178 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
February  28,  1901. 
Berberls  Tlmnbergi. — One  of  the  most  useful  ornamental  shrubs 
in  cultivation  is  the  Japanese  Barberry,  Berberis  Thunbergi.  For  the 
purpose  of  a  dwarf  hedge  it  is  the  best  known  plant  in  use.  It  makes 
a  pretty  specimen  singly  on  a  lawn  appropriately  located,  or  in  masses 
bordering  shrubbery  plantings.  The  foliage  is  small,  neat,  and  colours 
richly  in  autumn,  when  the  plant  is  further  ornamented  by  scarlet 
berries.  Further,  it  is  very  hardy,  and  stands  almost  any  position.  It 
is  undoubtedly  an  all-round  plant. 
English  Ivy  for  Shady  Places. — Mr.  Meehan  says,  “  The  need 
for  a  climber  that  will  thrive  in  shady  places  is  often  felt,  and  perhaps 
no  other  meets  the  want  better  than  the  English  Ivy,  Hedera  helix;  in 
fact,  as  between  full  sunlight  and  moderate  shade,  it  will  prove  more 
satisfactory  in  the  latter  position ;  during  the  winter  the  sun  is  injurious 
to  the  evergreen  foliage.  Under  greenhouse  benches  in  rather  dark 
placep,  through  open  cellar  windows  into  a  house  and  beneath  trees, 
this  Ivy  has  been  seen  luxuriantly  growing.  For  covering  bare  spaces 
beneath  trees  it  is  most  excellent.” 
Irregular  Growth  of  Seeds. — It  is  a  common  experience,  says  a 
writer  in  a  transatlantic  contemporary,  to  have  seeds  come  up 
irregularly.  Some  come  up  in  a  few  days  after  sowing — others  not 
for  weeks ;  and,  in  nursery  culture,  many  will  not  come  up  till  the 
following  year.  Many  unsatisfactory  reasons  have  been  given  for  this. 
Mr.  W.  C.  Steele  of  Switzerland,  Florida,  has  been  making  tests  by 
soaking  seeds  in  water.  Bony  seeds  have  been  three  months  in  water, 
and  some  will  swell  and  germinate  at  various  periods  before  this  time 
has  been  reached.  As  the  seeds  were  from  the  same  tree,  gathered  at 
the  same  time,  it  must  be  evident  that  the  peculiarity  is  in  the  seeds 
themselves,  and  has  little  reference  to  the  treatment  by  the  cultivator. 
Strawberries  In  Pots. — The  earliest  plants  are  now  ripening 
their  fruit,  and  should  have  a  drier  and  more  freely  ventilated  house, 
but  there  must  be  no  sudden  change,  or  the  fruit  will  not  ripen  well. 
For  swelling,  the  temperature  should  be  65°  at  night,  and  70°  to  75° 
by  day,  advancing  to  80°  or  85°  with  sun,  and  plenty  of  atmospheric 
moisture,  and  after  the  fruit  changes  colour  the  atmosphere  ought  to 
be  kept  cooler  and  drier,  so  as  to  insure  flavour.  The  second  stock  of 
plants  have  set  well,  and  been  thinned,  a  matter  too  frequently 
neglected.  This  enables  the  plants  to  produce  large  fruit,  half  a  dozen 
being  better  than  a  dozen  small,  but  regard  must  be  had  to  the  variety 
and  the  requirements.  Give  liquid  manure  copiously  as  often  as 
required,  examining  the  plants  twice  a  day,  in  bright  weather  thrice, 
for  the  purpose.  Plants  in  vineries  and  Peach  houses  are  coming  on 
successionally,  and  need  not  be  moved  except  to  meet  special  require¬ 
ments.  Strawberries  of  the  larger  varieties  placed  in  span-roofed 
frames  afford  grand  fruit  a  fortnight  to  three  weeks  earlier  than  those 
in  the  open  ground. — A.  G. 
New  Formula  for  Spraying: . — Trouble  is  sometimes  experienced 
in  spraying  with  Bordeaux  mixture  with  the  clogging  of  the  pump 
nozzle.  Professor  Prilleaux,  National  Agronomic  Institute,  Paris,  strongly 
recommends  saccharate  of  copper  in  place  of  both  Bordeaux  mixture 
and  ammoniacal  solution  of  carbonate  of  copper  for  use  as  a  fungicide 
and  germicide  in  spraying.  The  formula  is  as  follows  : — “For  twenty- 
five  gallons  of  tLe  spraying  liquid  slake  and  make  into  ‘  milk  of  lime’ 
4  lbs.  of  quicklime ;  dissolve  4  lbs.  of  molasses  in  a  gallon  of  water 
and  mix  with  the  milk  of  lime.  This  will  make  a  solution  of  ‘  saccharate 
of  lime.’  Stir  thoroughly,  and  let  stand  for  a  few  hours.  Next  dissolve 
4  lbs.  of  bluestone  in  eight  gallons  or  ten  gallons  of  water,  and  pour 
into  it  the  lime-molasses  solution,  while  stirring  briskly.  This  mixture 
becomes  very  turbid  with  the  gypsum  formed,  which  may  be  allowed  to 
settle,  leaving  a  clear,  greenish  solution  of  ‘  saccharate  of  copper,’  which 
may  be  drawn  tff  from  the  sediment,  thus  obviating  all  danger  of 
clogging  the  spray  nozzle,  and  leaving  no  discoloration  on  leaves  or 
fruit.  If  it  is  to  be  used  on  leafless  trees,  it  may  be  at  once  thinned 
down  to  the  twenty-five  gallons  wanted,  since  even  thus  the  liquid  is 
much  thinner  than  the  Bordeaux  mixture  of  equal  strength.”  Further 
experiments  will  be  made  during  the  coming  year  by  the  American 
Department  of  Agriculture  with  this  spray. 
The  Tuberatlon  of  the  Potato. — A  very  interesting  fact  about 
the  Potato  plant  has  been  observed  by  M.  Bernard  and  communicated 
to  the  Academie  des  Sciences.  It  was  known  that  the  roots  are 
attacked  by  a  fungus,  the  fusarium,  and  when  M.  Bernard  sowed 
Potato  seed  in  soil  sterilised  by  this  fungus  he  discovered  that  the  roots 
had  no  Potato  tubers  on  them.  It  seems  that  the  normal  Potato  plant 
does  not  yield  Potatoes,  which  are  a  result  of  the  fusarium.  This 
agrees  with  the  observation  of  Clusius,  who,  long  before  Parmentier, 
introduced  the  Potato  into  Europe,  and  found  it  did  not  yield  tubers  at 
first.  The  soil,  it  seems,  had  not  been  invaded  by  the  fusarium. 
— (“  Globe.”) 
Rain  Gatherers. — It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  note  that  the  Russian 
Government  is  planting  the  great  dry  steppes  of  Southern  Russia  with 
trees,  in  order  to  bring  a  little  humidity  to  the  land,  so  often  parched 
by  drought.  Somebody  has  said  that  our  agriculture  has  been  saved 
from  the  evil  effects  of  deforestation  only  by  the  inherent  humidity  of 
the  climate.  Whether  that  be  so  or  not,  it  is  certain  that  the  rainfall 
in  many  English  districts  is  not  what  it  once  was,  owing  to  the  clearing 
away  of  many  square  miles  of  woodland.  Our  own  droughts  in  summer, 
though,  happily,  not  comparable  with  those  of  Southern  Russia,  are 
very  inconvenient  at  times.  Should  the  English  people  ever  try  to 
become  largely  self-supporting  as  timber  consumers,  by  planting  with 
trees  their  three  millions  acres  of  waste  land,  no  doubt  the  rainfall  of  the 
country  would  greatly  increase  again — though  scarcely  in  our  time ! 
Though  trees  perspire  largely  and  gather  much  water,  they  do  not, 
says  a  writer  in  a  daily  paper,  let  it  go  in  the  form  of  evaporation 
at  all  readily.  The  coniferous  trees  are  not  such  friends  of  humidity 
as  the  Oak,  Beech,  and  various  deciduous  trees.  Yet  they,  too,  preserve 
moisture.  The  leaves  lying  on  the  ground  form  a  non-conducting 
stratum  of  considerable  thickness.  Again,  Firs  planted  in  dense  masses 
prevent  evaporation  to  a  large  extent. 
Trees  In  the  London  Parks. — Mr.  George  Cadell  (late  Indian 
Forest  Department)  writes  to  the  “Morning  Post”  on  this  subject  as 
follows  : — “  It  is  reported  that  the  depredations  of  moths  are  causing 
considerable  damage  to  the  trees  in  the  London  parks,  the  subjects 
attacked  being,  as  was  to  be  expected,  either  in  an  incipient  or  advanced 
stage  of  decay.  The  principal  offender  is  stated  to  be  the  goat  moth. 
Now,  this  insect  can  be  destroyed  in  several  ways — in  the  state  of 
eggs,  caterpillars,  chrysalises,  and  butterflies.  The  cost  of  the  first 
plan  of  attack  is  the  greatest,  the  eggs  being  frequently  deposited  on 
lofty  branches,  which  are  not  easily  reached.  But  a  girdle  of  tar  round 
the  trunks  of  the  trees  forms  not  only  an  effectual  safeguard,  but 
a  deadly  trap  for  the  caterpillars,  who  are  thereby  prevented  from 
obtaining  their  necessary  sustenance.  The  chrysalises  can  be  gathered 
from  the  branches  on  which  they  are  fixed,  and  the  butterflies  can  be 
destroyed  by  lighting  fires  at  night,  to  which  they  are  attracted,  only 
to  fall  into  the  flames.  Lastly,  nesting  boxes  for  the  natural  enemies 
of  the  larvae,  such  aB  the  starling  and  the  tit,  can  be  erected.  The 
form  of  nesting  box,  which  is  designed  to  protect  the  inmates  from  cats 
and  other  animals,  and  which  is  extensively  used  on  the  Continent,  can 
be  seen  at  the  Forestry  Museum  at  the  Surveyors’  Institution,  Great 
George  Street,  Westminster/’ 
Flora  of  Vermont. — Some  interesting  statistics  of  Vermont  plants 
come  from  the  Vermont  Experiment  Station.  These  figures  are  taken 
in  part  from  the  New  Flora  of  the  State,  published  by  the  Vermont 
Botanical  Club.  According  to  this  publication  there  are  now  1563 
species  of  Ferns  and  flowering  plants  known  to  occur  uncultivated  in 
Vermont.  Of  these,  seventy-nine  species  are  trees,  including  eleven 
species  of  Oak,  seven  kinds  of  Maple,  six  Poplars,  four  Pines,  and  four 
Birches.  These  are  mostly  useful,  but  there  are  eighty  species  of 
weeds,  some  of  which  are  pernicious  and  promising  trouble.  Out  of  the 
present  census  of  1563  species  270  have  moved  into  the  State  since  the 
country  was^settled.  Many  of  them  have  come  mixed  with  agricultural 
seeds,  or  have  been  introduced  directly  or  indirectly  by  artificial  means. 
It  is  interesting  to  notice  how  the  number  of  known  species  has 
increased  in  recent  years.  When  the  first  list  of  Vermont  plants  was 
published  by  Oakes  in  1842  there  were  929  species  known.  Torrey’s 
list  of  1853  gave  1034,  and  Perkins’  list  of  1888  gave  1360.  In  each 
case,  says  the  “American  Agriculturist,”  some  plants  were  included 
by  mistake,  so  the  increase  since  1888  is  more  than  the  difference 
between  1563  and  1360.  Most  of  the  additions  are  of  species  which 
have  doubtless  been  here  all  the  while,  but  have  only  recently  been 
discovered.  A  few,  however,  represent  species  which  have  come  in 
during  comparatively  recent  times. 
