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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  uOTTAGE  GARDENER. 
March  7,  1901. 
Beautiful  Plums  and  Peaches  have  been  on  sale  in  Oovent 
Garden  Market  and  elsewhere  for  some  weeks.  These  fruits  are  impor¬ 
tations  from  Cape  Colony,  and  seem  to  sell  speedily. 
Points  of  a  Good  Strawberry. — Mr.  F.  L.  Jansen,  in  a 
comprehensive  paper  on  the  Strawberry,  published  in  the  “  Agri¬ 
cultural  Gazette  ”  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  N.S.W.,  thus 
summarises  the  desiderata  of  a  good  Strawberry  : — “  The  qualities 
essential  to  a  first-class  variety  are  :  Fruit  large,  of  a  regular,  firm, 
and  nearly  uniform  size,  to  the  end  of  the  season ;  texture  fine,  flesh 
rich  and  fit  m,  with  a  moderate  amount  of  acid,  and  with  an  aromatic 
flavour.  A  longitudinal  cut  should  show  no  hollow  space;  the  seeds 
should  be  deeply  embedded,  and  the  calyx  set  high,  so  as  to  be  easily 
detached.  The  plant  should  be  hardy,  vigorous,  and  strong,  with 
perfect  flowers — i.e.,  self- fertilising,  a  prolific  bearer,  with  stalks  of 
sufficient  length  to  keep  the  fruit  out  of  the  dirt.” 
When  Tobacco  Is  Pood. — “ Experts,”  said  a  well-known  judge 
on  one  occasion,  “  can  prove  anything,”  and  this  is  probably  the 
attitude  which  will  be  taken  up  by  many  ladies  with  regard  to  what 
the  “Lancet”  has  to  say  about  tobacco.  This  is  the  opinion  of  the 
leading  medical  journal  : — “  It  is  difficult,  then,  to  believe  that  tobacco 
is  anything  but  a  real  help  to  men  who  are  suffering  long  labours  and 
receiving  little  food,  and  probably  the  way  in  which  it  helps  is  by 
quieting  cerebration — for  no  one  doubts  its  sedative  qualities— and 
thus  allowing  more  easily  sleep,  which  is  so  all-important  when  semi¬ 
starvation  has  to  be  endured.  We  are  inclined  to  believe  that,  used 
with  due  mcderatioD,  tobacco  is  of  value  second  only  to  food  itself 
when  long  privations  and  exertions  are  to  be  endured.” 
Are  Insecticides  Dangerous  to  Fruit?—  One  of  the  great 
objections  commonly  urged  against  the  use  of  the  well  known  American 
insecticide,  Paris  green,  or  dressings  containing  arsenic,  sulphate  of 
copper,  and  other  poisons,  is  that  they  are  liable  to  render  Apples, 
or  other  fiuit,  poisonous  or  dangerous  to  those  by  whom  the  fruit  are 
consumed.  Experiments  carried  out  in  the  United  States,  where,  says 
the  “Farmer’s  Gazette,”  Euch  dressings  are  much  more  extensively 
employed  than  in  these  countries,  go  to  show  that  there  is  absolutely 
no  danger  on  this  score.  It  has  been  demonstrated  again  and  again 
both  by  analyses  and  practical  tests,  that  the  most  frequently  sprayed 
fruit  trees  do  not  render  the  fruits  produced  by  such  trees  in  the  least 
dangerous  to  higher  animals.  In  one  experiment  it  was  found  that  the 
total  quantity  of  the  poison  collected  by  the  most  careful  chemical 
methods,  from  a  whole  bushel  of  Apples  did  not  contain  arsenic  enough 
to  constitute  a  tonic  dose  for  a  man,  and  he  would  have  to  eat  the  whole 
bushel  at  a  sitting  to  get  that  much. 
February  Flowers. — There  is,  perhaps,  no  month  in  the  year 
which  has  so  little  of  a  fixed  character  in  regard  to  weather  as 
February.  It  may  be,  as  it  has  proved  this  year,  cold  and  wintry,  or 
it  may  chance  to  turn  out,  as  it  does  in  a  few  exceptional  seasons, 
delightfully  warm  and  pkasant.  But  even  in  the  very  worst  years  the 
lover  of  wild  flowers,  as  well  as  the  gardener,  is  made  conscious  that 
spring  is  on  its  way.  There  are  some  plants  which  not  all  the 
rigour  of  the  elements  can  retard  from  putting  forth  their  buds 
after  the  Feast  of  Candlemas.  The  Snowdrop  is,  of  course,  among 
the  first,  but  the  Snowdrop  has  come  to  be  almost  purely  a  garden 
flower;  it  is  rarely  met  with  in  its  wild  condition  nowadays,  though 
it  undoubtedly  belongs  to  our  native  flora.  But  the  Primrose  is 
hardly  behind  the  Snowdrop  as  one  of  the  harbingers  of  spring,  and 
even  in  the  coldest  of  Februarys  it  is  to  be  found  on  sunny  hedgerow 
banks.  Happily,  the  Primrose  has  not  yet  been  extirpated  from  its 
native  haunts,  though  that  fate  may  well  be  apprehended  for  it,  if 
those  who  pluck  the  flowers  to  celebrate  Primrose  Day  will  not  learn 
to  do  bo  without  pulling  up  the  roots.  February  Violets  are  rare, 
except  in  the  garden,  and  only  in  very  warm  seasons  and  in  very 
sheltered  spots  can  one  hope  to  gather  them.  The  true  Sweet  Violet 
is  the  product  of  grey  skies  and  wintry  winds  and  rains,  even  of 
snows,  it  may  be. 
Marguerite  Carnations  bloom  so  profusely  and  over  such  a  long 
season  that  they  should  be  planted  pretty  freely.  They  do  not  require 
too  mubh  manure  or  water.  Plant  them  in  an  open  position,  giving 
each  quite  15  inches  of  space.  They  should  be  planted  firmly, 
especially  if  the  soil  is  on  the  light  side.  A  sowing  should  be  made  in 
April. 
Apples  and  Pears  are  the  fruits  most  grown  in  the  Mt.  Barker 
district  of  Western  Australia,  and  they  seem  to  do  the  best.  The 
favourite  Apple  varieties  are  Rokewood,  Yates,  Jonathan,  Kentucky 
Red  Streak,  and  Munroe’s  favourite.  Everywhere  where  the  trees  are- 
bearing  the  growers  appear  satisfied  with  the  returns,  and  tell  me  their 
orchard  is  the  best  paying  part  of  the  farm. 
Orris-root. — We  learn  that  the  Orris-root,  which  is  used  as  a  basis 
of  many  perfumes  by  the  manufacturers  of  England,  France,  and 
Germany,  is  obtainable  only  around  Florence  and  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Verona.  Manufacturers,  therefore,  have  to  look  to  two  small  districts 
in  one  particular  country  for  the  whole  of  their  supplies  of  an  almost 
indispensable  article.  A  syndicate,  supported  by  a  powerful  bank,  has 
recently  secured  the  entire  bulk  of  the  Veronese  orop  and  nine-tenths 
of  that  of  Florence.  A  small  quantity  of  Florence  root  still  in  the 
growers’ hands  is  offered  at  enormous  prices.  The  syndicate  itself  is 
holding  its  stocks,  and  apparently  declines  for  the  present  to  sell. 
Representatives  of  a  large  peifume  manufactory  of  Grasse  recently 
endeavoured  to  obtain  a  small  quantity,  but  without  success,  and  there 
are  now  perhaps  not  fifty  tons  in  the  whole  of  Leghorn. 
Jottings  on  Pines. — In  order  to  provide  plants  to  give  a 
succession  of  fruit  from  next  December  onwards  some  of  the 
more  promising  suckers  will  have  to  be  started  at  the  beginning  of 
March,  therefore  attention  must  be  given  to  the  preparation  of  soil.  A 
fermenting  bed  should  also  be  provided  in  some  close  structure  to 
generate  and  maintain  a  bottom  heat  of  85°  to  90°  near  the  surface,  and 
with  means  of  maintaining  a  temperature  of  55°  to  65°  with  regularity. 
Plants  selected  at  the  beginning  of .  last  December,  and  started  by  an 
advanced  temperature  and  an  increase  of  moisture,  will  now  be  showing 
fruit.  As  it  is  advisable  to  accelerate  the  ripening  ot  the  fruit  of  these 
plants  as  much  as  possible,  the  temperature  may  be  maintained  at  65° 
to  70°  at  night,  and  75°  to  80°  in  the  daytime  under  favourable 
circumstances,  ventilating  at  80°,  allowing  an  advance  to  85°,  closing 
at  about  that  temperature,  utilising  the  sun  heat  as  much  as  possible. 
The  plants  will  require  more  water  at  the  roots,  examining  the  whole 
stock  once  a  week.  Supply  water — always  with  about  1  oz.  of 
Peruvian  guano  ammoniated,  or  some  other  complete  fertiliser, 
dissolved  in  each  gallon — only  when  needed,  and  then  a  thorough 
supply  at  the  same  temperature  as  that  of  the  bed.  Recently  started 
plants  to  follow  those  already  named  should  have  a  night  temperature 
of  65°,  and  75  by  day  from  fire  heat,  which  will  be  sufficient  for  them 
for  some  time  longer. — Practice. 
Satyrlums  corllfollum  and  odorum. — In  the  Orchid  houses  at 
Kew  two  large  groups  are  made  up  of  good  examples  of  these  species. 
The  former  is  the  more  showy  of  the  two  and  the  best  known,  having 
been  in  cultivation  about  eighty  years.  It  is  a  S.  African  plant,  and, 
said  to  be  one  of  the  most  common  Orchids  in  Cape  Colony,  especially 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Cape  Town.  At  Kew  it  makes  a  number  of 
large,  fleshy,  green  leaves,  mottled  at  the  base  with  reddish-purple,  and 
throws  up  a  flower  spike  15  inches  high  surmounted  with  deep  yellow 
spurred  blossoms  destitute  of  the  reddish  markings  usually  associated 
with  the  flowers  of  this  plant.  At  various  times  a  number  of  coloured 
figures  of  this  species  have  been  produced,  a  very  good  one  being  given 
in  Sweet’s  “British  Flower  Garden,”  iv.,  page  3;  at  t.  7289  in  the 
“  Botanical  Magazine”  a  flue  variety  called  S.  c.  maculatum  is  figured. 
This  has  the  flowers  plentifully  sprinkled  with  red  dots.  The  second 
species,  S.  od  irum,  is  not  so  showy  as  the  first,  but  makes  a  taller 
plant,  and  bears  very  sweetly  scented  flowers.  It  also  is  S.  African. 
It  makes  a  number  of  pale  green  radical  leaves  a  foot  or  more  long  and 
3  inches  wide;  on  the  flower  stem  a  number  of  similar  leaves  are  borne, 
which  clasp  the  stem  in  a  peculiar  manner,  forming  a  cup  betweeu  the 
union  on  the  stem  and  the  expansion  of  the  blade.  The  spike  is  from 
15  to  18  inches  high,  crowned  with  a  head  of  greenish-yellow  fl  rwers 
about  the  same  size  as  those  of  the  Himalayan  species  S.  nepalensis. 
Altoge  her  there  are  about  a  score  specimens  in  flower,  making  quite  a 
distinct  feature  in  the  house.  They  are  grown  in  well-diained  pans  in 
a  mixture  of  peat,  loam,  sphagnum,  and  sand.  Until  the  spikes  were 
well  advanced  an  intermediate  temperature  was  given.— W.  D. 
