August 11, 1888.] 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



159 



" 2. Twenty-four varieties of Tears best adapted 

 to the exhibitor's district. 



" .'!. Twelve varieties of dessert Pears, do. 



" 4. Six varieties of dessert Tears, do. 



" 5. Three to six varieties of culinary Pears. 



" 6. Pears from trees on walls (not to exceed 

 eighteen varieties) stocks to be specified. 



" 7. Tears from pyramids, bushes, or open cordons 

 (not to exceed eighteen varieties) stocks to be 

 specified. 



" 8, Tears from standard trees (not to exceed six 

 rarieties). 



'• 9. Tears as grown and sent to market, 1 peck of 

 each (not to exceed six varieties). 



" 10. New. recently introduced, or little known 

 varieties of merit, 



■' X. IV— Staging must be completed before 12 

 o'clock on Tuesday, October 16. All fruit must 

 in" removed on Saturday evening, October 20, or on 

 Monday, October 22.'' 



The Royal Horticultural Society : 

 Tomaios at Chiswick. — One of the most interesting, 

 and at the same time singularly excellent examples 

 of Tomato culture under glass, may now be seen in 

 the large span-house in Chiswick Gardens, which was 

 formerly devoted to Koses, &c. The plants comprise 

 several hundreds in number, are all planted out, and 

 include but few kinds, large blocks of each being 

 grown to show general character. Not only is the 

 culture, which includes absolute restriction to single 

 stems, of the best, but the fruit production is truly 

 marvellous : indeed, better examples of culture and 

 fruiting have never been seen. The plants range 

 from 4 feet to S feet in height, the taller growers 

 chiefly being planted at the sides of the house, to 

 run up the wires beneath the roof. In every case, 

 no matter what the kind, the plants are fruiting 

 literally from the ground, many fruits being already 

 ripe. That some of the bloom, being late, refused 

 to set, is due to the miserable weather we have 

 experienced; but still some kinds, and specially a 

 wonderfully prolific form, Horsford's Prelude, seem 

 to have been unaffected. This variety runs tall, 

 and fruits wonderfully, the fruits are handsome and of 

 medium size, just such as would be most acceptable 

 at table, although not large enough for exhibition. 

 Also tall, and a wonderful cropper, is a distinct 

 variety from Bath. Details ot the varieties will be 

 of more value later, but all interested in Tomato 

 culture should see this remarkable show — a display 

 of which the Royal Horticultural Society and its 

 Superintendent may well be prond, for none better 

 can be seen in the kingdom. 



Dissociation of Hybrid Characters.— 



One of the most interesting cases of this kind is that 

 narrated by Mr. Noble in another column with refer- 

 ence to the white Jackman Clematis. It is so 

 seldom that a rational explanation can be given of 

 these so-called " freaks of Nature " (as if Nature the 

 orderly, the methodical, ever indulged in caprice!) 

 that such history as Mr. Noble is able to give us 

 should be received with acclamation. He tells us 

 that he has received one or two abusive letters, and 

 that one Dutchman refused to pay. What sort of 

 people are these ? Why that little bit of authentic 

 history that Mr. Noiile tells is worth all the money 

 the Dutchman declined to pa) — ten times over. So 

 far from being abused, Mr. Noiile deserves the thanks 

 of the community for a fine introduction, and the 

 warmest thanks of the more appreciative for this 

 solid help to the elucidation of a very obscure point 

 in vegetable physiology. 



THE RIVIERA. — We learn from our corre- 

 spondents that the summer in the South is as 

 exceptional as it is here, everything being about a 

 month behindhand, owing to cool winds and low 

 temperature. In July, near Mentone, the thermo- 

 meter never once marked 70°, while at Antibes the 

 mean temperature for July was only a little over 20° 

 C. (68° P.), instead of 24° or 25° C. (77° F.). 



DAFFODILS. — To show what manuring will do on 

 light soil Mr. Jenkins (Collins, Gabriel & Co.) has 

 iust shown us bulbs of the Tenby Daffodil weighing 



about a quarter of an ounce, and others from the 

 same original sample increased to If ounce; and 

 parent bulbs of Emperor with four and five offsets 

 weighing collectively 12 1 , ounces. The bulbs are not 

 merely large but of excellent substance and quality. 

 The bulbs in question are grown in light soil to which 

 a good proportion of dried cow-manure is added. 



Delphiniums. — From Mr. CIbyinb, nurseryman, 



of Jedburgh, N.B., we have received (as briefly 

 stated last week) some magnificent spikes of seed- 

 ling Delphiniums, 25 to 2d inches in length, 8 to 'J 

 inches in circumference, and one as much as 

 12 inches. The individual flowers were densely 

 packed, and each large and of good form, of all 

 shades of blue, from the palest cobalt to the deepest 

 purple, tinged in many cases with a lilac sheen ; in 

 others the effect was heightened by the central 

 petals forming a white eye. 



ARAUCARIA BRASILIENSIS.— It appears that the 

 tree whose portrait we gave some time since is grow- 

 ing in Jamaica, and not in Barbados, as we had sup- 

 posed. Our photograph came from the late General 

 Mux RO when he was commanding the troops in the 

 Wesl Indies, and we must have mistaken his state- 

 ment. The tree in question is well known in 

 Jamaica where it is called the Jerusalem Candlestick. 

 It was planted by Wiles, who was botanist on the 

 Bounty. 



The " Kei Apple.'' — This, the fruit of a Bixa- 



ceous shrub named Aberia caffra, has ripened in the 

 garden of Mr. Hanbuby, La Mortola, Ventimiglia, 

 and to whom we are indebted for the opportunity of 

 seeing it. The fruit is of the size of a small Plum, 

 spherical, downy, and apricot-yellow externally, 

 pulpy within, with numerous ascending but inverted 

 seeds, not unlike those of the Grape, but larger. 

 The perfume is rich and heavy, but gives no indica- 

 tion of the flavour of the yellow pulp, which is as 

 acid as that of a Lemon. The shrub is a native of 

 the eastern districts of the Cape Colony and of 

 Caffraria, where it is often used in the construction 

 of fences, for which its spines render it well adapted. 

 M. Naudin tells us that the tree is naturalised in 

 various parts of Provence, but rarely produces fruit, 

 owing to the flowers being unisexual. The late Dr. 

 Anderson observed that a bush in the Botanic Oar- 

 dens, Calcutta, produced ripe fruits, and, what is more 

 remarkable, perfect seeds, although careful search 

 failed to detect any trace of male flowers. The 

 seeds from Mr. Hanbury's plant are perfect, the 

 embryo being erect, embedded in perisperm, with 

 two large flat appressed cotyledons and an inferior 

 radicle. Male plants grow in proximity to the 

 female ones. 



The Tuberous Begonia. -The proprietors of 



the Gardening World have determined on the issue 

 of a series of manuals on various horticultural sub- 

 jects. Their first venture is before us in the shape 

 of a handbook on The Tuberous Begonia : its History 

 and Cultivation. This is an excellent and appro- 

 priate subject for a beginning, and as far as we can 

 tell from a cursory glance, it is well handled. We 

 hope shortly to notice the work at greater length, 

 but in the meantime we have no hesitation in re- 

 commending it to our readers. It may be had from 

 the Gardening World Office, Catherine Street, Strand. 



BOTANY OF SOCOTRA. -Professor Balfour's 

 detailed account of the botany of Socotra has been 

 published by the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and 

 forms a bulky quarto of 44li pages and 100 litho- 

 graphed plates. The preface contains a brief history 

 and proceedings of the expedition, which lasted 

 for forty-eight days only, but which was soon 

 followed up by a second exporation by Dr. Ree- 

 beck and Dr. Schweinfurth, and others. The 

 plants collected by Dr. Sc.TiwtiNixitrii on this 

 occaasion were generously made over to Professor 

 Balfour for use in the present work. The in- 

 troductory chapter contains an account of the geo- 

 graphical and geological features of the island. The 



low ground has approximately the same flora as 

 that of the Sahara and Punjab. In the valleys in 

 the higher ground tropical vegetation occurs. The 

 higher altitudes have a strange and peculiar vege- 

 tation of arborescent Composites, aromatic Helichry- 

 sums, and other quaint types. The total number of 

 plauts is given at 828, of which 575 are flowering 

 plants, no fewer than 20(3 being endemic. The most 

 showy plants are Adenium multiflorum, Begonia 

 socotrana, now well known in gardens, and made 

 already the starting point of various hybrids ; 

 Crinum Balfourii, Exacum cceruleum, &c. A Cucur- 

 bitaceous tree, Dendrosicyos socotrana is one of the 

 wonders of the island ; Cocculus Balfourii is also an 

 erect shrub instead of a loose climber, like most of 

 its congeners. Punica protopunica is remarkable for 

 having only one row of carpels, and as being the 

 wild representative of the common Pomegranate. 

 The dragon's blood used in varnish making is the 

 produce of Dracaena cinnabari, nearly allied to D. 

 draco. Frankincense and myrrh are also found, 

 while socotrine aloes is yielded by Aloe Perryi, a 

 species of Buxus. B. Hildebrandi may prove im- 

 portant as a source of Boxwood. The whole work 

 is a striking proof of what may be accomplished by 

 well-directed energy and instructed zeal in the course 

 of a few weeks' exploration. The exploration and 

 its record, as here given, are alike creditable to 

 British science and to its representative, Professor 

 Balfour. 



PENANG. — We have before us Mr. Curtis' Report 

 on the Forest Department for the year 1887. Among 

 the promising experiments mentioned in it, the cul- 

 ture of Patchouli is one of the most hopeful. An 

 interesting account is given of a visit to the hill- 

 dwelling of the Resident. Sir Hugh Low, which is 

 placed at a height of 4200 feet, and but for the 

 excessive rainfall would be a delightful residence. 

 The Resident has collected a number of European 

 garden plants, which do fairly well. 



Trinidad Botanic Gardens. — Mr. Habt's 

 report for 1887 gives a summary of the history and 

 present condition of the garden, its library, and 

 offices. Such a report is specially valuable at home, 

 while the practical details' as to the cultivation and 

 preparation of various fibres, food plants, drugs, &c. 

 must be of great importance in the colony itself. 

 The meteorological data also will be of use to home 

 cultivators. The report is in every way creditable 

 to the Superintendent, and affords promise of great 

 future benefit to the colony, as well as to botany and 

 horticulture. In connection with Trinidad we may 

 also mention the publication of a Bulletin, of which 

 No. 5 is devoted to Coffee, the report being based 

 upon a treatise of Mr. W. Sabonadiere, of Ceylon. 

 Trinidad has the means of producing Coffee equal to 

 that grown in any other part of the world. 



Peter Lawson & Son, Limited.— From a 



report and balance-sheet just to hand we see that the 

 surplus for the year is £1341 17s. Id., leaving the 

 sum of £3244 Bl. 1'/. as the total balance, out of 

 which the directors propose paying a dividend of 7V 

 per cent, free of income-tax, carrying forward the 

 balance (£2631 18s. Id.) to next year's account. 



LITERARY. — A new autumn edition of Walks in 

 Epping Forest, by Percy Lindlky, describing portions 

 less known to pedestrians, is in preparation. Pro- 

 fessor Boulger has contributed some notes upon the 

 recent extensive tree-felling and " forestry " opera- 

 tions in Epping Forest to the same issue. 



Publications Received.— Vie Tuberous Bc- 



r/onia {Gardening World series). Edited by B. 

 'Wynne, F.R.H.S. (London : Gardening World 

 Office, 17, Catherine Street, Strand, W.C.)— The. 

 Fodder Grasses of Northern India. By T. F. Dutuie, 

 B.A., F.L.S.. Also Illustrathnsofthc Fodder Grasses 

 of the Plains of North-Western India. Part II. 

 (Rorkee, India, Thomason Civil Engineering College 

 Press.) — Notee on Forest Management in Germany. 

 Bv Sir D. Brandis, K.C.I.E., F.R.S. (London : 

 India Office, Whitehall, S.W.)— A Practical Decimal 

 System for Great Britain and her Colonies. By 

 R. T. Rohde ; 113th thousand. (London : Effing- 

 ham Wilson, Royal Exchange, E.C.)— Notes on the 

 Cultivation of IJutch arid Cape BuJbs, 4t By Ant. 

 Roo/.en & Son. (Haarlem, Holland : Ant. Koozfjn 

 & Son, Oberveen.) 



