MISCELLANEOUS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1950, 4 April 1889, Page 10

MISCELLANEOUS.

Trees upon which the mistletoe usually grows are almond,, apple, a3h, cherry, elm, hawthorn, hazel,, laurel, lime, maple, mountain ash, poplar, beech, service tree, and willow. The orchid growers and, importers have had : another, good haul, for at Blenheim, where great i alterations and improvements have been going lon for, the : last two- years, the 'have been filled' (as a consummation) with over !30,000 orchids* at prices varying from 50gsto lOOgs. After this tier Grace of Montrose may : hide, her diminished head \ ' Plants, and seeds. can be sent by mail any dis1 tanc,e, a^ they are packed in damp moss, and will • arrive in good condition if the weather be not too \sarm. i A viviparous lemon has been shown in South ,! Africa.- Ifc was quite ripe; but when it was 1 opened all.the pips were found to have started \ growing on their own account. Some of theta , had put out green shoots and distinct leaves. : The Uit'enhage Times said that it had never ; ' seen anything like it, but added : "We have, : however, in our fernery a fera, the seeds of : which do- not fall, but germinate in situ,. so, to '■ speak, on the back of the f ronda. Not knowing ■ ] its name, We call it'* Hen, anfy ij Wh^n the chickens or youpg pjiaits are a few \ ( inches long, they may ha taKett off and stuck 1 into the earth, where they flourish, and in time i become '• qhilc^en ' bearing, ' hens.' " J A write*,, i^ the Tasmanian, speaking of the ] codlia mojihn sayip,;—^My mode of procedure, , which practised by German ento- \ I rApj.pg^i is simply this : I get some ale— the i strpWjjj«r'the better— and after allowing it to get ' stale, boil it with an equal quantity of brown ' sugar, molasses, or treacle, until it comes to a ; fairly thick syrup. I then paint it with a brash j 1 either on the trunks of the trees or, what is : better, on a piece of board, which 1 afterwards j I place against a tree. Under the boards I lay j a newspaper or sheet. . The syrup, which^ifi pro- 1 perly made, has a strong odour, aitnaets, the moths ftfom a long distance, and aftec-paftfiak''' of the repast provided for them, tfces gen' «° feel incapacitated from further; ex«rt* on * n d drop on the newspaper. If- they ar '^ qq long they will recover themselx«e ' Afl The newspapers should ttofor* " be f rom « time to time, and the motfc* * om tied .to a of water, or destroyed m BOm / ot her way I have caught as mauyas ?0 orßo mofchsatOQe place in a single eyenw „ Raspberry and ; Bt . KBBEBy hybrid.— At a recent meeting jR the Scien tjfi c Committee of the Royal Hoatf oa it ara i Society, Mr Henslow drew attention* j0 the foliage of a supposed hybnd received fr6m Mr yiccars Oollyer, of keicester. j ac plant blossomed, but bore no I fruit this se' Agon> rp^ fl owers were exactly like those of tr tQ raspberry, as well as the tomentose under sur face oi tha ieaveß.i eaveB . tut the method of forming tao qu i na fc e leaf out of the ternate agreed with fcna t o f the blackberry as follows :— T " e / simplest form of leaf is a single oval leaflet ° ea ' c the flowers. This becomes lobed at the " B ' de, and so two leaflets are given off, forming the ernate leaf. From the basal pair in the case of 1 the blackberry two more are given off, and thus form a quinate leaf, the lower-four leaflets being nearly "palmate.'' In the raspberry, however, the second pair of leaflets are given off from the terminal leaflet, just as were the primary pair. Consequently the five leaflets now form a more decidedly prinnate leaf. In the hybrid in question, although in all other features it agrees with the raspberry, yet in this one particular it resembles the blackberry. As no fruit was produced, a comparison could not be made. These hybrids are to be found in considerable quantities, we believe, in Montgomeryshire, on the banks of the upper Vecniew river, and were also to be seen on the site of the Liverpool corporation's new water reservoir, situated some few miles west of Llanfyilin, in the county in question. Columbines.— Many of the hybrid aquilegias are very beautiful ; all seed freely. Aquilegia chysanthi and A. ccerulea, are the best, and both may be obtained from seeds. They are well adapted for the rockery, or to grow on the slopes of any alpine mount where the soil is deep, and soon create a specially interesting feature.^ They are also good border plants under like conditions as to soil. The seeds may either be sown as soon as ripe, or delayed till spring. In the latter case, sow in pans and place in a gentle heat. If sown in autumn, place the pans in a cool frame kept close. They make beautiful pot plants for a cool house, and they will even bear a little fore- | ing, but the night temperature should not exceed 50deg. The flowers are nice for cutting, especially when grown under glass early in the season. I was once asked by a gentleman, who saw a group in the conservatory early in the season, what new plants we had there ; and he was surprised when told they were only hybrid forms of columbines. The seeds may be sown in the open air, but it will be as well to place a handlight over -the choice varieties. The hardier, commoner forms, such as glandulosa and the varieties of vulgaris, will seed as they stand, and grow in due time into sturdy tufts of ele« gant leafage and blossom. The common forms of the columbine are very desirable for naturalising with foxgloves and the common evening primrose ((Enothera biennis;, &c, on banks, in the wilderness, or amid the ferns in the dells.— E.H. Peopeb Tree Planting.— Mr J. N. Steams says in Popular Gardening : " The hole for the tree should be fully as large again as would be required to simply take the roots in. All bruised roots should be cut off with a sharp knife, and the top headed back fully more in proportion than roots cut off by digging. The soil should be sifted in carefully, so as to allow each root ta remain. in its natural position, just , aa it grew. When the roots are, just covered, *nd the hole about two-thirds 'filled,, trainp^ it J firmly and turn in a. pail of .water, allowing it to, soak away arbnnd the 'ifoots before gutting in' tha balance of the soil ; I consider this the im«

■i| |i&&nt part of the filfttttiiig,- liwill pay jf you f fere planting phe,prJ.oOO trees, even jfl-you have to haul the water five miles, especially with such \ seasons as. the 1 last three.* This furnishes the [ 1 requisite moisture to give the tree an early 5 start. The past season we had no rain to wet . down to the roots of newly transplanted trees r for <three months after planting. The result , waslthat thousand^ of trees Bied, and many that' v barely lived succumbed the first winter, while, ( those planted as above imade a healthy growth. , In no cage should the soU.b,e firmed that is put' \ in after the" water has soaked away, hut leave it I loose and keep it so by, frequent stirring with cultivator or hoe. If watering is considered \ necessary, dig a hole down to'the roots and turn [' inwate'r.'allow'-itto soak away and then draw [• the soil back. ' This plan is' equally applicable to . plaritirig strawberries; cabbages,' &c.