402 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
May  9,  1901. 
TO  CORRESPONDENTS 
All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should  be  directed 
to  “  The  Editor,”  12,  Mitre  Court  Chambers,  Fleet  Street, 
London,  E.C.  It  is  requested  that  no  one  will  write  privately 
to  any  of  our  correspondents,  seeking  information  on  matters 
discussed  in  this  Journal,  as  doing  so  subjects  them  to  unjustifiable 
trouble  and  expense. 
Chinese  Sacred  Lily  ( Grower ). — The  bulbs  are  too  cheap  for  anyone 
to  waste  time  and  all  else  in  propagating  them  in  their  home  gardens. 
You  may  very  well  plant  the  bulbs  in  the  warmest  out-of-doors  border 
you  have,  whence  they  will  do  fairly  well.  Yes,  Ornithogalum  arabicum 
succeeds  in  open-air  borders. 
Parts  of  a  Daffodil  ( Henry  Bale). — The  parts  of  a  Daffodil  flower 
could  only  be  adequately  poiuted  out  by  the  use  of  a  diagram,  and  here 
we  have  one.  No.  1  is  the  scape 
or  hollow  flower  stalk ;  [2,  the 
papier  mache-like  spathe  which 
envelope  and  protect  the  flower 
when  in  bud;  3,  the  ovary  which 
contains  the  seeds.  The  fact  of 
the  ovary  being  below  the  floral 
leaves  or  segments  is  a  charac¬ 
teristic  which  marks  the  Amaryl- 
lidaceous  plants  from  those  of  the 
natural  order  Liliacese.  No.  4  is 
the  tube  of  the  flower;  5,  the 
perianth  composed  of  six  segments  ; 
and  6,  the  corona  or  trumpet. 
These  parts  are  to  be  found  in  all 
Narcissi,  although,  of  course,  in 
different  proportions.  The  flower 
in  the  illustration  is  a  true  Daffodil 
or  trumpet  Narcissus.  The  name 
Daffodil  is  more  frequently  em¬ 
ployed  than  Narcissus,  because  it 
sounds  more  homely  and  musical 
to  our  English  hearing.  They  are 
all  Narcissi  (singular,  Narcissus), 
however,  though  all  Narcissi  are 
not  Daffodils.  Only  those  Nar¬ 
cissi  with  trumpets  longer  than 
the  length  of  the  perianth  seg¬ 
ments  are  properly  Daffodils.  The 
medio-coronati,that  is, the  Narcissi 
with  a  trumpet  half  as  long  as  the 
perianth  segments,  are  classified 
only  as  Narcissi,  and  would  not 
strictly  receive  the  name  of 
Daffodil.  But  the  subject  is  one  you  will  require  to  study  more  fully 
before  you  are  acquainted  with  all  the  types  and  forms. 
Lilium  Harrisi  Unhealthy  ( B .  R.). — This  species  is  frequently  a  prey 
to  troublous  maladies.  It  would  seem  as  though  you  have  been  a  little 
too  free  in  supplying  manures  or  fertilisers.  These  are  essential  if 
healthy  and  robust  plants  are  desired,  but  never  forget  the  golden  rule 
which  says,  Weak  and  often.  The  latter  stipulation  requires  to  be 
qualified,  for  insomuoh  as  the  soil  in  the  pots  was  not  thoroughly 
ramified  through  when  feeding  seems  to  have  been  started,  to  give  even 
weak  liquid  manure  was  bad  practice,  and  uncalled  for.  Use  clear 
water,  see  that  drainage  is  correct,  and  allow  the  soil  to  become  well 
drained,  not  to  say  dry,  before  giving  further  water.  The  top  soil 
might  even  be  removed. 
Planting  Furze  on  the  Brow  of  a  Hill  {One  Desirous). — Instead  of 
going  to  the  expense  of  planting  young  Furze  plants  we  would  suggest 
that  you  wait  till  the  end  of  July,  and,  having  prepared  a  good  surface 
tilth,  sow  seeds  broadcast.  They  will  germinate  and  grow  half  a  foot 
before  winter,  and  next  year  they  will  entirely  olothe  the  bank.  If  you 
had  seeds  just  now  it  would  be  legitimate  to  sow  them  at  once.  Keep 
the  plants  weeded  throughout  the  summer.  A  poor,  porous  soil  and 
exposed  position  suits  the  Furze. 
Book  on  Fruit  Growing  (A.  B.). —  As  a  small  introductory  book  of 
reliability  we  would  commend  “  Profitable  Fruit  Growing,”  price  Is.  3d. 
post  free.  Much  valuable  information  will  also  be  obtained  from 
“  Fruit  Farming  for  Profit,”  which  is  written  by  Mr.  Geo.  Bunyard  in 
his  most  readable  style.  The  price  of  the  latter  book  is  2s.  91.  post 
free  ;  and  both  the  books  can  be  obtained  from  the  oflioe  of  the  Journal, 
12,  Mitre  Court  Chambers,  Fleet  Street,  E.C.  Regarding  Vines,  there 
is  no  better  book  than  that  of  Mr.  Barron’s,  entitled  “  Vines  and  Vine 
Culture,”  5s.  3d.  post  free. 
Deutzias  after ]Flowering  {Abel  Young).—  Cut  back  as  muoh  of  the 
old  woody  shoots  as  is  needful  to  allow  light  and  freedom  of  air  to  play 
upon  the  young  growths,  and  have  an  eye  to  symmetry  when  pruning. 
Deutzias  may  be  plunged  by  the  shelter  of  a  wall,  on  the  shady  side, 
and  left  out  all  summer.  They  should  receive  abundance  of  weak 
liquid  manure,  but  they  do  not  often  require  repotting. 
Fuchsia  corymbiflora  {One  Desirous). — Three-year-old  seedlings  ought 
to  flower  this  au’umn.  It  is  a  shy  bloomerunder  ordinary  ciroumstances. 
The  most  effective  form  is  to  make  plants  of  it  into  half-standards, 
with  naked  stems  3  or  4  feet  long  ;  to  prune  their  heads  as  close 
as  a  Pelargonium  before  they  go  to  rest  in  the  autumn  ;  not  to  shake 
the  soil  from  the  roots  like  other  Fuchsias  in  the  spring,  but  only  once 
in  three  or  four  years  ;  to  have  them  in  smaller  pots  than  are  generally 
used,  and  when  they  show  for  bloom  to  give  them  abundance  of  rain 
water  ;  they  never  want  stimulants. 
Seedling  Tree  Carnations  {Aberde°nshire).  —  The  young  plants 
should  now  be  potted  off  separately  into  3-inch  pots.  A  oompost  of 
about  equal  parts  of  leaf  mould  (from  Beech  leaves  if  possible),  yellow 
loam,  and  coarse  silver  or  seashore  sand  suits  them.  Grow  them  either 
in  a  special  pit  suited  for  them,  or  on  greenhouse  shelves,  till  July. 
Another  potting  may  then  be  necessary,  this  time  into  the  5-inoh  size. 
Syringe  the  plants  morning  and  evening,  shade  from  bright  sun,  keep 
as  cool  as  possible,  and  stake  the  leading  and  side  growths  before  these 
beoorne  too  straggly.  From  July  till  toward  the  end  of  September  is  a 
period  when  the  plants  will  bear  the  greatest  amount  of  open-air 
treatment.  As  they  will  flower 
toward  the  end  of  the  year,  every 
attention  should  be  laboured  upon 
them,  so  as  to  obtain  firm  stocky 
plants.  Liquid  manure  may  be 
applied  weakly  at  intervals  of  a 
few  days  from  September  onwards, 
when  they  will  be  placed  in  the 
greenhouse. 
Diseased  Tulips  {Harborne). — 
The  bulbs  are  affected  by  the 
Tulip  mould  (Sclerotinia  para¬ 
sitica),  which  often  kills  them  by 
setting  up  decay  at  the  neck,  and, 
the  oentral  part  thus  infeoted, 
putrefaction  rapidly  proceeds 
downwards  in  the  bulb,  being 
accelerated  by  the  action  of  bac¬ 
teria.  The  white  mould  corre¬ 
sponds  to  the  external  mvcelial 
hyphae  and  oonidial  stage  of  the 
fungus,  and  is  known  to  mycolo¬ 
gists  as  Botrytis  parasitica.  This 
produces  innumerable  conidia  or 
summer  spores,  which,  carried  by 
wind  and  rain,  inoculate  other 
plants  in  the  vicinity.  The  para¬ 
site  attaoks  the  stem  or  crown  of 
the  bulb,  and  the  plant  collapses 
in  the  early  stages  of  growth,  or 
sometimes  the  young  growth  is 
destroyed  in  the  ground,  not  any 
appearing,  while  in  other  cases 
healthy-looking  plants,  some  time 
period,  suddenly  become  limp,  the  stem 
within  a  few  days  the  plant  dies.  In 
mould  the  fungus  forms  olive-brown, 
on  the  stem,  leaves,  and  even  flowers.  At 
lentil-shaped  sclerotia,  at  first  grey,  then 
the  outer  parts  of  the  bulb,  sometimes 
form  black  crusts.  As  regards  preventive 
before,  or  at  flowering 
or  foliage  droops,  and 
addition  to  the  white 
minute,  velvety  patches 
a  later  stage,  smooth, 
black,  appear,  mostly  in 
being  so  numerous  as  to 
means,  when  the  mould  is  observed,  failing  plants  noticed,  or  bulbs  not 
sending  np  growths,  the  plant  should  be  taken  up  and  burned  to  prevent 
the  formation  of  the  sclerotia,  or  resting  bodies,  some  of  which  are 
often  formed  in  the  soil  close  to  the  bulb  Cultivators  have  observed 
that  the  application  of  rather  fresh  manure,  or  of  only  partially  decayed 
leaf  mould,  both  as  manure  and  mixed  with  the  soil,  and  as  a  top- 
dressing,  causes  Tulips  and  other  plants  to  become  diseased,  and  this 
is  undoubtedly  true.  The  manure,  even  if  it  does  not  contain  spires, 
affords  a  congenial  matrix  for  spores  and  sclerotia  present  in  the 
ground,  in  which  they  reproduce  themselves  rapidly,  and  in  the  spring, 
when  the  young  stems  push  through  the  manure  or  leaf  mould, 
inooulation  is  almost  certain  to  take  place.  Where  the  disease  has 
previously  existed  the  ground  should  be  given  a  good  dressing  of  lime, 
half  owt.  per  rod,  or  1  lb.  per  square  yard,  placing  in  small  heaps 
convenient  for  spreading,  and  slaking  with  the  smallest  amount  of  water 
necessary  to  cause  it  to  fall  into  an  apparently  dry  powder,  spreaiing 
evenly  whilst  hot,  and  leaving  on  the  surface  for  a  few  days  before 
digging  in.  This  should  be  done  with  a  fork,  taking  small  spits,  so  as 
to  mix  well  with  the  soil  to  a  depth  of  about  6  inches.  A  dry  time 
should  be  ohosen  for  applying  the  lime,  and  the  dressing  given  some 
time  in  advance  of  planting  the  bulbs.  A  wet  subsoil  would  tend  to 
favour  the  liability  of  the  plants  to  take  the  disease,  but  really  would 
not  cause  the  bulbs  to  fail,  as  the  germs  of  the  disease  are  absolutely 
