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■JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
April  11.  1901. 
CARDEN.  CEEANINCS 
Flowers  with  Perfumes. — A  German  botanist  is  said  to  have 
discovered  that  out  of  4300  species  of  flowers  cultivated  in  Europe 
only  420  possess  an  agreeable  perfume.  Flowers  with  white  or  cream- 
coloured  petals  are  more  frequently  odoriferous  than  others.  Next  in 
order  come  the  yellow  flowers,  then  thej  red,  after  them  the  blue, 
and  finally  the  violet,  of  which  only  thirteen  varieties  out  of  308  give 
off  a  pleasing  perfume.  In  the  whole  list  3880  varieties  are  offensive 
in  odour,  and  2300  have  no  perceptible  smell,  either  good  or  bad. 
The  Supply  of  Phosphates. — Of  the  world’s  total  supply  of 
phosphates  in  1899,  Florida  contributed  650,000  tons ;  Tennessee, 
500,000  tons ;  Carolina,  400,000  tons ;  Algeria,  400,000  tons ;  Somme, 
350,000  tons ;  and  Belgium,  200,000  tons.  In  1896  the  total  output 
from  these  sources  was  1,618,000  tons,  and  it  has  risen  each  year  since. 
Of  the  1899  production  as  much  as  1,550,000  tons — or  three-fifths  of  the 
whole — came  from  the  United  States  alone,  but  the  deposits  in  Algeria 
and  Tunis  are  year  by  year  acquiring  greater  importance,  and  may  be 
relied  upon  to  furnish  to  French  cultivators  the  means  of  making  good 
the  phosphatic  waBte  of  their  soils  for  a  long  time  to  come.  It  is 
calculated  that  the  deposits  at  Tebessa,  Gafsa  (Northern  Africa),  and 
their  environs  already  contribute  20  per  cent,  to  the  world’s  total 
production  of  raw  phosphate.  Out  of  the  two  and  a  half  million  tons 
estimated  to  have  been  obtained  in  1899  it  is  probable  that  600,000 
tons  were  used  as  raw  phosphate  ground  to  powder.  This  would  leave 
1,900,000  tons  for  the  manufacture  of  superphosphate,  of  which  about 
three  and  a  half  million  tons  were  produced. 
The  Apple  the  Prince  of  Fruits. — This  is  the  hey-day  of  the 
Apple.  It  is  gaining  in  popularity  by  leaps  and  bounds,  and  the  result 
is  felt  in  increased  demands  upon  all  nurseries.  Not  only  do  the 
people  choose  this  fruit  above  all  others,  but  the  medical  fraternity, 
the  dietetic  authorities,  and  the  trainers  in  athletics  unite  in  its 
praise.  In  Chicago  there  is  an  institution  for  the  treatment  of  various 
ailments  of  the  human  body,  exercise  through  the  use  of  marvellously 
contrived  machines  being  the  principal  remedial  agent  employed.  The 
walls  of  the  gymnasium  of  this  establishment  are  placarded,  among  the 
signs  being,  “  Breathe  deeply,”  “  Walk,  walk,  walk,”  “  Eat  Apples.” 
No  less  an  authority  than  Eustace,  H.  Miles,  formerly  lecturer  and 
honours  coach  at  Cambridge  University,  says  :  “  Medical  science  has 
been  wont  to  exaggerate  the  importance  of  internal  remedies,  but  these 
are  not  to  be  neglected.  Of  these  the  greatest  is  water.  One  of  the 
best  forms  of  water  is  in  fruit — for  instance,  Apples ;  for  here  the  water 
is  soft  and  pure.  Other  fruits,  vegetables,  &c.,  have  their  various  uses. 
Among  these  OnionB  and  Lemons  may  be  mentioned.  But  the  Apple  is 
the  prince  of  fruits,  partly  because  it  has  valuable  salts,  and  also  fibre, 
which  our  systems  need.”  All  of  which  is  valuable  to  the  nurseryman 
and  fruit  grower. 
Japanese  Floral  Decorative  Art. — The  chief  difference  between 
the  arrangement  of  flowers  in  this  country  and  in  Japan  is  that,  whereas 
in  this, country  the  art  is  merely  considered  as  a  pretty  accomplishment 
for  gentlewomen,  in  Japan  it  ranks  as  a  science  and  a  philosophy  which 
can  only  be  mastered  after  several  years  of  close  study.  Far  from  being 
practised  only  by  ladies,  this  pretty  Japanese  art  has  amongst  its 
devotees  princes,  scholars,  and  other  prominent  men,  who,  having 
retired  from  the  cares  of  political  life,  are  in  search  of  a  hobby  which 
will  afford  mot  only  amusement,  but,  will  also  offer  intricacies  and 
obstacles ,  worthy  of  their  trained  minds.  All  cultured  people  in  Japan 
are  proficient  in  the  science,  just  as  the  better  classes  amongst  Western 
nations  cultivate  taste  in  dress,  or  in  the  artistic  arrangement  of  their 
household  gods.  The  Japanese  term  for  a  flower — hana — also  implies  a 
blossom-clad  stream,  and  even  the  stumps  or  branches  of  flowerless 
trees  and  shrubs ;  and  their  science  of  flower  arrangement  consists  not 
only  in  grouping  (the  flowers,  but  more  particularly  in  grouping  their 
leaves  and  .twigs  according  to  prescribed  formulae.  The  blossom  is 
looked  upon.as  a  minor  detail  in  the  artistic  composition,  and  of  very 
small  value  if  separated  from  the  parent  stem,  whose  sweeping,  though 
artificial,  curves  emphasise  its  beauty.  The  whole  science  is  therefore 
reduoed  to  obtaining  curves  which,  though  really  distorted,  have  the 
appearance  of  being  true  to  nature. — (The  March  “  Pearson’s.”) 
Plantation  Fences. — Fences  around  plantations  whioh  have 
recently  been  thinned  must  be  kept  in  good  repair,  all  overhanging 
branches  pruned  from  woodland  drives  and  paths,  ditches  cleaned  out, 
and  all  ground  work  brought  speedily  to  a  close. 
The  Znsect  Enemies  of  Trees. — Young  woods  of  Sootoh  Fir 
frequently  fall  a  prey  to  the  ravages  of  the  Pine  beetle,  the  insect 
entering  the  growing  shoots  or  leader  at  a  short  distance  from  the  tip, 
and  by  tunnelling  upwards  so  weakening  the  shoot  that  it  is  readily 
broken  over  during  stormy  weather.  The  caterpillar  of  the  Goat-moth 
attacks  the  Elm  and  Ash  by  boring  into  the  stem,  the  hole  thus  made 
being  about  three-quarters  of  an  inch  in  diameter.  It  is  very  difficult 
when  the  trees  in  a  wood  become  infested  with  any  of  the  numerous 
insect  pests  to  deal  satisfactorily  with  them.  Prevention  is  the  best 
remedy,  at  least  in  the  case  of  the  Pine-beetle,  for  by  destroying  all 
dead  and  dying  wood  a  home  for  hibernating  is  done  away  with.  Old 
stumps  of  trees  with  their  decaying  bark  form  a  fruitful  source  of 
insect -breeding  in  our  woodlands. 
The  Use  of  Phosphatic  Manures. — As  to  the  extent  to  whioh 
phosphatic  manures  are  used,  it  seems  that  Germany,  Franoe,  and 
Austria  all  consume  rather  more  superphosphate  than  they  severally 
manufacture.  The  United  Kingdom  and  Belgium,  on  the  other  hand, 
consume  less,  and  therefore  have  a  surplus  for  exportation.  The 
exports  from  the  United  Kingdom  are  included  apparently  under  the 
head  of  “chemical  manures,”  of  which  our  shipments  in  1899  amounted 
to  440,138  tons,  valued  at  £2,427,046.  In  the  average  number  of 
kilogrammes  of  superphosphate  applied  per  hectare  of  cultivated  land 
in  each  country  Belgium  ranks  easily  first,  whilst  Switzerland  is  second, 
North  Italy  third,  France  fourth,  Germany  fifth,  and  the  United 
Kingdom  sixth.  This,  however,  does  not  tell  the  whole  story  of 
phosphate  manuring,  in  connection  with  which  the  increasing  use  of 
basic  slag  would  need  to  be  considered,  to  say  nothing  of  the  phosphates 
applied  to  the  land  in  various  organic  manures. 
Virulence  of  Poison  Ivy. — Poison  Ivy  or  Oak  (Rhus  Toxicoden¬ 
dron)  and  the  characteristic  inflammation  produced  by  it  are  known  in 
different  localities  by  several  aliases.  It  appears  not  only  as  a  vine, 
but  as  a  bush  of  considerable  size,  and  grows  abundantly  almost 
everywhere.  The  virulent  principle  of  this  plant,  says  an  eminent 
specialist  on  diseases  of  the  skin,  is  a  volatile  acid  which  exists  in  all 
its  parts,  especially  in  the  leaves.  All  persons  are  not  affected  by  it, 
some  handle  it  with  impunity.  Actual  contact  with  the  plant  is  not 
always  necessary  for  the  production  of  poisonous  effects,  on  account  of 
the  volatility  of  its  active  principle,  and  there  is  good  reason  to  believe 
that  persons  sensitive  to  the  poison  not  infrequently  suffer  from  passing 
by  places  where  the  vine  grows  abundantly.  The  plant  is  supposed  to 
be  most  actively  virulent  during  the  flowering  season,  in  early  summer, 
but  cases  occur  with  great  frequency  during  autumn.  Even  in  winter 
twigs  and  stems  are  alive  to  mischief  to  those  who  handle  them. 
The  Barberry  as  a  Hedge  Shrub. — It  will  be  seen  from  the 
appended  paragraph,  written  to  “  American  Gardening,”  that  the 
beautiful  wild  Barberry  or  Berberis,  which  adorns  our  own  rustic 
hedges,  is  equally  charming  in  the  rural  districts  of  New  York  and 
other  American  States.  The  correspondent  writes,  that  “  among  the 
many  bright  spots  in  childhood’s  memory  there  is  none  which  gave 
more  pleasure  than  that  of  the  Barberry  hedge  whioh  grew  near  the 
old  sohoolhouse — that  old  hedge  which  furnished  us  shade  during  the 
hot  noontime  play  hour.  The  bushes  with  their  deep  green  foliage, 
racemes  of  yellow  flowers  and  hidden  thorns  that  prevented  their 
destruction,  and  later  the  bright  scarlet  berries  hanging  until  late  in 
winter.  Perhaps  the  glasses  of  Barberry  jelly  chat  graced  our  mother’s 
pantry  shelves,  and  gave  a  relish  to  the  bread  and  butter  eaten  at 
aohool,  intensifies  that  memory.  This  was  over  thirty  years  ago,  but 
the  Barberry  hedge  still  stands,  furnishing  shade  for  other  children 
now,  putting  out  leaves  and  flowers,  and  maturing  its  berries  as  then. 
At  a  time  when  there  is  so  much  call  for  hedging  plants  for  our 
suburban  homes,  why  would  it  not  be  well  to  plant  more  Barberries  ? 
Hardy,  handsome,  easily  cared  for  and  protected  by  sharp  thorns  from 
the  depredations  of  stook,  it  seems  to  me  to  be  one  of  the  most 
desirable  plants  for  the  purpose,  while  its  fruit  finds  a  ready  market 
wherever  known.  The  theory  that  the  Barberry  harbours  the  rust 
fungus  of  Wheat  has,  no  doubt,  been  one  cause  of  its  neglect  as  a 
decorative  shrub.  The  hedge  I  have  spoken  of  stood  upon  one  of  the 
best  Wheat-growing  farms  in  the  Genesee  valley,  and  I  never  heard 
that  the  rust  was  more  prevalent  there  than  elsewhere.” 
