750 



HORTICULTURE 



June 6, 1908 



applied in tlie plantation under ordinary conditions of 

 practice. Besides inves.tigations into the effect of cer- 

 tain insecticides, the report contains an account of an 

 examination of the nature of the substances constitut- 

 ing some of these insecticides, which, in the case of 

 emulsion has resulted in the introduction of a class of 

 emulsifiers which may be substituted with great 

 advantage for soap and such like substances, especially 

 in cases where soap causes much trouble and incon- 

 venience; whilst an investigation into the chemistry of 

 Bordeaux mixture has resulted in showing how the cost 

 of that substance may be reduced by three-fifths without 

 in any way diminishing its etTectiveness. 



GAIiDENEUs' BENEVOLENCE 



A noble work has been accomplished amongst British 

 gardeners in the various organizations on benevolent 

 lines. The efforts of the working gardeners in sub- 

 scribing funds for philanthropic purposes have been 

 supplemented by the liberality of the wealthy owners 

 of estates. The Royal Gardeners" Orphan Fund, wliich 

 is one of the leading charities, has just celebrated its 

 21st birthday. At the festival dinner the Duke of Bed- 

 ford, the owner of Covent Garden market, presided, and 

 subscribed £250 to the funds. The total received in 

 connection with the festival was £1,385. The fund is 

 at present supporting 116 orphans, and last year £100 

 was distributed in excess of any previous year In cel- 

 ebration of the 21st anniversary, Mr. Edward Sherwood, 

 the trea,surer, has in conjunction witli his father and 

 brother, decided to contribute a sum of £200 to provide 

 a special section. The president, at the festival, eulo- 

 gized the objects of the charity. No darker shadow, the 

 Duke said, could hang over a man than the knowledge 

 that he might at his death leave children for whom 

 there was no provision. It was customary to regard the 

 children of gardeners as encumbrances, simply because 

 they did not tend to the convenience of the employer, 

 but it was wrong to penalize a man because he was a 

 husband and father. It was unwise from a national 

 point of view to do anything that was calculated to 

 encourage a low birth-rate. Ho explained that the cost 

 of management of the fund is fully met by the income 

 from the invested capital, all the revenue arising from 

 the subscriptions being directly available for relief pur- 

 poses. Most of the leading nurservTnen are found 

 amongst the society's supporters. 



C.\RNATION ciii/rntK 

 Some interesting experiments have been carried out 

 at Messrs. Hugh Low & Co.'s nurseries. Mr. ^Montagu 

 C. Allwood reports in planting out perpetual-flowering 

 carnations for summer blooming in the open. "We 

 carried out rather extensive experiments in this direc- 

 tion,"' Mr. Allwood states, "and found that plants put 

 out in early May produced an abundance of flowers dur- 

 ing the summer, and were much more satisfactory than 

 the ordinary border carnation. It is no small advan- 

 tage in being able to plant out carnations in May for 

 summer flowering, because with the ordinary border car- 

 nation autumn or very early spring planting has to be 

 done to ensure summer blonm. The best class of plant 



for summer flowering is that from a 5-inch pot. with 

 from eight to ten growths, that which has produced an 

 ciirly winter crop of bloom or which has been wintered 

 in a cold frame giving similar results. Early-rooted 

 cuttings in 3-inch pots with four or five growths also 

 give (|uite good results. During the last winter we had 

 quite a large collection of perpetual-flowering carnations 

 ])!anteil out in tlie oi^en along with ordinary border 

 varieties, and hardly a plant has succumbed to the 

 severity of the season, and are now making good growth 

 for flowering again. In an absolutely cold frame we 

 wintered several thousands of perpetual-flowering car- 

 nations in ."i-inch pots, and tliese withstood 15 degrees of 

 frost and scarcely a plant has died." Mr. Allwood is 

 an active member of the Perpetual Flowering Carna- 

 tion Society, and the author of a valualile work on car- 

 nation culture. 



yy^H. t^di*^. 



Wood Preservation for Horticul- 

 turists 



During the coming year the government will extend 

 its experiments in wood preservation to cover an en- 

 tirely new field — tlie work of treating greenhouse 

 timbers. 



Decay takes place rapidly under the conditions of 

 high humidity always found in greenhouses and horti- 

 cultural buildings. The timber at present employed in 

 the construction of such buildings consists for the most 

 part of the naturally durable and relatively expensive 

 kinds, such as select cypress and white pine. By a 

 preservation treatment other cheaper and less durable 

 species can probably be successfully substituted for 

 them, and this can be done at a low cost. 



In the treatment of greenhouse timbers several prob- 

 lems must be solved. For instance, it is desirable that 

 the wood used in greenhouse construction be painted 

 white in order that it will reflect as much light as pos- 

 sible. Consequently, a preservation must be used which 

 will allow the treated timbers to hold a coat of white 

 paint Again, no preservative can be used which will in 

 any degree affect the growing plants. It is probable, 

 however, that these difficulties can be overcome, and the 

 completion of tlie investigation will be watched with 

 interest. 



The investigations in wood preservation by the use 

 of creosote, which is nothing more than the dead oil of 

 coal tar and of zinc chlorid, is considered of such im- 

 portance by the government that one branch of a bureau 

 in the United States Department of Agriculture — the 

 "Office of Wood Preservation" in the Forest Service — is 

 given over entirely to the work of experiments in co- 

 operation with railroad companies, mining corporations 

 and individuals who desire to prolong the life of the 

 timber which they use. Advice and practical assistance 

 are furnished all who request it of the Forester at 

 Washinajton. 



