524 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
June  20,  1901. 
Cannas. — The  following  are  amongst  the  finest  of  up-to-date 
varieties  :  Wilhelm  Bofinger,  glowing  crimson  scarlet  flushed  orange  ; 
Victory,  orange  salmon,  edge  bright  golden  yellow  ;  Oscar  Dennecker, 
brilliant  orange-red,  broadly  edged  with  yellow ;  Fol  Berthine  Brunner, 
deep  yellow,  spotted  crimson;  Madame  Camille,  golden  spotted  with 
crimson ;  Reveil,  brick-red  salmon  •  Mrs.  F.  Dreer,  rich  yellow  and 
faintly  spotted  ;  Duchess  of  Marlboro’,  rose  with  faint  cerise;  aurea, 
bright  rich  canary  yellow ;  Alice  Billiard,  glowing  orange  crimson ; 
Madame  Berat,  rose  crimson. 
The  Xablates. — As  an  order  of  plants  Labiatse  is  distinguished  as 
inc’udiug  many  aromatic  herbs  containing  volatile  oils,  holding  in 
solution  hydrocarbons  analogous  to  camphor,  known  as  stearoptenes- 
The  cultivation  of  Peppermint  (Mentha  Piperita)  for  its  essential  oil 
has  long  been  practised  at  Market  Deeping,  Lincoln ;  Wisbech, 
Cambridgeshire  ;  and  Mitcham,  Surrey.  It  is,  however,  more 
extensively  cultivated  in  New  York,  Michigan,  and  Ohio,  U.S.A.,  the 
oil  being  used  for  cordials  and  sweetmeats.  Mentha  arvensis,  and  its 
varieties  piperascens  and  glabrata,  are  the  sources  of  menthol  or 
Chinese  oil  of  peppermint,  which  has  proved  useful  in  neuralgia. 
Developing  the  Shape  of  Trees. — It  is  something  rarely  noticed, 
yet  quite  true,  that  a  well  developed  tree  has  well  developed  roots;  in 
other  words,  if  a  tree  is  perfectly  branched  on  all  sides,  the  roots  will 
show  the  same  development.  Old  gardeners  who  have  paid  attention  to 
matters  like  this  can  judge  of  the  root  system  of  a  tree  by  its  top;  and, 
in  selecting  trees  from  a  nursery,  mark  those  with  branches  nicely 
developed  on  all  sides.  A  tree  with  strong  branches  on  one  side  only 
will  have  its  strong  roots  on  the  same  side.  This  is  the  rule.  In 
nurseries  where  observant  men  are  employed  to  dig  trees,  they  can  tell 
where  the  strong  roots  are  to  be  met  with,  and  so  use  their  spades  to 
much  better  advantage  than  others.  As  it  is  well  understood  that 
roots  will  reaoh  out  for  good  food,  advantage  has  been  taken  of  this 
faot  by  placing  manure  on  the  weak  side  of  a  tree,  to  bring  out  a  good 
root  growth,  looking  for  the  branch  growth  at  top  to  follow.  While 
certainly  true  that  the  large  roots  and  large  limbs  and  increase  of 
girth  of  trees  are  all  on  the  same  side,  the  developing  of  the  weak  side 
by  giving  it  better*  food  than  the  other  has  not  been  much  practised. 
It  is,  however,  worthy  of  attention  by  those  who  have  trees  with  ill- 
balanced  branohes.  Place  manure  or  other  fertilisers  on  the  side  of 
the  tree  showing  thin  development.  Roots  will  reach  out  for  this  food ; 
the  small  ones  near  it  will  beoome  large  and  strong,  and  in  the  end  the 
strengthening  of  the  shoots  will  be  shown  in  their  increased  growth. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  many  a  large  tree  with  an  unbalanced  top  conld 
be  muoh  improved  in  appearance  by  this  means. 
Rhododendrons. — The  following  are  a  few  of  the  choicest  and 
showiest  of  the  large  collection  of  hardy  Rhododendrons  in  the 
arboretum  at  Kew  : — Mrs.  Mendel,  rosy  pink,  suffused  mauve,  yellow 
blotch  on  upper  petals ;  Michael  Waterer,  a  charming,  bright  rosy 
cerise  variety ;  John  Waterer,  deep,  reverberating  crimson  cerise,  with 
large,  compact,  showy  trusses ;  Mrs.  John  Waterer,  bright,  lovely  rose, 
suffusedfwith  a  dash  of  crimson ;  Ooncessum,  deep  rose  pink,  the 
trusses*tapering  upward,  one  of  the  fjnest  and  most  lovely.  There 
were  also  R.  catawbiense  pulchellum  album,  with  large,  well  built 
trusses  of  a  soft,  smooth,  snow  white,  having  a  beautiful  yellow  throat 
blotch, ij.it  is  free  and  has  a  good  habit;  R.  James  Nasmyth,  is  of  a 
warm  rose  pink  shade,  with  deep  crimson  throat  blotch,  the  trusses 
are  well  built  j  and  habit  good ;  R.  Madame  Carvalho,  with  neat, 
compact,  'white  trusses,  greenish  yellow  throat  blotch,  is  exceedingly 
attractive  ;  R.  purpureum  grandiflorum,  not  purple  at  all,  but  a  hybrid 
shade  between  deep  rose  lavender  and  mauve,  with  speckled  greenish 
yellow  throat,  |is  a  free-flowering  and  good  sort ;  R.  Lady  Anette  de 
Trafford,  blush  pink,  with  deep,  conspicuous,  blaokish,  crimson  cone  on 
the  upper  part  of  the  throat,  is  one  of  the  best  and  most  pleasing; 
R.  Mary  Stuart  is  much  paler  than  R.  purpureum  grandiflorum,  and  is 
suffusedfwith  rose,;  while  R.  catawbiense  fastuosum  is  a  semi-double 
lavender-hued  variety,  very  free  in  growth,  floriferous,  and  of  great 
excellence.  A  score  of  others  (notably  R.  Kewense),  now  faded,  might 
have  been  included  as  of  equal  merit  to  any  of  these.  > 
Japanese  Quince  Jelly. — The  Japanese  Quince,  Pyrus  japonica, 
makes  a  delicious  jelly,  tasting  not  unlike  Guava  jelly.  I  made  it  muoh 
the  same  as  that  of  ordinary  Quinces,  and  the  only  tronble  was  that 
there  was  not  enough  of  it.  A  friend,  on  my  recommendation,  made 
some  which  was  not  good,  but  she  must  have  left  too  much  of  the  core 
in,  I  think. —  L.  G. 
Bladder  Wrack. — The  commonest  seaweed  of  our  coasts  is 
Bladder  Wrack  (Fuous  vesioulosus) ;  besides  being  an  excellent 
manure,  of  use  in  times  of  scaroity  as  a  cattle  food,  when  burnt 
into  “  kelp,”  a  main  source  of  iodine,  has  been  employed,  when 
charred,  as  Vegetable  Ethiops,  or  as  a  jelly,  in  scrofulous  tumours 
and  glandular  enlargements,  and  is  the  essential  constituent  in  the 
remedy  for  obesity  known  as  “  Anti-fat.” 
Xlnneea  borealis. — The  genus  Linnsea  (Twin-flower)  always  has 
interest  to  plant  lovers,  because  its  name  commemorates  the  great 
Linnaeus.  It  has  been  described  as  monotypio,  embracing  only 
L.  borealis.  Dr.  P.  A.  Rydberg  thinks  there  are  certainly  three  species, 
and  perhaps  four  (Torreya,  May,  1901).  L.  americana  is  referred  to 
in  “  Hortus  Woburnensis,”  page  135,  by  Forbes,  but  was  not  described- 
L.  longiflora  has  formerly  been  regarded  as  a  variety  of  L.  borealis. 
The  fourth  species  is  indicated  from  Asia. 
Pruning  Broad-leaved  Evergreens  at  Transplanting. — It  is 
reoognised  among  planters  that  more  risk  attends  the  transplanting  of 
evergreens  than  deciduous  trees.  This,  says  “Meehan’s  Monthly,” 
applies  with  more  force  to  those  of  a  broad-leaved  character,  such  as 
the  Holly,  Evergreen  Magnolia,  and  Mahonia  are  examples  of.  Why 
this  should  be,  is  a  surprise  to  many,  yet  the  oause  is  is  not  far  to  seek.. 
When  deoiduons  trees  are  planted  it  is  either  spring  or  autumn,  when 
they  are  bereft  of  foliage.  At  such  times  the  calls  on  the  roots  are 
not  as  important  as  they  are  when  foliage  is  to  be  supplied.  The 
evergreen  is  never  without  foliage,  and  it  is  beoause  of  this  so  muoh 
more  care  is  required  in  transplanting  it.  There  is  no  reason  why  so 
muoh  care  should  be  taken  to  preserve  the  leaves,  when,  by  reducing 
their  number,  the  safety  of  the  tree  would  be  so  much  advanced. 
Southern  nurserymen  understand  this,  and  one  and  all  notify  their 
customers  that  leaves  will  be  taken  off  of  such  evergreens  as  Magnolia 
grandiflora  before  being  shipped.  Northern  nurserymen  do  the  same 
in  the  case  of  the  Holly,  and  if  the  rule  was  to  treat  all  evergreens  this 
way,  excepting,  of  course,  those  with  balls  of  earth,  such  as  Rhododen¬ 
drons  usually  carry,  it  would  result  most  favourably.  This  defoliation 
could  be  practised  to  advantage  to  some  degree  on  coniferous  evergreens, 
the  foliage  of  which  could  be  partially  removed  when  they  were 
transplanted. 
Uncommon  Water  Xllles.  —  Nelumbium  Shiroman,  the  new 
double  white  Lotus,  is  very  desirable.  Nelumbium  roseum  plenum, 
double  red,  is  also  good.  Of  the  newer  French  hybrid  Nympheeas,  I 
regard  N.  gloriosum  as  very  fine.  N.  ignea  and  N.  flammea  are  also 
fine,  but  propagate  slowly.  There  are  several  nice  new  hardy  American 
Nymphseas.  I  will  mention  four :  N.  oandidissima  rosea  (N.  alba 
candidissima,  N.  odorata  rosea)  is  very  ohoioe.  For  free  and  continuous 
bloom  it  has  no  superior.  Flowers  are  the  siz  e  of  the  candidissima, 
and  of  a  showy  deep  pink  colour.  N.  ereota  (N.  odorata  alba,  N.  alba 
candidissima)  is  a  pure  white  variety  with  erect  habit,  the  flower  often 
standing  a  foot  above  the  water.  It  is  distinct  and  an  unusually  free 
bloomer.  N.  oonstans  (N.  odorata  rosea,  N.  superba)  I  have  cultivated 
three  years.  It  may  be  classed  with  the  odoratas,  is  much  larger  than 
o.  rosea,  colour  a  shade  lighter  than  o.  Lucian  a — a  soft  flesh  pink.  It 
will  produce  three  times  as  many  blooms  as  N.  o.  rosea.  N.  superba 
rosea  is  a  pink  sport  from  N .  superba.  The  variety  N.  superba  is  often 
confused  with  N.  odorata  varieties.  The  true  superba  is  a  hybrid  of 
N.  tuberosa  and  N .  alba  candidissima,  and  has  no  odorata  blood  in  it 
but  is  a  distinot  type,  and  the  largest  hardy  Nymphaea  grown. 
N.  superba  rosea  promises  to  be  a  rampant  grower  and  free  blooming 
as  its  parent,  while  it  is  the  largest  hardy  pink  Nymphaea  I  have  ever 
seen.  Of  the  tropical  Nymphaeas  I  will  mention  “  Best  Red  ”  (probably 
N.  rubra,  N.  Devoniensis  raised  b  y  Mr.  James  Gurney,  Superintendent 
Tower  Grove  Park,  St.  Louis.  I  have  had  it  two  years,  and  it  has 
proved  one  of  the  most  a  bundant  bloomers  in  my  collection.  The 
habits  and  size  are  intermediate  between  itB  parents.  I  am  reliably 
informed  that  Frank  Trelease,  a  crimson  Devoniensis,  originating  with 
Mr.  Gurney,  is  also  very  fine.  N.  Arnoldiana  is  another  desirable 
tropical  Nymphaea.  It  is  a  reverse  cross  of  N.  O’Marana,  and  is  of 
good  size.  It  is  the  best  tropical  Lily  for  winter  blooming  I  have 
seen  to  date. — Geo.  B.  Moulder  (in  “  Meehans’  Monthly  ”). 
