April 13. 1907 



HORTICULTURE 



487 



$4,000, and other equipment $1,000. And the gardener 



considers these a good investment. 



Some such establishments have been erected and by 

 careful planning tlie gardener has discovered it to his 

 advantage to erect more greenhouses until some now 

 have ten or twelve, and have built tenant houses for the 

 help which sometimes number five or six. 



The growers draw from the city and order from other 

 cities the manure used for fertilizing the soil. Fail- 

 ures in crops soraetime= happen; the reason seldom 

 being apparent and such a case puts the grower to 



studying. 



Specialization in cucumber or lettuce offers opportu- 

 nities for growins crops of the highest quality and for 

 competing^in the market for the very best prices. The 

 cost of specializing is practically the same as for gen- 

 eral crops, but, the man who has trained for general 

 gardening often meets failure when he attempts to 

 specialize on one crop. 



These big-little farms are whole stories m vegetable 



culture. 



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Irovdf'Ouoit, N. Y. 



British Horticulture 



GOOD PRICKS FOR ORCHIDS 



Souie duplicate orchids from the Earl of Tankerville's 

 Chillin-ham collection were recently sold at the auction 

 rooms of Messrs. Protheroe and Morris m London. 

 Many of the lots realized high prices, the highest being 

 £735 for Odontoglossum crispum, var. Leonard Perfect. 

 The plant sold was a portion of one shown last year at 

 the Holland House exhibition, when it aroused great in- 

 terest amongst the orchidists. It was afterwards pur- 

 chased by Mr. Cookson and the Earl of Tankerville for 

 £1100 and divided into two. It will thus be seen that 

 the Earl made nearly £200 out of this transaction, once 

 more emphasizing the fact that there is still money to be 

 made from this branch of horticulture. The plant sold 

 consisted of a single bulb and growth. The buyer's 

 name did not transpire. Amongst other Odontoglos- 

 .ums Mabel Whately realized £210, a second plant 

 being knocked down for '£189; two plants of brilliant- 

 issimum sold for £189 and £147 respectively. Tanker- 

 villea made £105 and ardentissimum £105. The total 

 amount realized by the 251 plants was £3,280. Most of 

 the lots had to be bought "on trust" as far as the blooms 

 were concerned. Very few of the plants were m flower, 

 but the most expensive were depicted by colored illustra- 

 tions showing the form and raarldngs of the flowers. 

 The sale created keen competition amongst the buyers. 



A NOTED horticulturist's DEMISE 



British horticulture has sustained an irreparable loss 

 bv the recent demise of Sir Thomas Hanbury, who was 

 the owner of a famous garden in the Eiviera For some 

 vears he kept up an interchange of plants and seeds with 



gardens all over the globe. His noted collection included 

 a great variety of plants especially agaves aloes euphos- 

 bias, yuccas, cacti, etc. Australian and New Zealand 

 plants were also largely represented. The garden at- 

 tracted ^dsitors from all parts of Europe. Sir Ihoinas 

 Hanbury will long be remembered m Britain tor his 

 o-enerosity on behalf of his favorite hobby. A 

 few yea.rs ago when the growth of suburban 

 London caused the Eoyal Horticultural Society 

 to seek for a more congenial spot for their garden 

 than Chiswiek afforded. Sir Thomas came to the so- 

 ciety's aid. He purchased the garden of the late G. Y. 

 Wilson in the heart of rural Surrey, and presented it to 

 the society on condition that its main features were pre- 

 served. The garden is about sixty acres in extent, and 

 favorably situated for a successful carrying on of the so- 

 ciety's experimental work, and the gift has immensely 

 aided the work of the premier horticultural organiza- 

 tion. The donor was very unassuming and desired no 

 publicity for his great services to his fellow horticultur- 

 ists. His knowledge of plants was very wide, and his 

 happiest periods were spent in the garden, where he was 

 always willing to place his extensive knowledge at the 

 service of his many interested visitors. 



ANOTHER CiRNATION SHOW 



The second show of the A¥inter Flowering Carnation 

 Society, held on March 13th, was very encouraging to 

 the promoters. It indicated that the new society has 

 come to stav. At present the exhibitions are made up 

 by the flne specimens contributed by the trade, but there 

 IS no doubt that in time the amateur growers will be 

 more in evidence. Guernsey, the home of numerous 

 market growers, has come to the front m the new de- 

 velopment of carnation culture. On this occasion the 

 island was well represented. Some floral designs proved 

 a popular feature. The most striking was a tall cross of 

 ' white carnations rising from a plinth, with a wreath of 

 violets at the apex. Only one novelty received the at- 

 tention of the Floral Committee, and this was an im- 

 proved White Lawson, which received a certificate. 

 There is every evidence that the cult of the winter flow- 

 ring carnation is steadily developing in this country. 



A REMEDY FOR A BLACK CURRANT PEST 



For some years fruit growers have sustained heavy 

 losses, owing to the ravages made by the black currant 

 <rall-mite. So serious has been the damage sustained 

 That on a number of nurseries there has been a cessation 

 of black currant culture. Growers who secured some of 

 the so-called disease-proof varieties were doomed to 

 disappointment. The remedy which has chiefly been 

 adopted against the ubiquitous insects has been the 

 grubbing up of the bushes, and their destruction in a 

 bonfire. '^ As a result of some exhaustive experiments, W. 

 E. Collinge, director of the Department of Economic 

 Zoolooy at Birmingham University, has discovered what 

 he regards as an effective remedy. Experiments were 

 made^with some affected bushes. The bushes were 

 dusted over three times in about two months with pow- 

 dered quick-lime and sulphur — one part of the former 

 to two of the latter. It was seen that even where the 

 big bud had made its appearance, in altogether reduced 

 numbers, the few mites found within them were almost 

 wholly immature. The treatment will now be tried in 

 various parts of the country as a result of the recent pub- 

 licity given to the experiments. 



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