12 



iiiisii (;ai:i)i:ni.\(; 



Obituary. 



A NDTAMl.i: aiiil Will known limin- in lii>li 

 h«.iti«ulturi- has jtisl Im-.-m n'iii..\ ctl l>y dratli in 

 tin- |..-rs.iii ..f William Vi>\>r. fuiin.rly funnian 

 (iVtT the iiidoni' iii-|>art ini-nl at the U<>yal iiotanic 

 (Jiii-d.-ns. l*..|ii- hail att.iirnd \\u- ni.-at n^r of 

 .•i'^hl v-.im- N.-ars. lli- w is lt..ni in ls:U. ami 

 j .in.-.'l Ih." ^;llI•.l.•n stall in is:.:{. In 1 StH» h.- was 

 |ii-.>mut<(l to )>•• foi-.-man. and hrhl that |>osition 

 until h.' r.tin-d in ISJtlt. aft.-r an tinln-okrn s.t\ icr 

 of forlv--.i\ vtars. W'lu-ii h.- .in.-nMl th.- ^;ai(l.-n 

 his -randfatii.r and his fith,i- w.iv in.tiilHis of 

 th.- stall, hoth of whom r.n.;i m. .1 in th- >.ivi.r 

 until th.v <li.<l. 

 William Pop".- was su.- 

 <-.-.d.(l in IStl'.l :i^ 

 foreman hv his son. 

 Patrick rop... wh- 

 now holds that po>i 

 lion, and thcivfor. 

 n-pn'Sfiits the fourtli 

 m-n.Tation.of th.- fam 

 ilv.Mi th.- i,'aid.-n .stalT. 

 "William Po)..- was ;i 

 man of tin.- physicpi- . 

 Well ..v.-r six ff»-t in 

 luMiiht. and hroad in 

 propiirtion. Il<- was .i 

 keen oh.sci-vi-r ami 

 (juicklv maslci-.-d tli. 

 tt-rhni.aliti.-s ..f hi- 

 i-raft. his (luickno- 

 and n-ti-ntivt' memoi \ 

 I'Uahlinj^ })im to grasp 

 and n-mi-mbfr th. 

 pen liaritU'S of th. 

 many dilTlrnlt and ob- 

 stinate i)lants thai 

 often «am»- under Ills 

 eare without much in- 

 formation as to their 

 re(iuirements. lie was 

 «»neof the tirst to liave 

 a colle<tionof Orclu.U 

 tocultivat.-in Ireland. 

 and his success witli 

 many genera, sucli a> 

 Disa. Cata.sf-tum. ('y- 

 cnuches, Aerides, Stan- 

 hove**.! was remark- 

 able, many of thes. 

 being sent from (ihis- 

 nevin to Charles Dar- 

 win, when that great 

 man was .studying the 



fertilisation of i)lauts. Pope was also v.ry 

 successful with all cla.s.ses of liard-wooded jdants, 

 and there are in the (Hasnevin c.dlection several 

 old specimens which came under Ids <are over 

 half a eel tury ago. lie was a wonderfully 

 accurate judge' of atmospheric conditions, and 

 was frequently consulti-d as to w^eather jirospects. 

 hig forecasts "being rarely wrong, (iifled with 

 the shrewdness and good .(ualities ..f the best 

 tyite of Irishman. Pojie was a faithful and valuable 

 servant who never spared himself, and whose 

 whole heart was given to the plants in his charge. 

 For him no task was too hard, no day t )0 long, 

 and the bell at b i).m. often sounded to ears 

 which heeded not when a special jiiece of work 

 was unfinished. lie made many friends, and the 

 few who survive him have received the intimation 



Railway Transport and the Nation's 

 Food Supply. 



IM.Kit dat.- of 1 

 ( iiiriliinrx' Mifjii 



. th.- l-:.lit..r ..f Tin 

 ipecial attention (41 



ib.r 



I raw 

 th.- .lim.ulties atti-nding th<- tnmsport .if goods 

 by rail during war lime, i-sp.-cially as they ar.- 

 lik.-ly to s.-ri..usly j.-opar<lise the .Nation's f....d 

 supj.'ly in th.- im"m.-diat.- fulur.-. uuI.-ks pmmpl 

 measi'ir.-s ar<- lak.-n to imi>rov<- matt.-rs. 11.- 



l..iinls..ut that th.- lirsl tin months. if th.- y<-jir 



.•ov.-r th.- p.-riod during which th.- bulk .if our 



m.l u.u-.l. 



of his death with genuine sorrow, 



must Im- hanill.-d. dis- 

 t I'iliut.-d, an<l planted. 

 Tiioiisands .if tons .if 

 ^ii-d c.irn. potatoes, 

 .in. I v.-g.-talde s.-eds 

 of .ill d.-scriptionsmust 

 pass .iv.-r oiii- r.iilwa vs 

 liom whol.-sal.- "t.. 

 iitail wai(-h.ius(-s. and 

 th.u to th.- farms aiul 

 i^ardius throuv;h.iut 

 1 1ll- 1 iiunlry. and unless 

 sum.- means can be 

 ill-vised wher.-by .piick 

 d.-sp;itch and jimmpt 

 (leliv.-ry can be as- 

 sur.-d. we shall b.- 

 fa.-ed, early in the uew 

 y.-ar. with" a dilTlculty 

 that no amount .if 

 goodwill or ingenuity 

 can overcome, but 

 wliicli will, in fact, 

 provea t.-rrible mena.-*' 

 to our food supplies 

 for tile year liJlO. \\v 

 «ousid(-rs the Boar«l 

 of Agriculture should 

 lake st.-ps to s.ifeguard 

 the Nation in this 

 matter, points out that 

 Lord Si-lborne and his 

 stall' know that, in 

 oril(-r to ensure crops, 

 seeds of farm and 

 u.irden crojis must 

 be in the uronnd by 

 a fairly early date : and 

 he suggests that the 

 Board should make 

 sjiecial arrangements 

 wh(!reby all farm 

 and garden seeds 

 cedeu(-e over all classes of traffic 

 tlial can be delayed without grave risk of injury. 

 Seedsmen could be .sup]>lied with special consign- 

 ment forms and idi-ntilication labels, and the 

 utmost integrity would have to be oljsi-rved by the 

 seed trade oidy to us.- such jirivileged forms and 

 laliels for th.-ir legitimate puriiose. and thus assist 

 the railways, iuxd in no way to abuse concessions 

 of this kind. It is. of course, almost ecpially 

 im)ierativ(- that fertilisers and manun-s sliould l>e 

 treated in the same way. for much of this tralTic 

 is equally urgent since these mu.st in many cases 

 be jiloughed or dug into the land before, or at, 

 sowing time. ^ Ji ^ 



N(>TICK — Correspondents will greatly oblige by 

 observing the new ])ostal rates which came into 

 operation early in .January — ICu. 



