Kovembeh 24, 1888.] 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



615 



Taylor, the head gardener of the Duchess, at Sefton 

 Lodge. 



Mr. Philbrick ; Did your manager receive the fol- 

 lowing letter from him 1 : — " Dear Sir, — Your letter 

 to hand. I can assure you her Grace is delighted 

 with the Palm-house. She is continually taking 

 gentlemen and ladies into the place, and spends most 

 of her time there. I consider you have greatly 

 pleased her, and Mr. Sander must keep the pot 

 boiling now she is right; so don't spare coming." — 

 Witness : Yes, he did. 



Mr. Philbhick : Did he also write you the follow- 

 ing letter ? : — "Sir, — Your letter came duly to hand. 

 The Duchess sent for Clarke about the tiles, to give 

 an estimate; but nothing is decided at present. I 

 am sure I shall get the old gal round about the 

 Orchids. I had one or two long chats with her, and 

 I think that I quite talked her round. I shall ask 

 her to give you more orders for Orchids when I see 

 her again to speak to her on the matter. We was 

 very full of company ; had the Prince of Wales here 

 again ; the house was full, and will be again this next 

 week. All things are looking well, and the old gal 

 was very pleased. I only hope she may continue so." 

 — Witness : Yes, he did. 



James Collins was called and examined by Mr. 

 Reid.— I have had twenty-five years' experience in 

 Orchid growing. I was sent to Newmarket to 

 arrange the Orchids. They were worth £1000 and 

 more. One of the houses was full of greenhouse 

 plants. The Duchess came on Sunday, July 3, and 

 saw me on the Monday. I saw her Grace alone, and 

 she said the arrangement of the Palm-house and 

 Orchid-house was simply beautiful. She said the 

 Prince of Wales was going to dine with her on 

 Thursday night, and she should like some more 

 colour. She asked me to order coloured to the 

 amount of £200. She sent a message to Mr. Sander 

 to say she was much pleased. I gave the order to the 

 manager. He fixed the price, and I took them to 

 Newmarket the next Wednesday. The price was 

 rather under than over. After I had arranged this 

 last the Duchess said she thought it was a great 

 improvement. 



Cross-examined by Mr. Philbrick. — She did not 

 complain of too much white. She merely suggested 

 that some colour would improve. She did not say 

 she was disappointed and wanted more colour. I 

 unpacked them and arranged them on the shelves. 

 I was there six weeks taking care of them. It 

 requires great skill to arrange Orchids and the 

 colours. 



Mr. Coningsby, the foreman of the plaintiff's 

 Orchid-houses, said that the plaintiff told him to 

 pick out 1000 Orchids to the value of 1000 guineas, 

 and he was very careful in selecting them. There 

 was not a siBgle plant in the 1000 that was worth 

 less than a guinea. 



Several experts were examined, and stated that 

 in their opinion the prices charged for the work 

 done and for the Orchids supplied were fair, and 

 indeed lower than usual. 



Upon the conclusion of the evidence for the 

 plaintiff the further hearing of the case was 

 adjourned. As we are going to press, we learn the 

 jnry gave a verdict in favour of Mr. Sander for the 

 full amount claimed, with costs. 



Taro (Caladium ESCULENTUM).— This is 

 best grown on low ground near to water. In 

 Hainau the beds are made about 4 feet wide, 

 with a trench on each side to collect water. 

 Plants are raised from the small Taros about the size 

 of a Plum growing on a parent root, and these are 

 set about February or March in two rows at each 

 side of he bed, and between these rows holes are 

 dug about the size of a Dutch cheese, which are kept 

 full of human manure. Two kinds of Taro are 

 known, the early maturing about July, and the late, 

 which is ready about October ; the first weighs about 

 6 oz., and the second about 2 lb. Of some kinds of 

 Taros the leaves only .are eaten as vegetables. 

 They are gathered as soon as they appear, which is 

 once every few days. 



The Weather. 



[Accumulated temperature indicates the combined amount and 

 duration of the excess or defect of temperature above or 

 below 32° F. for the period named, and is expressed in Day- 

 degree — a "Day-degree " signif ying 1° continued for 

 twenty-four hours, or any other number of degrees for an 

 inversely proportional number of hours.] 







Temperature. 







Accumulated. 









S a 



» a - 







Above or 



g 



°* 



54 



5 " 





Districts. 



below the 



'"' JC 











Mean for 















the week 



;& 



fc 





3 K *> 







ending 













Nov, 19. 



■*■" 



IP 



.a" 

 1! 



if 



a 2 















Principal Wheat pro- 





Day- 



Day- 



Day- 



Day- 





ducing Districts. 





deg. 



deg. 



deg. 



deg. 







Scotland, N. ... 



5 above 



28 



2 



— 231 



+ 180 



1. 



Scotland, E. ... 



7 above 



33 



4 



— 440 



+ 110 



2 



England, N.E. ... 



7 above 



39 







— 500 



+■ 53 



3. 



England, E. 



8 above 



53 







— 373 



+ 176 



4 



Midland Cos. ... 



10 above 



59 







— 457 



+ 166 



5. 



England, S. 



9 above 



69 







— 446 



+ 208 



Principal Grazing, &c, 















Districts. 













6 



Scotland, W. ... 



7 above 



40 







— 349 



+ 67 



7. 



England, N.W.... 



6 above 



49 







— 369 



+ 1U3 



8. 



England, S.W.... 



7 above 



68 







— 473 



+ 255 



9. 



Ireland, N. 



6 above 



45 







— 255 



+ 29 



10 



Ireland, S. 



7 above 



67 







— 213 



+ 97 



- 



Channel Islands 



7 above 



83 







— 307 



+ 153 





Rainfall. 



Bright 



Sunshine. 



Districts. 





= =;» 



j2™ 



II! 





Principal Wheat-pro- 

 ducing Districts. 



0. SCOTLAUD, N. ... 



1. Scotland, E. ... 



2. England, N.E. ... 



3. England, E. 



4. Midland Cos. ... 



5 ENOLAIfD, S. 



Tenths of 

 Inch. 



7 more 



1 less 



2 less 



2 more 



3 less 



210 

 182 

 164 



168 

 154 

 161 



Ins. 

 36.5 

 26.2 

 23.7 

 22.5 

 23.1 

 24.9 



9 

 13 

 15 

 16 

 18 

 12 



28 

 29 

 26 

 29 

 27 

 29 



Principal Grazing, &c. , 

 Districts. 



6. Scotland, W. ... 



7. England.N.W.... 



8. England, S.W.... 



9. Ireland, N. 

 10. Ireland, S. 



— Channel Islands 



5 more 



2 more 



3 less 



6 less 



171 



174 

 179 

 181 

 166 

 197 



36.9 

 26 6 

 32.4 

 31.3 

 32.1 

 27.5 



11 

 3 

 13 

 21 

 22 

 25 



30 

 28 

 34 

 27 

 32 

 40 



THE PAST WEEK. 



The following summary record of the weather for 

 the week ending Nov. 19, is furnished from the 

 Meteorological Office : — 



"The weather has again been dull, rough, and un- 

 settled very generally, with much rain in the north 

 and north-west and frequent, but less heavy, falls 

 elsewhere. Thunder and lightning were experienced 

 at several of our north and northwest stations on the 

 17th. 



" The temperature has been much above the mean 

 in all districts. In Scotland tbe excess has varied 

 from 5° to 7°, and in Ireland from 6° to 7°, while 

 over England it ranged from 6° at the north-west 

 stations, and 7° in the north-east and south-west, to 

 8° in ' England, E.,' 9° in ' England, S.,' and 10° in 

 the ' Midland Counties. 'The highest of the maxima 

 which were registered on the 15th in Ireland, and on 

 the 16th over Great Britain, varied from 56° in 



' Scotland, W.' to 62° in ' England, E.' The lowest of 

 the minima were recorded at most stations either on 

 the 18th or 19th, when they ranged from 32° to 35° 

 in Scotland, from 39° to 41° in Ireland, and from 

 36° to 40° in England ; in the ' Channel Islands' the 

 lowest reading was 46°. During the greater part of 

 the week the minima were very high for the time of 

 year. 



" The rainfall has beeu considerably more than the 

 mean in Scotland and rather more in some parts of 

 England and Ireland, but in the east and south of 

 England and in the south of Ireland a deficit is 

 shown. 



" Bright sunshine has continued very deficient 

 generally, but has been rather more prevalent in 

 Ireland and the ' Channel Islands ' than elsewhere. 

 The percentage of the possible amount of duration 

 ranged from 3 in ' England, N.W.' and 9 in ' Scot- 

 land, N.' to 18 in the ' Midland Counties,' to 22 in 

 ' Ireland, S." and 25 in the ' Channel Islands.'" 



MEAN TEMPERATURE OBSERVED AT CHISWICK DUR- 

 ING THE WEEK ENDING DEC. 1. (AVERAGE OF 

 FORTY-FOUR YEARS.) 



Nov. 25 ... 



... 41°.5 



Nov. 29 



.. 41°.4 



„ 26 ... 



... 41°.l 



„ 30 



.. 41°.3 



„ 27 ... 

 „ 28 ... 



... 41-.4 

 ... 41°.4 



Dec. 1 



Mean for the week 



.. 41°.3 

 .. 41°.4 



Markets. 



COT'ENT GARDEN, November 22. 

 [We cannot accept any editorial responsibility for the subjoined 

 reports, which, however, are furnished to us regularly 

 every Thursday, by the kindness of several of the principal 

 salesmen, who revise the list, and who are responsible for the 

 quotations. It must be remembered that these quotations 

 represent averages for the week preceding the date of our 

 report. The prices depend upon the quality of the samples, 

 the supply in the market, and they fluctuate, not only 

 from day to day. but often several times in one day, and 

 therefore the prices quoted as averages for the past week 

 must not be taken as indicating the particular prices at 

 any particular date, and still less can they be taken aa 

 guides to the prices in the coming week. Ed.] 



Business still quiet. Market well supplied with 

 all classes of goods. Pi ices low all round. James 

 Webber, Wholesale Apple Market. 



Fruit.— AvERiGE Wholesale Prices. 



s. d. s. d. 

 Lemons, per case ...12 0-21 

 Peaches, dozen ... 2 0- 6 

 Pine-apples, Eng. ,1b. 16-20 

 — St. Michael, each 2 0-80 



Apples, half-sieve ... 2 0- 4 6 

 — Canada and Nova 



Scotia, per barrellO 0-1S 

 Cobs, 100 1b.... 10J 0- ... 



Grapes, per lb. ... I) 6-2 6 



Vegetables.— Average Retail Prices. 



s.d. 



Beet, red, per dozen 10-20 

 Carrots, per bunch... 6- ... 

 Cauliflowers, each ... 3- ... 

 Celery, per bundle ... 16-20 

 Cucumbers, each ... 9- ... 

 Endive, per dozen ... 3 0- ... 

 GreenMint, bunch... 6- ... 

 Herbs, per bunch ... 6- ... 

 Leeks, per bunch ... 4- ... 

 Lettuce, per dozen... 2 0- ... 

 Mushrooms, punnet 2 6- ... 

 PoTATOS. — Beauty of Hebron, 

 75s. ; and Magnum! 



Mustard and Cress, 



punnet • 



Onions, per bunch ... 

 Parsley, per bunch... • 

 Potatos, per cwt. ... 4 I 

 ,, kidney, per cwt. 4 I 

 Shallots, per lb. ... i 

 Spinach, per bushel... 2 i 

 Tomatos, per lb. ... 1 < 

 Turnips, per bunch, 



new I 



0s. to 80s. ; Imperators, i 

 80s. to 90s. per ton. 



Plants in Pots. 



Aralia Sieboldi, doz. 6 

 Chrysanthems., doz. 4 



— large plants, each 2 

 Coleus, dozen ... 2 

 Cyperus, per dozen . 4 

 Dracaena terminalis, 



per dozen 30 



— viridis, per doz. 12 

 Erica bymalis, doz. ..12 



— caffra, dozen ... 9 



— gracilis, dozen... 8 

 Euonymus, in var., 



per dozen 6 



Evergreens, in var., 

 per dozen 6 



-Average Wholesale Prices. 

 d. s.d. , s.d. s.d. 



0-18 I Ferns, in var.. doz. 4 0-18 

 0- 9 ! Foliage plants, vari- 



0-4 ous, each 2 0-10 



0-4 Ficus elastica. each .16-70 



0-12 Fuchsias, doz. ... 3 0- 6 



Hyacinths, Roman. 



0-60 dozen pots 10 0-12 



0-24 Liliums, var., doz. ...IS 0-30 

 0-24 Marguerites, doz. ... 6 0-12 

 0-12 ! Palms in var., each 2 6-21 

 0-12 Pelargoniums, scar- 

 let, per dozen ... 4 0- 9 

 0-18 ' Primulas, per dozen 4 0-60 

 ! Solanums, dozen ... 9 0-15 

 0-24 



Cut Flowers.— Average Wholesale Prices. 



Abutillons, 12 bun.... 3 

 Bouvardias, per bun. 

 Camellias, 12 blms. 3 

 Carnations, IS blms. 2 

 Chrysant hem, urns, 



12 blooms 



— dozen bunches... 4 

 Eucharis, per dozen 3 

 Gardenias. 12 blooms 3 

 Heliotropes, 12 spr. 

 Hyacinths, Roman, 



12 sprays 1 



Lapageria, 12 blooms 1 

 Marguerites, 12 bun. 3 

 Mignonette, 13 bun. 2 



d.s.d. 



0-6 



6-10 



0-4 



0-3 



6-3 



0-13 



0-6 



0-6 



6-10 



0- 1 6 



0-2 



0-6 



0-4 



Narcis., paper-white, 



(French). 12 bun... 3 0- I 

 Pelargoniums, 13 »pr. 1 0- 1 



— scarlet, 12 spr.... 4 0- I 

 Primulas, double, 12 



sprays 1 0- 1 



Roses, Tea, per doz. 1 0- 1 



— coloured, dozen. 2 0- 4 



— red.perdozen ... J 0- J 



— Safrano, dozen... 1 0- ' 

 Stephanotis, 12 spr. 4 O- ( 

 Tuberoses. 12 b!ras.,„ 6- 1 

 Violets, 12 bunches... 1 0- ! 



— dark, Fr., bunch 1 6- : 



— Parme. Fr., bun. 8 6- < 



