April  30,  1903. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
Corydalis  tormentilla. 
A  new  Central  China  species,  with  leaves  covered  in  a  woolly 
tomentum  after  the  fasliion  of  the  Edelweiss.  It  grows  half  a 
foot  high,  forming  tufts,  and  like  most  of  the  species  of  the 
genus,  the  flowers  are  yellow.  Messrs.  Veitch  possess  the 
novolty. 
Solanum  Wendlandi. 
Those  who  have  seen  this  truly  beautiful  climber  in  the  tem¬ 
perate  house  at  Kew  will  not  readily  forget  it,  but  may  wonder 
why  it  is  not  more  generally  grown,  there  being  apparently  no 
special  cultural  difficulties  attached  to  it.  Its  greatest  dislike 
is,  perhaps,  a  close  moist  atmosphere,  and  a  wet  soil  at  root,  a 
dislike  common  to  many  members  of  the  same  genus.  The  leaves 
of  Wendlandi  under  the  condition  named  suffer  much  in  the  same 
way  as  Tomatoes  affected  Avitli  “spot,”  and  occasionally  all  will  fall 
off.  When  well  established  it  quite  repays  any  trouble  bestowed 
on  it.  At  Burford  Lodge  this  Solanum  has  proved  satisfactory 
on  a  wall  outdoors.  When  the  plants  have  completed  their 
growth  more  air  and  exposure  to  bright  sun  should  be  accorded 
them  for  a  few  weeks  to  mature  the  growths.  When  in  flower 
the  atmosphere  should  be  kept  on  the  dry  side,  as  damp  quickly 
spoils  the  bright,  cheerful-looking  racemes. — D. 
Bxochorda  grandiflora. 
Until  a  comparatively  recent  period  the  Exochorda  was  not 
to  be  found  in  quantities  in  any  nursery.  It  is  different  now, 
as  the  plants  first  distributed  produce  seeds  freely,  and  anyone 
having  a  large  bush  or  two  of  it  can  soon  raise  a  lot  of  seedlings. 
Beautiful  as  this  bush  is  when  in  flower,  nurserymen  say  it 
requires  either  a  knowledge  of  its  merits  or  confidence  in  the 
nurseryman’s  integrity  to  sell  it  when  in  a  dormant  condition,  as 
then  its  appearance  is  not  striking.  There  are  other  shrubs  of 
the  same  nature.  Such  a  grand  thing  is  this  Exochorda  when  in 
bloom  that  one  is  quite  justified  in  compelling  a  customer  to  add 
it  to  his  collection.  Plants  are  often  clothed  with  flowers  from  the 
ground,  and  of  beautiful  shape.  Its  common  name,  Pearl-bush, 
has  been  given  it  because  of  the  lovely  pearl-white  blossoms. 
In  former  times  this  shrub  went  under  the  name  of  Spiraea 
grandiflora.  Another  species.  Ex.  Alberti,  by  many  lauded  as 
superior  to  this  one,  is  quite  the  revei’se,  as  it  grows  here. — 
Joseph  Meehan  (in  “  Florists’  Exchange.”) 
Wholesale  Slaughter  of  Moths. 
The  vineyards  in  the  wine  growing  districts  of  Beaujolais, 
France,  have  suffered  greatly  from"'  the  depredations  of  night 
flying  moths,  among  which  the  pyralid  was  the  most  prominent. 
The  following  method  of  killing  these  insects  has  been  adopted, 
and  “  The  Electric  Review  ”  pronounces  it  a  success.  “  Calcium 
carbide  and  water  are  combined  for  the  generation  of  acetylene 
gas,  and  burners  giving  a  light  of  ten  candle  power  are  mounted 
above  each  generator.  Six  ounces  of  carbide  is  said  to  be  enough 
to  keep  the  flame  going  for  as  many  hours.  Eight  inches  below 
the  burlier  is  adjusted  a  shallow  circular  dish,  twenty  inches  in 
diameter.  A  little  water  is  poured  into  this,  and  a  thick  film 
of  kerosene  is  deposited  on  the  surface  of  the  other  fluid.  Thus 
is  completed  a  trap  to  which  the  moths  are  attracted  by  the 
flame.  According  to  the  authority  just  quoted,  these  generators 
are  set  up  about  550  yards  apart,  and  are  put  in  action  at  dusk, 
preferably  on  dark  nights.  On  the  first  night  one  lamp  caught 
4,600  pyralids  and  218  moths  of  other  kinds.  During  July  the 
lamps  ^'erage  3,200  insects  a  lamp  a  night.  The  expense  of  the 
lamps  is  reported  to  have  been  two  cents,  a  night  each,  or 
cents,  a  night  an  acre.  It  is  said  that  this  method  of  catching 
noxious  insects  is  more  efficacious  than  any  method  which  has 
been  tried  before.”  Special  cases  require  special  remedies,  but 
that  is  no  reason  why  moths  should  be  caught  indiscriminately, 
many  friends  as  well  as  enemies  being  thus  destroyed.  It  is 
never  safe  to  use  moth  traps  unless  the  “catch”  is  examined  by 
an  entomologist  to  determine  of  wliat  it  consists. 
Aconitum  Hemslayanum. 
Here  we  have  a  climbing  Aconitum,  which,  with  its  dark 
blue  flowers,  may  be  very  ornamental.  Messrs.  Veitch  got  it 
from  Central  China. 
Rehmannia  angulata. 
This  newlj^  certificated  herbaceous  plant  bears  rose-purple 
flowers,  like  those  of  Incarvillea  grandiflora.  The  leaves  are  2in 
broad,  5in  long,  and  edges  much  like  those  of  the  common 
Dandelion.  It  is  a  greenhouse  plant,  growing  2ft  high. 
Primula  ovalifolla. 
This  new  species  has  been  introduced  to  British  gardens  from 
Central  China  by  Messrs.  J.  Veitch’s  collector,  Mr.  Wilson.  It 
is  said  to  “  follow  the  snow.”  As  the  snow  recedes  on  the  moun¬ 
tains,  this  “  blue  ”  Primrose  forms  quite  a  carpet  over  the  soil. 
Its  flowers  approach  nearer  to  true  blue  than  any  Primrose  Mr. 
Wilson  saw. 
Show  and  Alpine  Auriculas. 
The  lists  of  varieties  named  in  the  various  reports  of  the 
exhibition  held  by  the  National  Primula  and  Auricula  Society 
should  furnish  a  reliable  index  to  the  best  exhibition  Show  and 
Alpine  Auriculas,  Amongst  the  lesser  known  sorts  at  Edenside, 
Great  Bookham,  we  noted  The  Miller,  raised  by  Mr.  Douglas, 
and  described  amongst  his  grey-edges.  Bel  Iona  is  a  splendid 
white-edge.  Grasshoijper  (Douglas)  is  an  A1  green-edge,  while 
in  Olympus  (Douglas)  we  have  another  grey-edge,  and  whicli 
received  an  Award  of  Merit  a  year  ago.  It  has  a  very  heavy 
paste,  heavier,  indeed,  than  any  I  know  of.  Amongst  Alpines 
special  attention  should  be  directed  to  Valiant  (Douglas),  a 
purple  flower  cf  grand  form,  noble  truss,  and  vigorous  growth. 
Thetis,  Rosy  Morn,  and  Firefly  are  also  three  of  the  best. — D. 
Gold-laced  Polyanthuses. 
As  it  is  only  the  scarce  named  varieties,  or  select  seedlings 
of  the  very  best  blood,  that  are  fit  to  be  shown  at  such  an 
exhibition  of  the  National  Auricula  and  Primula  Society,  they 
should  be  dealt  with  a  bit  tenderly.  Only  small  plants  can  be 
purchased  from  those  who  grow  for  sale,  and  they  can  be 
obtained  only  by  division.  A  cultivator  of  this  section  may  I'aise 
a  thousand  seedlings  of  good  parentage,  and  not  have  more  than 
two  or  three,  and  perhaps  not  so  many,  fit  to  appear  on  the 
exhibition  table.  Hence  the  competition  in  the  classes  for  gold- 
laced  Polyanthus  will  always  be  of  a  limited  character.  An 
approximately  perfect  gold-laced  Polyanthus  is  a  flower  of  ex¬ 
quisite  refinement,  and  the  extreme  difficulty  of  obtaining  a 
reliable  seedling  adds  to  the  intere.st  felt  in  a  flower  amenable 
to  severe  properties  and  points.  I  suppose  your  reporter  meant 
by  a  “  i>oor  display,”  paucity  of  numbers.  If  he  had  taken  a 
close  observation  of  Trilby  in  Mr.  J.  W.  Bentley’s  three,  he 
must  have  acknowledged  its  exquisite  marking. — R.  Dean. 
Medicinal  Piants. 
Besides  Peppermint,  there  are  other  plants  used  in  medicine 
which  it  has  been  suggested  might  be  cultivated  by  small  holders. 
In  answer  to  the  request  of  a  correspondent,  the  Board  of  Agri¬ 
culture  applied  to  the  Pharmaceutical  Society  for  an  opinion 
on  the  subject,  but  the  result  is  hardly  encouraging  to  those 
wi.shful  of  embarking  in  the  industry.  Lavender,  which 
was  introduced  into  England  in  the  fourteenth  century, 
and  is  now  extensively  grown  at  Mitcham  and  Hitchin, 
is  said  to  yield  no  profit  at  present  prices.  The  Fox¬ 
glove,  from  which  digitalis  is  obtained,  is  a  biennial,  and  only 
the  dried  leaves  stripped  from  plant.s  about  to  flower  are  of  any 
use.  Similarly,  Henbane,  from  which  hyoscyamus  is  extracted, 
appears  to  possess  medicinal  properties  when  the  seeds  are  form¬ 
ing,  the  first  year’s  leaves  being  almost  valueless.  Like  the  Fox¬ 
glove,  Deadly  Nightshade,  from  which  belladonna  is  extracted, 
is  largely  cultivated  in  Germany,  where  the  labour  for  collecting 
and  drying  is  obtained  more  cheaply  than  in  England.  A  good 
yield  is  said  to  be  about  four  tons  to  the  acre,  at  £4  10s.  a  ton. 
it  is  suggested  that  the  demand  for  home-grown  aconite  may 
possibly  increase.  This  drug  is  obtained  from  Monhshood,  the 
plant  whose  root,  when  the  leaves  and  flowers  have  died,  has 
sometimes  been  mistaken  for  Horseradish  with  fatal  results. 
Liquorice  is  extracted  from  an  underground  stem  grown  in 
England,  specially  at  Pontefract,  in  Yorkshire,  but  poppyheads 
are  brought  from  North  and  Central  India. 
