Mat 4, 1912.] 



THE GARDENERS CHRONICLE. 



301 



Royal Meteorological Society. — A meet- 



Imperial College of Science andTech- 



inz of this Society will be held at Southport, nology.— That the interests of botanical science 



bv invitation of the Mayor and Corporation, on 

 Saturday, the 11th inst. A popular lantern 

 lecture, " A Chat about the Weather," will be 

 given by Mr. W. Marriott, in the Temperance 

 Institute. London Road, at 8 p.m. The pro- 

 gramme for Monday, the 13th inst., includes a 

 visit to the Marshside Anemograph Station, 

 luncheon at the Town Hall at 1.30 p.m., and a 

 visit to the Fernley Observatory, Hesketh Park, 



are well cared for by the governing body of this 

 institution is evident from the decision fo extend 

 the activity of the Botanical Department. As 

 announced already, Professor V. H. Blackman 

 has been appointed to the chair of Plant Physi- 

 ology and Pathology. The erection of a new 

 building devoted to botanical work hae been 

 sanctioned, and Dr. Groom has been appoint »-d 

 Professor of Technologv of Woods and Fibres. 



fourth day the mare, and on the twelfth the 

 horse, showed an aversion to it, which in- 

 creased as the experiment continued, till near 

 the end the greatest difficulty was experienced 

 in getting the animals to touch it. The first 

 symptoms of poisoning appeared early. On 

 about the fourteenth day the animals began to 

 show a hesitating, sta rering gait, which alter- 

 nately appeared and disappeared throughout the 

 course of the experiment. Other symptoms 

 noted were loss of muscular control, poor con- 

 dition of the flesh, and an unusual sensitiveness 



at 2.45 p.m. It is proposed to give a demonstra- Professor Farmer is to be congratulated in th 



tion of the sending up of a Ballon-Sonde, with making clear to his colleagues on the governing of the shoulder, these being accompanied by 



meteorograph attached. At a meeting of the 



Society in the Lecture Hall of the Science and 

 Art Schools, at 5 p.m., papers will be read on 



(1) "Results of Hourly Wind and Rainfall 

 Records at Southport, 1902-11," by J. Baxen- 

 dell, and (2) "The South-east Trade 



Wind 



St. Helena," by J. S. Dines, B.A. Fellows and 

 their friends will dine together at 7.15 p.m. 



Kew Guild Dinner. — The annual dinner 

 of the Kew Guild will be held at the Holborn 

 Restaurant, in the Venetian Chamber, on 

 Tuesday, May 28, at 7.30 p.m. The dinner will 

 be preceded by the annual general meeting at 

 6.45 p.m. Lt.-Col. D. Prain, C.M.G., Director 

 of Kew Gardens, will preside at the dinner, which 

 it is expected will be largely attended, as many 

 Kewites will be in London for the International 

 Exhibition. Members intending to be present 

 are asked to notify the Hon. Secretary, Mr. 

 Herbert Cowley, South Side, Kew Green. 



An Archway of Pears. — In fig. 147 is illus- 

 trated an archway of Pear-trees, in Balcombe 

 Hou<e Gardens, Balcombe, Sussex, showing the 

 fine effect when the trees are in blossom. The 

 ardener, Mr. Mitchell, to whom w© are in- 

 debted for the photograph, informs us that the 

 path runs from north to south, and is furnished 

 with about 200 cordon trees, which rarely fail 

 to give a good crop of fruits. There is another 

 archway planted with about 200 cordon Apples. 

 The trees have been planted nine years. 



Nursery Employee's Long Service. — Mr. 

 Robert Singleton, of Messrs. E. P. Dixon & 

 Sons, Ltd., Hull, completed, on April 7, 60 

 years' service with the firm. To mark the occa- 

 sion he was recently entertained at dinner at the 

 Imperial Hotel, Hull, by Mr. R. A. Dixon, 

 managing director of the firm, and many promi- 

 nent horticulturists in the East Riding, and in 

 the presence of the heads of departments and 

 principal members of the staff.. Mr. Singleton 

 was the recipient of presents from Mr. Dixon, 

 and from his fellow employees. Mr. Singleton 

 has had charge of the firm's plant houses, first 



over 50 years. 



Cottingl 



International Exhibition at Bruges. 



The " Societe Roy ale d' Horticulture de Bruges 

 Will hold an International Horticultural Exhibi- 



FlG. I47. — ARCHWAY OF CORDON PEAR TREES AT BALCOMBE 



;SE GARDENS, SUSSEX. 



body the importance of botanical research both in 

 the domains of horticulture and agriculture, and 



— »»«.vx V «*^x M v*v*^uj. V uia..i. xiuuvi- xne domains 01 UUIUCUmu^auu 



tion from August 11 to August 18 next at the old a lso in the region of technology, 

 market place and in the adjoining Government 



Buildings and Belfry of Bruges. In August the Horse Poisoning by Equisetum arvense. _. 



famous market place in Bruges will be trans- —The Kew Bulletin draws attention to some of staggering coincided with the wet, cold days, 



fn»*»~j :_* „ , .... ... * ' by at least during the first half of the experiment. 



normal or subnormal temperature and a good 

 ppetite. The diuretic properties of the plant 

 were shown by the constant saturation of the 

 ground with urine, which was persistently alka- 

 line. It was found that in general the attacks 



formed into a flower garden surrounded by giant 

 Bay trees, for which Bruges is so famed, and in 

 the adjacent buildings below the belfry exhibi- 

 tors will find spacious halls where they will be 



Palm* g j° UP their coUections of O^hids and 



The visitors in 



" the Venice 

 North," with its museums and art 

 galleries and quaint Flemish architecture, will 

 jind 1 another attraction in this horticultural ex- 

 hibition. Programmes will be supplied and in- 

 quiries answered by Mr. Ch. Steinmetz, Secre- 

 cy, Bruges, Belgium. 



experiments regarding horee poisoning 

 Equisetum, carried out at Valley, Nebra.-ka, 

 the results of which are published in a report 

 of the Agricultural Experiment Station, 



Palms, and new and rare plants. 

 August who have travelled to see 

 of the ~ 



Nebraska. 



aged mare. 



The experiments were ap- 



g- 



Agricultural Experiment 



Two animals were experimented 

 upon, one an agea mare, and the other a six- 

 year old geldin_ 



parently continued longer with the horse than 

 with the mare. No grain was given, and the 

 amount of dried Equisetum mixed with the hay- 

 was gradually increased from i lb. to 6 lbs. 

 per day. At first the animals seemed to prefer 

 the Equisetum to the rest of the hay, but on the 



Towards the last the horse, losing control of its 

 legs, fell many times. It also appeared more 

 stupid and yawned frequently. The experiment 

 was abandoned owing to the refusal of the 

 horse to take Equisetum, either as hay or as 

 a decoction. The vicious nature of the animal 

 prevented the use of the decoction as a drench. 

 The conclusions arrived at are two, namely, 

 that the weed must be present in large quanti- 

 ties to be dangerous to horses, and that when 

 taken in sufficient amount it is fat"\ to these 

 animals. 



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