4r,2 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
May  2G,  190 i. 
Mitpiostigma  axillapis. 
This  dwai'f-Ki'owing  shrub  is  usually  uaiued  Gardenia  citiic- 
dora  in  gardens,  and  for  our  purpose  the  name  ought  to  have 
answered;  but  one  feels  that  if  botanical  classification  and 
nomenclature  is  to  make  pi'ogress,  we  must  be  prepaied  foi 
changes,  and  he  ready  to  adopt  them — provided  theie  aie  suffi¬ 
cient  grounds.  iXf.  axdlaris  nas'. smaller  flovers  than  an\  of  the 
Gardenias,  hut  is  ecpially  desirable  with  most  of  them.  The 
cultui'al  treatment  is  exactly  the  same,  for  this  particular 
species  is  a  native  of  the  warmer  parts  of  Natal. 
White  Fly  on  Tomatoes. 
One  of  our  Irish  cori-espondents  says,  “  I  am  dreadfully 
troubled  with  white  fly  on  indoor  Tomatoes;  can  you  tell  mo 
of  any  simple  remedy?’'  We  think  the  pest  can  be  easily 
eradicated  in  the  following  manner  : — IMix  up  some  flowers  of 
sidphur  with  .skim  milk  to  the  consistency  of  a  thin  pa.ste,  and 
paint  ail  the  hot-water  pipes  in  the  house  with  it,  closing  the 
house  in  the  evenings  when  the  pipes  are  nice  and  warm.  If 
this  is  done  for  about  a  week,  and  the  sulphur  allowed  to 
remain  on  the  pipes,  not  only  will  all  white  fly  be  killed,  but 
as  the  young  ones  hatch  out  from  the  eggs  laid  on  the  plants, 
they  also  will  succumb. 
Luculia  gpatissinia. 
This  is  a  warm  greenhouse  flowering  shrub  that  requires  no 
praise,  for  all  who  have  seen  it  admire  the  soft  pink  floral 
clusters,  and  their  exqui.site  perfume.  With  sufficient  room, 
this  shrub  reaches  considerable  size,  and  when  in  flower  in  Sep¬ 
tember  it  certainly  is  one  of  the  gems  of  the  garden.  It  does 
well  either  in  large  tubs  or  planted  out  in  a  well-drained  deep 
border  of  fibrous,  lumpy  loam,  leaf  mould,  or  a  little  peat,  and 
some  sand,  with  iiotsherds.  During  its  active  growing  season 
the  syringe  ought  to  be  plied  at  least  twice  per  day,  and  a  moist 
atmosphere,  ranging  from  oOdeg  to  bodeg  Fahr.  should  be  main¬ 
tained.  After  flowering,  the  growths  are  thinned  out,  and  others 
are  shortened,  the  plants,  too,  being  re.sted  by  being  kept 
slightly  drier  and  cooler. 
Green  Tomato  Pickle. 
On  October  13,  1903,  Mr.  J.  Gregory,  of  Canterbury  Road, 
Croydon,  placed  before  the  Fruit  and  Vegetable  Committee  a 
jar  of  green  Tomato  pickle,  which  the  committee  considered  to 
be  the  best  flavoured  they  had  ever  had  before  them.  Mr. 
Gregory  has  very  kindly  given  us  the  recipe,  viz.  : — Slice  51b 
of  green  Tomatoes  into  an  earthenware  jar,  sprinkle  salt  on 
each  layer,  and  let  the  whole  stand  for  twelve  hours.  Then 
turn  it  ail  out  into  a  sieve  to  drain,  afterwards  put  it  into  a 
saucepan  with  only  ju.st  sufficient  vinegar  to  cover  the  Tomato, 
and  add  Jib  of  sliced  Onions,  Jib  of  brown  sugar,  Joz  of  cloves, 
Joz  of  long  pepper,  -Joz  of  mustard  seed,  Joz  of  ginger, 
3  cayenne  iiepper  pods.  Simmer  the  whole  until  tender.  Then 
bottle  and  cork,  and  keep  in  a  dry  place.  It  is  ready  for  use 
as  soon  as  cold.” — (R.H.S.  Journal.) 
Cactus  Pelang'oniums. 
A\  hen  that  singular  form  of  the  zonal  Pelargonium,  Fire 
Dragon,  or  the  “  Cactus  Geranium,”  was  introduced  a  few 
years  ago,  with  its  briglit  scarlet  flowers  split  up  into  a  number 
of  spiked  segments,  there  were  some  who  predicted  that  it 
would  enjoy  but  an  ephemeral  popularity ;  but  its  singular 
appearance  attracted  many,  and,  being  of  easy  culture,  it  found 
favour  with  a  large  number  of  cultivators  of  plants  who  favour 
the  abnormal  in  appearance.  As  it  blooms  freely,  and  throws 
large  trusses  of  bloom  at  the  end  of  long  stems,  it  has  been 
found  useful  for  cutting  purposes,  and  now  Hobbies  and  Co. 
(John  Green),  Dereham,  are  sending  out  four  new  varieties  of 
the  same  character,  viz..  Beauty,  having  semi-double  ro.sy 
carmine  flowers ;  Gem,  single-flowered,  rosy  pink,  and  very 
pretty ;  King,  semi-double,  deep  rose-coloured ;  and  Queen, 
semi-double,  a  combination  of  deep  rose  and  rosy  carmine,  and 
yet  quite  distinct  from  either  of  the  foregoing.  The  ordinary 
culture  given  to  zonal  Pelargoniums  answers  well  in  the  case 
of  the.se  new  forms. — (“  Agricultural  Economist.”) 
Eehevenia  retusa. 
This  is  a  popular  market  plant,  and  has  been  remarkably  well 
staged  by  Messrs.  Cannell  and  Sons  on  more  than  one  occasion 
in  the  Drill  Hall.  For  decorative  use  indoors  or  in  the  green- 
I'ouse  it  is  as  desirable  as  many  other  subjects  that  find  space, 
and  its  culture  is  not  peculiar.  Grow  in  5in  pots,  use  a  rich 
loam  containing  a  liberal  admixture  of  charcoal  or  other  gtilrv 
material,  aud  grow  on  in  frames  or  on  .shelves  in  a  pit  ui  ug  the 
summer.  The  orange-red  flowers  are  very  bright  lor  ti  e  lati 
autumn. 
Ornamental  Grasses. 
The  .study  of  grasses  as  a  section  of  the  decorative  stock 
employed  liy  gardeners  and  floral  decorators  is  rather  neglected. 
We  learn  of  grasses  in  a  haphazard  fashion ;  few  of  us  sys¬ 
tematise  our  consideration  of  them.  It  is  not  our  purpose  in 
this  note  to  do  more  than  draw  attention,  while  there  is  yet 
time  for  the  sowing  of  seeds,  to  some  of  the  many  beautiful 
grasses  that  can  be  raised  in  sunny  beds  and  borders  out  of 
doors.  We  have  found  a  collection  of  kinds  such  as  those 
chosen  for  the  engraving,  and  sown  in  lines  or  patches  side  by 
sido— we  have  found  these  a  very  interesting  feature  in  the 
garden,  as  well  as  a  most  useful  addition.  Those  who  have 
much  floral  decoration  to  do  can  always  find  a  u.se  for  some  of 
these  gras.ses.  Not  infrequently  they  re-appear  year  after  year, 
having  shed  their  seeds,  and  these  having  germinated.  Practi¬ 
cally  all  of  the  nurserymen’s  seed  catalogues  describe  the  kinds 
named  on  the  next  page,  and  we  commend  a  trial  to  be  made. 
Floral  Decorations. 
The  increased  demand  for  expensive  floral  decorations  is  one 
of  the  features  of  high  life  in  London,  says  a  contemporary. 
Harry  Green,  the  manager  of  Robert  Green,  Ltd.,  high-class 
florists,  stated  some  time  ago  that  $1,000  is  quite  an  ordinary 
price  for  West-end  aristocrats  to  spend  on  the  floral  embellish¬ 
ment  of  their  rooms  on  the  night  of  a  ball.  This  is  a  distinct 
advancement  from  the  modest  adornment  which  was  at  one 
time  thought  sufficient.  Table  decoration  has  reached  a  fine 
art.  Many  baskets  and  stands  are  arranged  in  the  shape  of 
swans  and  butterflies,  and  made  beautiful  by  the  skilful  arrange¬ 
ment  of  choice  flowers.  Fifty  pounds  is  fi-equently  spent  on 
table  decoration  by  rich  leaders  of  fa.shion.  The  wedding  of  the 
Duke  of  Norfolk,  our  premier  duke,  and  one  of  the  leading 
Roman  Catholic  laymen,  was  a  great  help  to  the  trade.  Some 
good  orders  were  i^laced  apiong  the  West-end  florists.  The 
bride’s  bouquet  was  composed  entirel}'  of  rare  white  orchids, 
Odontoglossum  cri.spum,  Coelogynes,  and  O.  Pescatorei,  with 
.sprays  of  the  daintiest  light-lined  Asparagus  foliage,  finished 
off  with  bows  and  ends  of  soft  white  satin  ribbon. 
Camellias  in  the  Open  Ain. 
It  is  somewhat  astoni.shing  that  comparatively  few  people 
who  possess  gardens  are  aware  how  hardy  the  Camellia  is  in  the 
open  air.  That  it  is  hardier  than  the  common  Laurel  was  proved 
during  the  very  severe  frosts  that  we  had  ten  years  ago,  when 
the  Ijaurels  were  cut  down  to  the  ground,  but  the  Camellias  were 
uninjured.  There  were  for  many  years  fine  plants  10ft  to  12ft 
high  in  the  society’s  gardens  at  Chiswick,  which  scarcely  had  a 
leaf  injured  during  that  memorable  frost.  At  Chiswick  they 
grew  behind  a  north  wall  in  bush  form,  and  every  year  they 
floweied  most  profusely.  In  several  other  places  we  have  .seen 
Camellias  a  great  success  outside,  but  in  every  in.stance  the  trees 
liave  been  sheltered  from  the  east,  not  that  they  would  not 
stand  the  cold  winds  from  that  quarter,  but  after  a  very  sharp 
frost  the  sun  striking  on  the  plants  early  .seems  to  inflict  damage 
on  the  foliage.  In  any  other  ijosition  facing  to  any  other  point 
of  the  compass  they  appear  to  be  perfectly  happy.  One  other 
item  may  be  mentioned,  viz.,  that  a  windy  situation  is  not 
favourable  at  the  time  of  flowering,  as  the  blossoms  get 
damaged  and  disfigured  by  knocking  against  each  other.  Pro¬ 
vided  there  is  a  good  escape  for  all  surplus  water,  they  do  not 
appear  at  all  fastidious  about  soil,  making  themselves  at  home 
almost  immediately,  and  holding  their  own  with  other  shrubs 
which  are  not  of  more  vigorous  habit.  The  best  time  to  plant 
is  the  middle  of  May,  when  everything  is  favourable  for  active 
growth  both  above  and  below  the  surface  of  the  soil.  Before 
planting,  the  ball  of  the  plant  ought  to  be  thoroughly  moist, 
and  if  dry  weather  follows  a  copious  supply  of  water  should  be 
given  occasionally  throughout  the  first  two  summers  after 
planting. — (R.H.S.  Journal.) 
