August 14, 1909 



HORTICULTURE 



201 



British Horticulture 



PROPOSED INTER>JaTIONAL FLOWER SHOW 



It cannot be said that horticulturists pursue a policy 

 of "Splendid isolation." In recent years representatives 

 of various nationalities have met in friendly rivalry; 

 each nation has undoubtedly profited by these pleasant 

 interchanges of ideas. The last time that Britain has 

 taken a leading part in an international flower show 

 was in 1866, and the Eoyal Horticultural Society 

 Council think that it is an opportune time to return 

 some of the generous hospitality which has been ex- 

 tended to this country in the past from foreign horti- 

 culturisrs. The Society propose to shortly call a meet- 

 ing to discuss the proposal, and should it receive sufBci- 

 ent support an influential committee will be appointed 

 to make the necessary arrangements. It is announced 

 that the Council, on certain conditions, are prepared to 

 guarantee £5,000 (pounds). The leading members of 

 the Council have made many friends on the Continent 

 in the visits which have been paid to the foreign 

 flower shows, and there is no doubt that the French and 

 German gardeners particularly would be very glad to 

 co-operate in a movement of the kind suggested. The 

 Eoyal Horticultural Society has always been anxious to 

 pursue a comprehensive policy, and t o have a wide 

 basis for its operations. With this object in view it has 

 in years gone by sent collectors to all parts of the world, 

 whose labors have enriched our floral possessions. In 

 this useful work we have the record of such men as 

 Eeevesdon, Forbes, Douglas, Potts, Damper, Parks, 

 McRae, Hartweg, and Fortune. In seeking to arrange 

 an international show the Society is continuing its 

 policy of avoiding insular and restricted interests. 



A NEW TOMATO DISEASE 



The Board of Agriculture have issued particulars re- 

 specting a new tomato disease which has been intro- 

 duced in this country from abroad. The damage which 

 the fungus is capable of doing is very serious. A crop 

 of out-door tomatoes in Gloucestershire was entirely 

 destroyed by it. The plants attacked show small black- 

 ish green spots on the leaves. These are irregular in 

 shape at first, but soon become concentric, and finally 

 confluent and the leaves, which are rapidly killed, roil 

 up and hang loosely from the stem. The fungus also 

 attacks the stem, the calyx, and flnally the fruit itself. 

 The Board advise the spraying of affected plants with a 

 3 per cent solution of Bordeaux mixture early in the 

 morning every second day for two weeks. The spray 

 should be in the form of a fine vapor falling upon 

 the plants like a natural dew. The ingredients for a 3 

 per cent solution would be 3 lbs. copper sulphate, and 2 

 lbs. freshly burnt quicklime to 10 gallons of water. It 

 is also suggested that the top soil" should be removed, 

 and mixed with fresh lime in the proportion of one 

 barrowful of lime to five of soil. It can be replaced 

 after the lime has slaked. When planting young tomato 

 plants pulverized lime should be scattered on the ground 

 round the stems. The Department also advise that any 

 wires and props used in the house or in the open air 

 should be slowly drawn through fire in order to kill the 

 spores adhering to them. When no remedial measures 



are taken, the whole plants may be destroyed within 

 seven days from the first sign of the disease. 



SOME NEW EOSES 



At the summer show of the Eoyal Horticultural 

 Society at Holland House, Kensington, there were some 

 notable novelties in the rose section. General admira- 

 tion was bestowed on the Duchess of Wellington, a H. 

 T. of the Killarney type, and of a delightful shade of 

 orange and gold. Walter .Speed is an imposing bloom 

 of a deep lemon yellow tint. Grace Molyneaux, another 

 H. T., of pleasing form; it is creamy apricot, with a 

 flesh tint in the centre. This meritorious trio emanated 

 from Messrs. A. Dickson and Sons, of Newtownards, 

 Ireland, who received an award of merit for each. 

 Ariel is the name of a new Eambler, which G. Paul and 

 Sons have introduced ; the blooms resemble Irish Glory, 

 and are of a rosy-pink hue. Shower of Gold, another 

 Eambler shown by Messrs. Paul, is of a tint midway be- 

 tween Alister Stella Gray and W. A. Eichardson, and 

 it is likely to prove very popular. The following other 

 new comers were noted : Mrs. Hubert Taylor, resembling 

 Muriel Grahame; Juliette, a hybrid from Soliel d'Or, 

 of a carmine pink shade ; Alice Cory Wright, shell pink ; 

 Cynthia, lemon yellow: Hugo Eoller, lemon yellow and 

 crimson pink ; Mrs. Philip Le Cornu, a deeper shade of 

 color than Mrs. W. J. Grant; Jessie, a new polyantha, 

 of a scarlet red tint; Beatrice, of a color between Sun- 

 rise and Beaute Inconstante. Altogether the visitors 

 had every reason to be satisfied with the wide range of 

 novelties provided for their delectation. 



ITEMS OF INTEREST 



Arrangements are already being made for laying out 

 a portion of the grounds in the Japanese style at the 

 White City for the Anglo-Japanese exhibition next year, 

 the inaugural banquet of which has lately been held. 

 Owing to the unfavorable season the strawberry crop has 

 been disappointing. Many of the growers have sus- 

 tained heavy losses. — The Fruit and Floral Committee 

 of the Eoyal Horticultural Society recently celebrated 

 its jubilee by holding a banquet under the chairmanship 

 of Sir Trevor Lawrence. Mr. George Bunyard, the 

 Chairman of the Committee, has been presented with 

 his portrait in celebration of the event. The picture i3 

 to hang at the oiBces of E. H. S., at Westminster, where 

 the portraits of several horticultural worthies adorn the 

 wall.— Miss Stella Frost, a pupil at the Thatcham 

 Fruit and Flower farm, has gained the gold medal of 

 the Eoyal Horticultural Society's public examination in 

 horticulture. — The flower trade at Covent Garden has 

 lately been very slow, owing to the glut of sweet peas, 

 which are being grown for market in increasing quanti- 

 ties; roses have also been superabundant. 



yy^rf. ddi*^. 



Roses Under Glass 



SEASONABLE CULTURE OF MY MARYLAND 



Of the new varieties recently disseminated, Maryland 

 perhaps has attracted the greatest amount of attention 

 and its progress this season will be watched with keen 

 interest — and some qualms, perhaps — by those who have 

 gone in for it. Mucli has been said and written about 

 this variety, adverse and otherwise, and while those who 

 have failed to do well with Maryland may be excused 

 for their unfavorable comments there is every reason to 



