some  observations  showed  that  the  temperature 
of  the  soil  in  a  forest  was  21  per  cent,  lower  than  in  the  open 
held,  and  that  the  air  temperature  in  the  forest  was  10  per  cent, 
lower.  The  effect  of  forests  in  thus  equali.sing  the  extreme 
summer  heat  is  thus  demonstrated. 
Average  Age  of  Trees, 
Following  are  the  average  ages  in  years  to  which  some  of  our 
native  trees  attain  ; — Oak,  1,600  ;  Lime,  583  ;  Yew,  3,000;  Pear, 
269 ;  Apple,  80  to  175  ;  Ash,  400 ;  Ivy,  600 ;  Scotch  Fir,  90  to  120. 
The  average  longevity  of  other  trees  are  as  follows: — Plane, 
1,200;  Spanish  Chestnut,  700;  Cedar  of  Lebanon,  800;  Larch, 
270  ;  and  the  Juniper,  380. 
Eucryphla  pinnatifolla. 
One  of  the  choicest  of  recently  introduced  shrubs  seen  by 
the  writer  when  visiting  Messi’s.  R.  Veitch  and  Son’s  nursery 
at  Exeter,  was  the  one  named  above.  It  is  an  elegant  shrub, 
and  seemingly  vigorous ;  one  likely  to  become  a  favourite  for  the 
ornamental  grounds.  In  its  native  domains  in  Southern  Chili 
it  attains  to  15ft  in  height,  and  the  oldest  plants  in  this  country 
are  now  almost  as  large.  Bedng  a  Chilian  plant  we  should  say 
it  delights  in  a  dry  soil  and  moderately  warm  position,  though 
assuredly  it  will  stand  in  considerably  exposed  places.  For  the 
South  of  England  it  is  perfectly  commendable.  With  showers  of 
large  white  flowers  and  Rose-like  foliage,  having  also  a  fairly 
close  habit,  this  newcomer  at  once  takes  a  high  place  on  its 
merits  for  ornamental  planting.  The  flowers  are  from  2iin  to 
3in  in  diameter,  and  spring  from  the  axils  of  the  upper  Idaves. 
They  resemble  in  form  a  Hypericum  or  a  Stuartia,  and  are  pro¬ 
duced  in  July  and  August. 
The  Cherry  House. 
A  house  of  Cherry  trees,  planted  out  or  in  pots,  is  found 
here  and  there  throughout  the  country,  and  the  fruits  they 
bear  are  very  desirable  additions  to  the  dessert  at  the  end 
of  April  and  through  May,  when  the  house  is  started  at  the 
new  year.  The  utmost  care  must  be  taken  to  have  the  trees 
perfectly  free  from  aphides,  which  seem  to  emerge  from  the 
eggs  simultaneously  with  the  buds  ca.sting  their  scales,  and  they 
at  once  fasten  on  the  young  growths.  This  they  must  be  pre¬ 
vented  doing  by  fumigating  with  some  approved  preparation  of 
tobacco,  so  as  to  thoroughly  annihilate  the  pests,  for  it  is 
essential  to  a  good  set  that  the  blossoms  be  perfectly  developed; 
therefore,  effect  the  destruction  of  the  pests  before  the  flowers 
unfold.  Syringe  the  trees  occasionally  up  to  the  blossom  show¬ 
ing  the  loveliest  of  all  white,  but  cease  then,  damping  the  paths 
and  borders  instead,  and  ventilating  freely.  Keep  the  house 
at  40deg  by  night,  45deg  to  50deg  bj"  day  by  artificial  means, 
and  allowing  a  rise  te  60deg  or  65deg  from  sun  heat,  with  full 
ventilation,  closing  the  house  for  the  day  at  50deg.  Take  care 
not  to  allow  the  border  to  become  di’y  and  remain  in  that  state, 
but  water  as  necessary,  so  as  to  keep  the  soil  moist,  yet  not  sup¬ 
plying  it  excessively  .so  as  to  make  the  border  sodden,  and 
attend  regularly  to  the  needs  of  trees  in  pots. 
Where  a  light,  aii’y  house  is  at  command,  and  heated  so  as 
to  exclude  fro.st,  trees  in  pots  now  introduced  will  ripen  the 
fruit  in  May,  and  the  grand  varieties  Early  Rivers,  Governor 
Wood,  and  Black  Tartarian  give  a  long  succession  of  fruit,  the 
fruit  being  large  and  of  first-rate  quality,  keeping  a  considerable 
time  after  ripening,  so  as  to  be  available  for  special  occasions 
or  parties. — G.  A. 
Advice  to  Florists. 
An  exchange  advi.ses  thus  :  “  Every  florist,  wholesale  or  retail, 
should  seek  to  build  up  a  business  beyond  the  limits  of  his  own 
city.  A  shipping  trade  is  among  the  most  valuable  assets  of  any 
firm.”  Has  this  a  “logical”  conclusion? 
The  Douglas  Spruce.  Abies  Douglasi. 
It  will  only  need  but  a  supply  equal  to  the  demand  to  see  the 
Douglas  Spruce  one  of  the  most  popular  of  evergreens.  The  one 
from  the  Rocky  Mountains  is  referred  to,  not  the  one  from  the 
Pacific  Coast,  the  latter  not  being  hardy  enough  for  our  northern 
winters.  The  Colorado  one  is  a  beautiful  evergreen,  quick¬ 
growing  and  yet  of  compact  growth  all  the  time.  Its  soft  foliage 
also  recommends  it.  It  is  but  of  late  years  that  it  could  be 
had  in  nurseries  ;  now  it  is  being  grown,  and  customers  are  but 
too  glad  to  be  able  to  add  such  a  hardy,  lovely  evergreen  to  their 
collections.  As  an  evergreen  for  pot  or  tub  culture  it  is  very 
taking,  the  foliage  being  soft  to  the  touch,  and  the  outline  and 
general  appearance  of  the  little  trees  pleasing.  To  add  to  its 
good  points  it  transplants  well,  better  than  a  Norway  Spruce 
does,  being  well  supplied  with  small  roots.  The  Douglas  Spruce 
has  a  wi^e  range  of  growth.  It  is  found  from  Colorado  to  New 
Mexico.  Then  occurs  a  big  gap.  I  am  not  sure  if  it  occurs 
in  California,  but  in  Oregon,  Washington,  British  Columbia,  and 
further  there  are  immense  forests  of  it.  The  trees  are  so  close 
together  that  it  is  difficult  to  thread  one’s  way  between  them. 
Notes  on  Annuals. 
It  will  be  admitted  that  yellow  Phlox  Drummondis  are  flores 
rarse,  but  one  was  noticed  at  Orpington.  The  sweet  annual 
blossoms  are  numbered  amongst  my  especial  favourites,  partly 
for  past  memories  they  always  awaken,  and  certainly  for  their 
own  charming  loveliness — velvet  in  texture,  and  glowing  rich  their 
colours.  Antirrhinums  and  Popi^ies  are  unsuiqjassed  respectively 
in  their  attributes  of  brilliance  and  continuation  of  floral  yield, 
and  these  are  amongst  the  other  subjects  of  marked 
care.  At  Orpington,  of  Antirrhinums  there  are  a  number  of 
sorts,  particularly  the  Lemon  Queen,  White  Queen,  and  Crimson 
King,  the  latter  royally  rich  in  dark  crimson.  The  selected 
striped  Antirrhinums  are  yearly  becoming  more  popular,  but  the 
seifs  are  simply  grand.  The  double  Victoria  Poppy  greatly  im¬ 
pressed  me,  and  is  one  likely  to  grow  in  favour  because  of  its  free 
flowering  and  useableness  for  decorations.  It  is  of  Scotti-sh 
origin,  having  been  originally  selected  by  the  late  Mr.  Gaw,  of 
Dunoon,  coming  into  bloom  for  Jul}^  and  August,  the  colour  being 
rose  purple  with  a  white  centre,  and  it  grows  18in  high.  It  is 
well  worth  a  trial. 
Western  Red  Cedar  Characteristics. 
The  following  references  from  a  Californian  paper  furnish 
information  on  a  valuable  timber  tree  about  which  we  are  little 
acquainted  as  yet  in  Britain  :  — “  All  experience  with  this  tree 
near  the  Great  Lakes  region,  moister  sections  east,  south,  and 
where  the  rainfall  is  far  in  excess  of  that  of  Nebraska,  U.S.A., 
are  unfavourable.  The  Western  Red  Cedar,  Juniperus  scalu- 
lorum,  is  a  child  of  the  sun — likes  heat  and  drought.  It  is  not 
adapted  to  the  moister  conditions  in  Michigan,  Illinois,  Wis¬ 
consin,  Indiana,  and  Ohio.  But  in  Iowa,  Minnesota,  Dakota, 
Nebraska,  Oklalioma,  Colorado,  and  the  elevated  plains  country, 
this  v’estern  species  possibly  stands  fii^st  in  value  of  all  trees 
that  retain  foliage  throughout  the  season.  The  first  eight  or 
nine  years  it  grows  rapidly,  then,  like  the  Walnut,  slows  up.  It 
has  two  remarkable  traits,  only  nearly  equalled  by  one  variety, 
the  Picea  pungens.  It  grows  thriftily  and  well  in  the  stiffest 
bluegrass  sod.  There  are  two  forms  most  valuable:  the  sort 
from  Platte  river  in  Nebraska,  now  widely  propagated.  This  is 
best  for  general  planting.  The  Fern-form  from  the  Rocky 
Mountains  is  fine,  if  selected  with  reference  to  glaucous  colour, 
which  is  like  a  blue  silk  scarf  in  delicacy  of  colouring.  Seed¬ 
bearing  ti-ees  are  very  pretty  with  their  fine  coloured  berries. 
Artificial  propagation  is  not  practicable,  except  by  specialists. 
The  seeds  are  cleansed  of  the  resinous  covering  by  rubbing  them 
on  a  washboard  while  in  a  cloth  sack,  in  a  strong  solution  of 
soap  or  alkali  water.  They  are  then  mixed  with  a  puddle  of 
clay  and  set  in  a  cellar  two  years  and  planted  the  second  year. 
They  should  then  have  the  same  treatment  as  evergreen  handled 
in  beds,  but  with  less  or  no  shade,  depending  upon  weather 
conditions.” 
