August  !>.  19i'0. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
CARDEH.CI£EANINCS 
Experiments  In  Charlock  Spraying:. — We  learn  that  Mr.  H.  F. 
Hill  of  the  Agrioultnral  College,  Aepatria,  has  made  some  interesting 
experiments  in  spraying  Charlock,  from  which  he  concludes  that 
Charlock  spraying  is  more  likely  to  be  successful  on  a  still  than  a 
windy  day,  and  that  in  order  to  get  the  best  results,  the  spray  shonld 
stand  on  the  plants  for  about  three  or  four  days  without  rain. 
Whence  Cork  Comes. — The  Cork  Tree  is  an  evergreen,  about  the 
size  of  our  Apple  tree.  The  bark  is  stripped  in  order  to  obtain  the 
cork,  which  is  soaked  and  then  dried.  The  moment  the  bark  is  peeled 
off  the  tree  begins  to  grow  another  cork  skin,  and  each  new  one  is 
better  than  the  last ;  so  the  older  the  tree  the  better  the  cork.  The  trees 
are  stripped  about  every  eight  years,  and  so  strong  does  it  make  them 
that  they  often  live  to  the  age  of  200  years.  After  the  bark  is  stripped 
off  it  is  trimmed  and  dried  and  flattened  out.  Then  it  is  packed  and 
shipped  to  all  parts  of  the  world. 
Sweet  Scented  Flowers. — Many  cultivators  of  ornamental  plants 
desire  especially  to  raise  those  which  produce  fragrant  odour,  paiticu- 
larly  for  bouquets,  stands,  and  flower  vases.  In  answer  to  inquiries  a 
contemporary  names  the  following  sweet  scendied  flowers,  to  which 
readers  may  add  others : — Sweet  Violet,  Hyacinth,  Heliotrope,  Pinks, 
Sweet  Scented  Candytuft,  Woodbine,  Sweet  Brier,  Cabbage  Roses,  Tea 
Rose,  White  Lily,  Sweet  Alyssum,  Mignonette,  Sweet  Pea,  Carnations, 
Sweet  William,  and  several  sweet  scented  Perpetual  Roses.  Here  are 
enough  to  fill  a  room  or  garden  with  perfumes  which  it  would  be  diflScult 
to  rival. 
Nertera  depressa. — One  of  the  earliest  recollections  of  gardening 
I  have  is  that  of  seeing  a  number  of  the  pretty  Bead  Plants  along  the 
front  stage  of  a  greenhouse.  In  those  days  they  were,  in  my  youthful 
eyes,  wonderful  creations,  and  there  was  a  distinct  yearning  to  pinch 
the  bright  red  berries  nestling  on  their  cushion  of  green.  We  have 
none  too  many  small  dainty  plants  of  this  character  for  placing  in  little 
corners  and  standing  along  the  fronts  of  stages,  so  one  wonders  why 
Nertera  depressa  is  not  grown  for  this  purpose  so  much  as  it  used  to  be. 
A  packet  of  seeds  sown  in  the  spring  will  go  a  long  way,  and  small  pots 
furnished  with  this  pretty  easily  grown  plane  are  not  only  useful  for 
the  purposes  indicated,  but  they  may  be  employed  with  advantage  for 
dinner  table  decoration.  Many  bare  places  in  the  greenhouse  rockery 
might  be  brightened  by  small  clumps  of  the  Bead  Plant. — V.  T. 
Spanlsb  Grapes. — An  exceedingly  smart  piece  of  work  was 
effected  on  Friday  between  the  river  wharves  and  the  fruiterers’  stalls. 
At  8  A.M.  the  “  Fridtjof,”  at  Nicholson’s  Wharf,  and  the  “  Gravina,”  at 
Fresh  Wharf,  began  discharging  cargoes  of  Spanish  produce,  in  which 
there  were  included  about  12,000  barrels  of  Denia  Grapes  and  a  large 
quantity  of  Melons  and  Valencia  Tomatoes.  By  11  .\.M.  these  were  all 
sold  by  auction  in  the  Floral  Hall  at  Covent  Garden,  and  from  2  to 
6  P.M.  were  on  sale  retail,  according  to  the  distances  that  had  to  be 
compassed.  According  to  one  of  the  principal  auctioneers  in  the 
market,  the  demand  is  more  widespread  than  at  any  time  in  his 
experience.  The  result  is  that  white  Grapes  in  their  prices  at  Oovent 
Garden  leave  no  more  than  a  decent  margin  for  the  retailer  at  6d.  a 
pound  and  blacks  at  9d,,  while  Melons  must  run  to  about  8d.  apiece. 
Carnation  Mrs.  Thos.  W.  Eawson. — Never  since  the  days  when 
Uriah  Pike  was  first  sent  out  has  greater  interest  been  centred  in  a 
new  Carnation  than  over  the  30,000  dollar  American  variety,  owned  by 
Mr.  Galvin  of  Boston,  sold  to  Mr.  Thos.  Lawson,  the  famous  Boston 
banker,  and  named  in  honour  of  Mrs.  Lawson.  Almost  every  good  firm 
in  the  kingdom  has  clamoured  to  get  a  supply,  and  it  is  to  be  seen  not 
only  in  good  large-sized  plants,  but  plants  of  almost  every  size,  to  suit  all 
pockets.  1  have  been  on  the  watch  for  blooms  of  it,  but  not  until  last 
week,  at  Messrs.  W.  Clibran  &  Sons,  Altrincham,  was  I  able  to  see  it, 
and  then  not  by  any  means  in  its  true  form  as  regards  the  flowers, 
owing  to  their  being  produced  from  March-struck  cuttings.  The 
splendid  and  large  batch  of  plants  seemed  to  possess  a  capital  constitu¬ 
tion,  growth  being  free  and  the  habit  most  promising.  The  flowers  are 
of  the  richest  pink  shade,  are  freely  produced,  and  well  formed.  Strong 
plants  and  skilful  cultivation  seem  to  be  the  only  requisites  to  make  the 
variety  the  success  in  England  that  it  has  been  in  America. — A  Visitor. 
i:53 
A  Curious  Place  for  Mushrooms. — A  “Daily  Mail”  corre¬ 
spondent  writes  : — “  There  are  thirty  Mushrooms  of  various  sizes 
growing  at  the  present  moment  in  the  perpendicular  part  of  my  coal 
shoot.  I  have  shown  these  Mushrooms  to  my  fruiterer  and  to  my 
friends.  My  family  has  eaten  them  and  found  them  excellent,  so  there 
can  be  no  mistake  about  the  variety.” 
American  Apple  Orchards. — No  marked  changes  have  taken 
place  in  the  outlook  for  the  Apple  crop  since  the  American  Agri. 
cnlturist’s  earlier  report.  The  June  drop  was  considerable,  but  this  is 
always  to  be  expected.  The  outlook,  as  a  whole,  continues  promising 
throughout  the  commercial  orchard  belt.  Current  returns  from  Apple 
orchards  west  of  the  Allegheny  Mountains  show  some  lowering  of 
promise  as  a  result  of  the  June  drop,  but  the  decline  is  less  serious 
than  frequently  occurs  during  this  period.  The  prospect  is  rather 
irregular,  with  the  better  outlook  in  the  northern  belt,  and  even  inside 
of  State  lines  the  conditions  vary  greatly.  In  the  middle  and 
central  West,  the  present  promise  is  for  a  crop  above  the  average  in 
nearly  every  State,  though  there  are  some  good  orchard  districts  where 
only  a  poor  crop  is  in  sight. 
Pbosphorlc  Acid  for  Plants. — Phosphoric  acid  is  one  of  the  most 
essential  of  all  plant  food  elements.  It  is  never  present  in  the  soil  in 
available  form  except  in  very  minute  quantities,  and  this  renders  the 
necessity  for  regularly  supplying  it  to  land  which  is  heavily  cropped  or 
grazed  all  the  more  pressing.  Of  th  e  absolute  necessity  of  phosphoric 
acid  as  a  plant  food  constituent,  a  striking  proof  can  be  obtained, 
says  the  “  Farmers’  Gazette,”  by  growing  a  few  plants  in  pure  sand, 
and  supplying  them  with  all  the  materials  essential  to  their  growth 
with  the  exception  of  this  element.  The  result  will  be  that  the  plants 
will  absolutely  refuse  to  grow.  This  is  rendered  all  the  more  remarkable 
by  the  fact  that  if  they  are  planted  in  pots  lacking  any  one  of  the  plant 
food  constituents,  other  than  phosphoric  acid,  they  will  reach  a  certain 
stage  of  development  ere  they  disclose  the  effect  of  the  absence  of  the 
particular  plant  food  ingredient  left  out  of  the  mixture. 
Truffles. — Truffle  hunting  as  a  regular  pursuit  among  the  peasantry 
is  not  yet  quite  extinct — or  was  not  a  very  few  years  ago.  At  Cheriton, 
close  to  the  scene  of  the  stern  struggle  between  Roundhead  and 
Cavalier,  there  recently  lived  an  old  man  called  Isaac  Leach,  who,  says 
a  correspondent  of  the  “  Daily  Express,”-  practically  subsisted  by  the 
Truffles  he  found  and  sold.  His  Truffle  dog  is  still  alive,  I  believe,  and 
belongs  to  one  of  the  villagers ;  it  is  white  and  ourly-haired.  Leach 
would  sometimes  find  as  much  as  a  pound  of  Truffles  in  the  day  among 
the  downs.  Of  old.  Truffle  hunting  was  quite  a  calling.  “  Ye  Truffle 
man  ”  is  mentioned  by  various  old  writers.  Gilbert  White,  in  his 
delightful  “  Observations  on  Vegetables,”  has  this  note  :  “  A  Truffle 
hunter  called  on  us  (in  August)  bringing  in  his  pocket  several  large 
Truffles  found  in  the  neighbourhood.  He  says  these  roots  are  not  to  be 
found  in  deep  woods,  but  in  narrow  hedgerows  and  the  skirts  of 
coppices.  Some  Truffles,  he  informed  us,  lie  2  feet  within  the  earthy 
and  some  quite  on  the  surface ;  the  latter,  he  added,  have  little  or  no 
smell,  and  are  not  so  easily  discovered  by  the  dogs  as  those  that  lie 
deeper.  Half  a  crown  a  pound  was  the  price  which  he  asked  for  this 
commodity.  Truffles  never  abound  in  wet  winters  and  springs.  They 
are  in  season,  in  different  situations,  at  least  nine  months  in  the  year.” 
Tamesla  amerlcana. — This  is  a  native  of  certain  parts  of  the 
Rooky  Mountains,  and  is  not  very  common  in  the  wild  state,  or  culti- 
vated  to  any  great  extent,  but  it  is  worthy  of  a  place  in  the  shrubbery 
from  its  distinct  habit,  and  its  beauty  when  in  flower.  It  is  a  branching 
shrub  3  to  4  feet  high,  the  stems  being  covered  with  a  loose,  papery 
bark,  which  peels  off  easily,  and  is  practically  shed  annually.  The  leaves 
are  about  2  inches  long,  ovate  in  shape,  with  crenate-serrate  margins, 
and  markedly  impressed  veins.  The  flowers  open  in  June,  and  are  borne 
in  dense,  terminal  heads,  which  are  roughly  pyramidal  in  shape.  The 
individual  flowers  are  about  half  an  inch  across,  of  a  pure  white,  but 
having  no  scent.  All  the  younger  parts  of  the  plant,  including  the 
calices,  are  covered  with  a  soft,  woolly  pubescence,  which,  however,  is 
not  so  marked  on  the  upper  surface  of  the  leaves  as  elsewhere.  The 
plant  will  grow  in  almost  any  soil,  but  prefers  a  moderately  dry 
situation  with  plenty  of  sun,  and  should  be  planted  in  small  groups  of 
about  half  a  dozen  plants  to  insure  the  best  effect.  It  is  easily  propa¬ 
gated  by  seeds,  cuttings,  or  layers ;  seeds  are  freely  produced  in  most 
seasons,  but  some  of  the  smaller  birds  find  the  fruits  very  tempting 
when  about  half  ripe,  and,  if  allowed,  will  clear  the  plants  of  them 
before  they  have  time  to  mature.  Jamesia  was  named  in  commemo¬ 
ration  of  the  services  of  Dr.  E.  James,  who  was  the  botanist  of  Major 
Long’s  expedition  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  in  1820. — C. 
