PLANT GOSSIP.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), 7 January 1881, Page 4

PLANT GOSSIP.

At a recent meeting of tho T.innsen Society tlii; Fellows wore regaled with coffee made iiv;;; the Liberian variety. This Liberian toiroo fetches a high price in tho American Uial'la-t. Jr» the cafes in Leicester Square a now vaiicly of dandolion, raisediu France, is used extensive])' in snlndo. 'Tho new Japanese shrub pgrus maulei is pM-footly hardy, and produces largo scarlet in spring. A new hybrid pelargonium called La ITr..'.iH'f i? much used in England for covering the hack walls of conservatories. It is a hybrid between tho ivy-leaved and zonal prl.iiWT.in.rs, with large flowers of a rich pink colour. F.ip:«,ver nudicuule is tlio most northern flowering plant hitherto collected. It was found by the last Arctic Expedition beyond the eighty-third parallel of latitude. Cabbage and cauliflower need frequent hoeing. Plants for late sorts in seed beds shotdd not be too crowded ; they need weeding frequently, nnd if infested with the cabbage worm, sprinkle with ashes. tt will booh be " seed time," and whoever is interested in raising superior flowers next season will be correspondingly uare'ful in gathering seed. The peach orchard of John Parnell in Troup County, Ga., is the largest in the world. It covers 250 acres of land, and will probably yield £14,000 this year. The Landwivthshaftliche Zeitung contains an article commending the large culture of roses which is carried on in Prance. Large stretches of land are devoted to this branch of industry, and half the results are exported. One and a half million rose trees !iiv sold yearly from around Paris, about 300,000 of which are high standards and l,l?f)0,000 low standards. Added to these iiiv the root rosc3, which are propagated by the budding and grafting process.

Tlio largest, orchard in the world is cultivated :n If osrlsas. Tt contains 140 hectear &ad many trees of 30 years' standing. There ar;; -12 5 5 cherry and apricot trees, 5000 apple ti'.-M, .520 pc/iv frees, 5058 damson trees, I'W apricot?, -103 chostmtt trees, 3252 nut tree--,, and 23 medlar trees, besides many thousands of cuttings.

i.'-ie United States Consul in Florence in hh unpublished report to the State Departm )it give? a method of preserving buds for gr:■,''!• mo i3n that they are good for over a year. They are placed in tin tubes filled with honey, airl then hermetically sealed. Eor short time and distances water is used instead of honey.

In North Carolina vines are propagated by #mf fcinij the roots. Tbe roots of the native prape (v. vidpina, fox grape) ore dug up in March, cut into bits ten inches in levuth, grafted with tho desired varieties, and planted in the vineyard where they are to remain. This method may be recommended to the notice of our nurserymen with a view to warding off the phylloxera, •which cannot exist upon the roots of these American vines. Mention is made of one that was grafted on tho root of a native vino in March, 1879, that attained a length of 50 fee!, with a diameter of an inch, and produced ilvo bunches of grapes the same scroll. '