•l-chruary  19,  1903.  JOURNAL  OF  ^  HO  RTIGULTURU  AX  O  COTTAGE  GARbFXKll. 
165 
The  Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  Journal. 
The  lirst  nineteen  pages  of  the  new  volume  (No.  xxvii., 
parts  2  and  3,  December,  1902)  are  devoted  to  descriptions  of  the 
pests  of  the  flower  garden,  with  two  coloured  plates  and  numerous 
other  illustrations.  The  diseases  of  Compositse,  Primulacese, 
Liliacese,  and  genera  of  other  orders  are  concisely  dealt  ivith  by 
Dr.  M.  C.  Cooke  (whose  portrait  and  history  we  lately  gave),  these 
forming  a  valuable  repository  for  reference.  Following  this  con¬ 
tribution  comes  an  invaluable  record  of  the  Earl  of  Annesley’s 
trees  and  shrubs,  with  photographic  illustrations  of  some,  as 
grown  at  Castlewellan,  co.  Down,  Ireland.  The  collection  is  a 
renowned  one,  and  these  notes  are  of  the  greatest  interest  and 
usefulness. 
The  report  of  the  Rose  show  and  the  papers  sent  to  the  con¬ 
ference  held  at  Holland  House,  occupy  many  pages.  Wo  have 
already  enjoyed  reading  some  of  these,  and  may  have  space  to 
Soc.etjh  belongs  the  greater  part  of  the  credit  which  is  due  for 
the  production  of  this  historical,  practical,  and  scientific  quar¬ 
terly^  volume.  To  non-Fellows  tlio  price  is  10s. ;  it  pays  there¬ 
fore,  to  join  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society.  We  shall  bo 
pleased  to  receive  the  names  of  persons  desirous  of  joining. 
Dieffenbachia  brasiliensis. 
Dieffenbachia  picta,  Bausei,  and  Brasiliensis  are  botanically 
regarded  as  one  and  the  same,  but  horticulturally  they  are  cata¬ 
logued  apart.  The  leaves  of  D.  Brasiliensis  average  18in  in 
length  by  Sin  to  9in  in  width.  Tlie  variegation  is  very  striking, 
the  ground  colour  of  the  leaf  being  deep  green,  and  the  whole  sur- 
Dieffenbachia  brasiliensis. 
enumerate  some  facts  contained  in  the  essays  at  a  later  date;  but, 
meanwhile,  we  must  be  content  to  state  that  the  leading  ro.sarians 
at  home,  and  a  few  from  abroad,  took  part  in  the  conference,  and 
contributed  much  information  of  practical  utility.  The  illus¬ 
trated  e.ssay  on  “  Rose  Forcing  in  America”  de.serves  special  men¬ 
tion,  as  also  Mr.  Wilks’  translation  of  M.  Yiviand-Morel’s  paper, 
“  Different  Ways  of  Striking  Roses.” 
Besides  essays  on  many  phases  of  Rose  culture,  on  new  Rose.s, 
on  exhibition  Roses,  on  Roses  for  towns,  and  on  H.  Teas,  and 
others,  there  are  Professor  Henslow’s  lectui-es  delivered  to  the 
Chiswick  students,  printed  here  in  summarised  form.  “Mendel’s 
Theory  of  Orchid  Hybrids  ”  is  the  title  of  a  paper  by  Captain 
Hurst,  F.L.S.,  and  Mr.  A.  T.  Rivers  furnishes  a  paper  on  “Fruit 
Trees  in  Pots,”  there  being  essays  on  Gooseberry  Mildew  in 
Europe,  Hardy  Fruits  in  Yorkshire, •  Small  Fruits  for  Private 
Gardens,  and  Horticulture  in  Egypt.  The  Repoids  of  Trials  at 
Chiswick  occupy  many  pages.  The  volume  is  one  of  the  best  of 
the  long  sei'ies,  and  emphasises  the  fact  that  at  the  present 
moment  the  Journal  is  the  Society’s  best  friend  and  a  great  asset ; 
and  to  the  Rev.  W.  Wilks,  M.A.,  the  editor,  and  secretary  to  the 
face  beautifully  marked  and  mottled  with  smallish  blotches  of 
greenish  yellow  and  white.  ■  It  was  awarded  a  first-class  certifi¬ 
cate  by  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society,  June  4,  1873,  and  also 
a  certificate  of  merit  by  the  Royal  Botanic  Society,  July,  1872. 
By  our  early  botanists  this  and  other  relatives  would  have  been 
included  in  one  or  other  of  the  genera  Caladium  or  Arum.  It  now 
legitimately  belongs  to  the  genus  named  in  honour  of  the  Gerinan 
botanist  M.  Dieffenbach.  Propagation  is  effected  by  cutting 
down  the  plants  and  inserting  pieces  of  the  stem  in  a  sandy  com¬ 
post,  and  placing  the  pots  in  heat.  The  compost  suitable  for 
growing-on  the  plants  is  a  mixture  of  turfy  loam  and  peat,  incor¬ 
porated  with  sand  and  charcoal.  When  in  active  growth  abund¬ 
ance  of  water  is  needf'd  both  at  the  roots  and  by  the  syringe.  A 
gentle  bottom  heat  improves  the  growth  of  the  plants,  and  weak 
liquid  manure  improves  the  colour  of  the  foliage.  A  high  tem¬ 
perature,  rich  feeding,  and  copious  supplies  of  water  arc  the 
principal  requirements  to  bring  these  noble  plants  to  perfection. 
They  are  seldom  injured  by  insects,  but  if  affected  the  leaves 
should  be  washed  with  the  sponge  in  preference  to  fumigation, 
which  is  injurious. 
