322 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



[May 11, 1912. 



scantier than in L. Kirkii. The stems are deeply 

 tiuted, the young shoots are pink, the flowers 

 white and strongly Jessamine scented. The 

 fruit is large, spherical, edible, and makes 

 an excellent preserve. Landolphia Kirkii was also 

 found in the forests, as well as L. lucida and L. 

 ida. The former of these two is described as a 



HOME GOBBESPONDENGE 



very large woody climber, reaching the tops of the 

 trees, the milky latex apparently destitute of rub- 

 ber. The fruit, which is smooth, sweetish and of 

 a bright orange colour, is eaten by the natives. L. 

 florida is described as a very large woody climber, 



te that was measured being 5 feet 6 inches in 

 circumference at 3 feet from the base. A milky 

 juice with a reddish tinge flows freely from 

 wounds in the bark, but does not coagulate well, 

 the product even after careful washing and pre- 

 paration completely lacking in toughness and 

 resiliency. The rubber obtained by Mr. Swyn- 

 nerton from the latex of the fruits, he says, was of 

 better quality, elastic, but not tough, and of a 

 purer white colour than that from the bark. The 

 pulp of the fruit is edible with a strong sweetish- 

 acid flavour, and is much appreciated by the 

 natives. 



The milky juice of Diplorhynchus mossam 

 bicensis, a tree averaging 30 feet in height, is put 

 to a singular use in a rough kind of surgery. 

 The latex is obtained from the bark, younger 

 branches, and leaves. In the case of broken 

 fingers and such-like injuries, rough splints made 

 from the bark are first applied, and these are 

 painted over thickly with the latex and finally 

 with white ashes, the combination forming a thick 

 splint. The latex is also used as glue for fasten- 

 ing arrow heads to the shafts, and further it 

 enters into the composition of " bird-lime." Rau- 

 wolfia inebrians is described as a handsome tree, 

 80 feet high, with an ochreous-yellow, somewhat 

 roughish bark, which in the younger branches 

 yield a milky latex. The timber is yellowish- 

 while and very easily worked, and has been tried 

 recently by one of two settlers in house build- 

 ing, and found useful for windows and doors. 

 Termites and Bostrychidese do not touch it. Thou 

 sands of seedlings spring up with the late rains, 

 but those exposed to the sun on the outskirts of 

 the forest usually die off during the ensuing dry 

 season. Owing to its rapid and symmetrical 

 growth and the beauty of its foliage, it is being 

 planted by settlers as a shade tree. In the genus 

 Conopharyngia, two species, namely C. elegans 

 and C. usambarensis, yield a milky fluid, from 

 the first, a shrub of some 20 feet high, it exudes 

 abundantly, and is regarded as a powerful remedy 

 for the vomiting of milk by infants, being placed 

 in a hollow reed and hung round the neck as a 

 charm. The second species is a shrubby tree, 

 growing up to 25 feet high. This also yields an 

 abundance of latex, but, Mr. Swynnerton says, 

 with no resultant rubber. Another small tree, 

 Voacanga lutescens, also yields a scanty supply 

 of latex, but apparently no rubber. Oncinotis 

 chirindica, a new species, is described as a large, 

 woody climber, with a stem sometimes measuring 

 near the base 15 or 18 inches in diameter, and 

 covered with a very rough, thick yellow bark, 

 from which a fairly abundant supply of milky 

 latex is obtained. J. R. Jackson, Claremont, 

 Lympstone, Devon. 



(To be continued.) 



SCOTLAND. 



GARDEN ALLOTMENTS AT SCOTTISH 



PRISONS. 



A new departure is provided for in rules just 

 issued by H.M. Prison Commissioners for Scot- 

 land, which deal with prisoners undergoing pre- 

 ventive detention in the prisons. Under the rules 

 those who obtain two certificates for exemplary 

 conduct will be promoted to a special grade, the 

 members of which may have garden allotments. 

 The produce of these may be purchased at the 

 ordinary market value for such produce, and the 

 money credited to the prisoner or used by him 

 for purposes permitted by the commissioners. 



(The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for 

 the opinions expressed by correspondents.) 



Royal Horticultural Society— Inspec- 

 tion of Fellows* Gardens.— The work of in- 

 specting Fellows' gardens and advising thereupon 

 has increased so much of recent years, and has 

 necessitated Mr. Wright's absence from the Wis- 

 ley garden so often, that the Council of the 

 Society have long felt the desirability of appoint- 

 ing an inspector of FellowV gardens who snould 

 be entirely independent of the Wisley staff, thus 

 leaving Mr. Wright free to devote his whole time 

 to the Society's garden and to the Society's 

 shows. The very great difficulty of finding an 

 inspector who should not only be as efficient and 

 capable as Mr. Wright, and one who is also in 

 constant touch with a fine garden and all the 

 newest additions to horticulture, has at last been 

 overcome by the kindness of Miss Willmott, of 

 Warley, who has consented to her head gardener, 

 Mr. C. R. Fielder, V.M.H., being appointed in- 

 spector to the Society and at the same time 

 allowing him to remain in constant daily touch 

 with her celebrated garden at Warley Place. 

 Therefore, Mr. C. R. Fielder, V.M.H., so 

 well and honourably known in gardening circles, 

 will be the Royal Horticultural Society's in- 

 spector to visit Fellow r s' gardens and to advise 

 thereupon, on the terms mentioned on page 8 

 of the Book of Arrangements, 1912. All requests 

 for the inspector's services should be made to 

 the Secretary, R.H.S. Office, Vincent Square, 

 Westminster, S.W. W. Witts, Secretary. 



The late Mr. Thomas Jones. — I attended 

 Mr. Jones's funeral at the pretty village church- 

 yard of Pattingham on the 2nd inst., far away 

 from the scene of his triumphs. He was a de- 

 lightful " raconteur," and, looking into the open 

 grave, I recalled hours of pleasant intercourse 

 during his later years, which were spent among 

 his flowers, horse and dogs. He was gifted 

 with a sense of humour, and how well 

 he would entertain his friends by his stories 

 is only known to those who had his confidence. 

 How he loved to relate reminiscences of 

 his beloved Queen-mistress, in her dealings with 

 him and those about her during the time he held 

 his responsible position ! At such times he 

 seemed to live again in personal contact with her 

 and other members of the Royal house. Sur- 

 rounded in his country home by pictures, por- 

 traits, souvenirs in gold and silver, bric-a-brac, 

 each piece telling its own story, he was able to 

 demonstrate how greatly his services were 

 valued, personality honoured, and character re- 

 spected by his Sovereign, her family and friends. 

 R. H. R. 



White Hippeastrums.— The plant described 

 in the note on page 292 in last week's issue of the 

 Gardeners' Chronicle cannot be a Hippeastrum, 

 no known species or form of that genus bearing 

 anything approaching 17 flowers in one truss. 

 There are, however, the best of reasons for be- 

 lieving that it is the white-flow T ered variety of 

 Amaryllis Belladonna, which we know to be in 

 Australian gardens, for I saw only recently in 

 Messrs. Sander's nursery at St. Albans a batcli 

 of recently-imported bulbs of the white Bella- 

 donna, w r hich I was told had been obtained from 

 Sydney. The name for this variety is A. Bella- 

 donna alba, and from what I know of it, thanks 

 to Mr. Worslev and Messrs. Sander, both of 

 whom showed flowers of it at a meeting of the 

 R.H.S. last year, it is likely to become a most 

 useful garden plant. W . W. 



The Fruit Crops in IRELAND.-The prospects 

 of fruit crops in Ireland are very good. Apples 

 and Pears are setting well ; in fact, all wall trees 

 are even more plentifully cropped than last year. 

 Peaches out-of-doors are showing an excellent 

 crop. Black and Red Currants are better than 

 for some years past, and Gooseberries are excep- 

 tionally plentiful. I have reports from all parts 

 that fruit crops in general will be heavy this sea- 

 son, and learn from Sligo, one of the coldest 

 parts on the west coast, that Peaches on outside 

 walls are a heavy crop, notwithstanding the cold 

 winds from the Atlantic, which sw r eep the west 

 coast of Ireland at this season. W. A. M., Cool- 

 fin, Banagh 



Sale of Trees in Ireland bythe Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture. -I have been abroad 

 several weeks, and, consequently, have onlv just 

 seen W. W.'s remarks on this subject in vour 

 issue of April 13 (page 246). In spite of the in- 

 terval which has elapsed, I feel constrained to 

 offer a short reply, as his letter ignores the 

 real ground of the complaint made by the Irish 

 nursery trade, which is not touched upon at all 

 in the lines which he devotes to applauding 

 the action of the authorities. The Irish Nur- 

 sery Association and our own have no desire 

 whatever to check the good work which is being 

 done in Ireland in teaching cottagers and small 

 farmers to make a better use of their land by 

 planting fruit trees. What is complained of is 

 that the county council instructors are not con- 

 fining their energies to this work, but are push- 

 ing the sale of fruit, forest, and even purely or- 

 namental trees among the large landowners and 

 other wealthy people, who can perfectly well 

 afford to pay a fair price for their trees. The 

 items of M Cupressus, 4 to 5 feet, Clematis, etc.," 

 were not dragged in from " paucity of argu- 

 ment," but to show that a class of trees was 

 being offered for which the cottager and small 

 proprietor would (especially in Ireland) have no 

 use whatever. I may add that the 600.000 trees 

 sold in one year were largely forest — not fruit — 

 trees, and largely sold among well-to-do land- 

 owners. We have overwhelming proof of this 

 from all quarters of the country, and it will, I 

 think, be conceded by all who know anything of 

 the facts that it is most unjust that public funds 

 and official machinery should be used in this 

 way to ruin one of the few industries which has 

 succeeded so far in holding its own in Ireland. 

 I pass over W. W.'s allusion to " official man- 

 ners," though a good deal might be said on the 

 subject, as I think attention should be concen- 

 trated on the main point, which is the justice or 

 expediency of the ruin by Government competi- 

 tion of a trade which employs a fairly larg- 

 amount of labour, and has in itself a strong edu- 

 cational influence. Chas. E. Pearson, Hon. Sec. 

 Horticultural Trades Association of Great Britai 

 and Ireland. 



lsia cretica. — Seeing a few fine sprays o f 



this decorative plant at the last R.H.S. meeting 

 reminded me of a magnificent batch of plants 

 I saw at Blenheim Palace a week earlier. At 

 the present time, I believe, this plant is freely 

 used in the floral decoration of the palace. Mr. 

 Hunter, the enthusiastic gardener, is to be con- 

 gratulated on his success in producing results 

 which show this plant to be in the front rank of 

 decorative subjects for furnishing purposes. The 

 batch consisted of about 100 plants in by 

 inch pots, the leathery and long foliage recurving 

 and falling over the pots, the plants ranging from 

 5 feet to 7 feet in height. The flowers, too, were 

 like those seen at the R.H.S. hall— very fine— 2 

 to 2^ inches across. In a mass this subject is ex- 

 ceedingly effective, whilst the Oncidium-like 

 flowers individually are interesting and beautiful 

 objects. L. S. 



■ 



Frost and the Fruit Crops.— The frost of 

 last month has not caused much injury to. the 

 fruit crops in these gardens. The lowest reading 

 was 24° F., or 8 degrees of frost, on the 12th ult., 

 Early flowers of Royal Sovereign Strawberry 

 were spoiled, although the trusses were 

 under the leaves. Pears have all set well, 

 excent on cordon trees of Williams's Bon 

 Chretien, Charles Ernest, Marie Louise, L o ulse 

 Bonne of Jersey, Doyenne du Cornice, and Ulou 

 Morceau have all set well on cordon trees, some 

 of which have only been planted two years. 

 Peaches and Nectarines have been protected, 

 and these promise a good set, whilst the trees are 

 free from blister and blight. Cherries and 

 ms, including Gages, have set well, and 

 the trees are free from blight, although 

 north east winds prevailed all last montn. 

 The Apple crop is promising, but the fruits are 

 not yet set, and there is still danger from frost. 

 Old trees of Apricots have set a fair crop. 

 Bush fruits have good crops, but rain is needed to 

 keep the fruits from dropping. Many of ou 

 fruit trees— Pears, for instance— have not bee^ 

 sprayed, as in other winters, and yet there ** 

 absence of Pear midge and blight. A. B. " a > 

 Ewjle field Gardens, Reading. 



Plu 



