JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER „ 
February  It,  1901. 
1H8 
CARDEN.  GLEANINGS 
Trees  at  Osborne. — One  of  the  most  interesting  features  of  the 
gardens  at  Osborne  is  an  avenue  of  trees  planted  by  the  Royal  Family 
in  February,  1862,  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  the  late  Prince  Consort, 
who  died  in  December,  1861.  To-day  their  tall  and  stately  heads 
tower  imposingly  into  the  air.  The  first  one,  planted  by  the  Queen,  is 
an  Umbrella  Pine,  on  which  may  be  seen  a  small  tablet  bearing  the 
words,  “  For  the  late  Prince  Consort.”  A  beautiful  glade  of  trees 
directly  facing  the  museum  has  grown  up  in  commemoration  of  the 
marriages  of  the  Queen’s  children. 
Deedalacanthus  nervosus.  —  The  bright  blue  flowers  of  this 
Acanthad  make  it  very  useful  for  decorative  work  in  winter  and 
early  spring.  It  was  introduced  to  Kew  from  India  in  1796,  and  it 
still  maintains  a  foremost  place  as  a  winter-flowering  plant.  By 
rooting  cuttings  in  spring,  and  growing  the  plants  in  a  light,  airy 
house  throughout  the  summer,  bushy  plants  are  formed  by  autumn, 
which  in  due  time  will  produce  a  large  terminal  and  numerous  side 
inflorescences  from  every  shoot.  If  planted  in  a  border  in  an 
intermediate  house  correspondingly  larger  plants  are  made  through 
the  medium  of  the  more  extended  root  run.  This  plant  is  more  often 
spoken  of  as  Eranthemum  nervosum  or  E.  pulchellum. — K.  D. 
The  Mezereon. — One  of  the  many,  many  seeds  sown  by  the 
wild  birds — though  in  this  particular  case  not  nearly  as  much  as  one 
could  desire — is  the  Mezereon,  sometimes  called  locally  the  Mezele. 
The  Mezereon  will  be  in  blossom  very  shortly  now  ;  indeed,  says  a 
writer  in  a  contemporary,  I  have  Eeen  notes  in  the  papers  to  the  effect 
that  it  is  already  in  bloom,  which  is  not  so  surprising,  considering 
Gilbert  White,  in  his  “  Natural  History  Calendar,”  mentions  it  flowering 
in  December,  while  Jenyns,  in  his  list,  gives  January  22nd  as  a  date  at 
which  he  has  noticed  it.  It  is  a  chaste  and  entirely  delightful  flower 
of  much  fragrance,  and  the  pink  blossoms,  Almond  tree  like,  come 
before  the  leaves.  The  Mezereon,  by  its  odour,  entices  the  insects  to 
come  and  help  to  propagate  it ;  and  later  on,  by  its  berries,  it  entices 
the  birds  to  swallow  and  distribute  the  seeds.  Unfortunately  it  is  all 
too  scarce  in  England. 
Such  are  the  Class  Flowers. — “  Where  are  the  glass  flowers  P  ” 
is  the  question  put  by  many  a  visitor  to  the  museum  at  Harvard 
University.  And  when  they  are  found  the  sightseer  lingers  long  and 
admiringly  over  one  of  the  greatest  artistic  marvels  in  the  world. 
The  “  glass  flowers  ”  consist  of  hundreds  of  specimens  of  flowers  and 
plants  formed  of  glass,  but  with  such  most  exquisite  fidelity  to  nature 
that  they  aopear  to  be  real,  every  tint  and  marking,  every  tiniest  detail) 
being  faithfully  reproduced.  They  are  made  by  a  secret  process,  the 
artists  being  a  father  and  son  in  Germany,  who,  it  is  said,  may  let  their 
secret  die  with  them.  As  an  instance  of  the  wonderful  workmanship 
involved,  it  may  be  mentioned,  says  a  contemporary,  that  the  very  hairs 
which  appear  on  the  stems  of  certain  plants  are  reproduced  on  the 
glass  imitations!  On  one  plant  there  are  thousands  of  minute  flowers, 
but  everyone  is  perfect  in  the  minutest  detail,  although  it  requires  a 
microscope  in  order  to  ascertain  the  fact. 
Jottings  on  Pines.— The  plants  recently  started  into  fruit  will,  if 
in  good  condition  at  the  roots,  produce  strong  suckers.  When  these  are 
large  enough  to  handle^  all,  except  one  to  each  plant,  should  have  the 
centres  taken  out  in  order  to  check  the  growths.  To  supplement  the 
autumn  potted  plants  select  others  which  have  been  wintered  in  7  or 
8  inch  pots.  Procure  fibrous  loam  with  the  herbage  reduced,  and  when 
torn  up  in  suitable  compost  add  a  quart  of  soot,  two  of  wood  ashes, 
and  a  pint  of  superphosphate  to  each  barrowload.  Drain  the  pots 
moderately  but  efficiently,  dusting  with  wood  ashes  or  soot  so  as  to 
exclude  worms,  and  keep  the  plants  well  down  in  the  pots,  ram  the  soil 
firmly  round  the  roots,  leaving  sufficient  space  to  admit  of  copious 
supplies  of  water  being  given  when  necessary.  For  Queens  10-inch 
pots,  and  11  or  12  inches  are  suitable  for  those  of  stronger  growth.  A 
temperature  of  60°  to  65°  will  be  sufficient  for  these  plants,  also  for 
those  potted  last  autumn,  and  80°  to  85°  at  the  roots.  Plants  in  beds 
about  to  be  started  into  fruit  must  not  have  the  heat  at  the  base  of  the 
pots  over  90°  or  95°,  or  their  roots  will  be  injured. — Practice. 
Begonias. — Although  Begonias  have  always  been  a  favourite  on 
this  side,  there  has  up  to  the  present  been  a  lack  of  appreciation  of 
fuchsioides,  a  native  of  New  Gienada,  its  brilliant  scarlet  flowers 
slightly  pendant  and  of  compact  habit.  However,  I  have  noticed  an 
awakening  to  its  worth,  and  gardeners  were  busy  last  autumn  in 
insuring  a  stock  for  decoration  during  the  coming  year.  It  requires 
only  knowing  to  find  it  indispensable,  like  its  relative,  the  light  pink 
Gloire  de  Lorraine. — A.  O’N.,  Lublin. 
An  Hotel  Composed  of  Trees. — The  most  remarkable  hotel  in 
the  world  is  in  California,  on  the  road  between  Santa  Cruz  and  San 
Jose.  It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  California  possesses  the  largest 
trees  in  the  world  ;  and  a  shrewd  hotel-keeper  has  conceived  the  idea 
of  using  a  group  of  these  mammoths,  thus  saving  himself  the  cost  of 
building  or  rent.  The  hollow  trunk  of  one  tree,  whose  circumference 
is  about  22  yards,  is  arranged  as  a  reception  room,  and  the  surrounding 
garden,  sheltered  by  a  thick  roof  of  spreading  branches,  serves  as 
dining-room  and  smoking-room.  A  number  of  other  smaller  hollow  trunks 
make  comfortable  bedrooms,  furnished,  in  the  most  approved  style  ;  and 
some  trees  at  a  little  distance  are  occupied  by  the  hotel  staff. 
Strawberries  In  Pots.  —  The  plants  that  were  started  in 
December  have  thrown  up  the  trusses  strongly,  especially  the  varieties 
La  Grosse  Sucree,  Royal  Sovereign,  and  Vicomtesse  Hericart  de 
Thury.  The  fruits  having  set  freely  and  being  well  thinned  are 
advanced  in  swelling.  This  should  be  accelerated  in  a  temperature  of 
60°  to  65°  or  70°  by  artificial  means,  and  80’  to  85°  from  sun  heat, 
maintaining  a  genial  condition  of  the  atmosphere  by  damping  and  light 
syringing  on  6ne  afternoons.  When  the  fruit  commences  to  ripen  a 
drier  atmosphere  will  improve  the  flavour  and  colour  of  the  fruit. 
Plants  advancing  to  the  flowering  stage  must  not  be  hurried,  50'1>  to  55° 
being  ample  by  artificial  means,  and  60°  to  65°  with  sun  heat  and  free 
ventilation.  More  plants  should  be  started  without  delay,  such  varieties 
as  Noble,  President,  Sir  Joseph  Paxton,  Auguste  Nicaise,  James 
Veitcb,  Lucas,  and  Sir  Charles  Napier  affording  grand  fruit.  Keep  a 
sharp  look  out  for  aphides  in  the  early  stages,  fumigating  upon  their 
first  appearance. — A.  G. 
Japanese  Xllium  longlflorum  Exportations. — From  July  20th 
to  September  20th,  1900,  20,111  cases  of  Lilium  longiflorum  were 
shipped  from  Yokahama  to  the  following  places  : — 
Cases. 
Bulbs. 
England 
,,,  ,,,  ...  , 
..  10,518 
1,860,450 
Germany 
,,,  ,,,  ,,,  ... 
819 
132,390 
Denmark 
.  .  .  ,,,  ,,,  ...  , 
402 
46,720 
Holland 
...  ...  ...  ...  , 
542 
75,009 
Austria 
...  ...  ...  ... 
4 
560 
And  to  the  United  States  and  Canada . 
..  7549 
2,192,034 
To  Hong  Kong,  India,  Australia,  and  New  Zealand  there  were  shipped 
in  all  277  cases  containing  33,858  bulbs,  making  a  total  exportation 
from  Japan  of  20,111  cases  containing  4,340,766  bulbs.  At  the  time 
the  report  was  made  there  were  orders  tor  October  shipments  of  175,000 
bulbs  for  London  and  30,000  bulbs  for  Hamburg.  There  were  orders 
for  32,000  bulbs  for  shipment  to  Chicago  in  November,  so  that  the 
total  exportations  of  Lilium  longiflorum  bulbs  from  Japan  of  the  crop 
of  1900  will  amount,  according  to  “  Moller’s  Gartner  Zeitung,”  to 
4,750,000  bulbs.  The  above  amounts  probably  contained  some  small 
lots  of  L.  auratum  and  L.  speciosum,  but  the  great  bulk  were 
L.  longiflorum. 
Jacobinla  magnlfica. — The  genus  Acanthacese  comprise  a  large 
number  of  good  winter  flowering  plants  for  the  conservatory.  The 
genus  Jacobinia  contains  a  number  of  showy  species,  the  one  under 
notice  being  possibly  the  most  easily  managed  of  the  half  dozen  or  so 
species  in  general  cultivation.  It  is  a  native  of  Brazil,  and  is  recorded 
as  having  been  in  cultivation  in  the  Glasgow  Botanic  Garden  as  long 
ago  as  1831.  The  type  is  well  known  to  everyone  with  its  large  ovate, 
acuminate,  deep  green  leaves  and  dense  terminal  heads  of  rose 
coloured  flowers.  Although  the  type  is  plentiful  enough  in  most 
gardens,  there  are  a  number  of  varieties  of  considerable  merit  which 
are  rarely  seen.  Of  these  the  most  striking  are  J.  m.  carnea,  J.  m. 
minor,  and  J.  m.  pohliana  are  the  best.  Of  these  the  second  named  is 
the  best  for  pot  work,  as  cuttings  can  be  rooted  during  summer  and 
flowered  in  5-inch  pots  in  winter.  If  after  flowering  they  are  potted 
and  induced  to  break  freely,  plants  less  than  18  inches  high,  bearing 
seven  or  eight  heads  of  flowers  each,  may  be  obtained  in  July.  Planted 
in  a  border  in  an  intermediate  house  the  chief  flowering  time  is  early 
spring,  though  flowers  are  borne  at  almost  any  time  during  the 
year. — D. 
