3 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



[May 18, 1912 



THE WEATHE 



the 



the 

 the 



The Following Summary Record of 



weather throughout the British Islands, for 

 week ending May 11, is furnished from 

 Meteorological Otfice: 



GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 



Thereafter, although generally fair and dry over the 

 ■outh-eastern quarter of England, was less settled than for 

 rSnsiderable \** past. Occasional rain was experienced 

 in al districts; thunderstorms or thunder occurred in 

 various pares of Scotland on the 7th and 8th, at Cacton-on- 

 Sea 011 the 9ih f at Hastings on the 10th, and at Guernsey on 

 the 11th. Much fog prevailed round our south and west 

 col" in the western parts of the Channel biniM 

 continuous. During the disturbed weather -of Saturday a 

 remarkable increase of temperature, amounting to 20 was 

 Observed during a kite ascent which was made a J midday 

 from Brighton. At the surface of the ground the ther- 

 mometer registered 65* F. ; while at a height of 3,000 feet it 

 rose to 75° F. 



The temperature was considerably above the average, the 

 excess ■mooring to abou: 8- in England NJJ. and the mid- 

 land counties, and to as many as 9° in hn 'land b. At many 

 of the northern stat o is the highest readings occurred on 

 Tuesday or Wednesday, but over the country g^jully 

 they were observed on Friday or Saturday, when the ther- 

 mometer exceeded 75" in many English districts and 

 reach d 91- in the midland counties, and 82* 111 §>Mm *? 

 ms well as at Greenwich. In Scotland N. and E . England 

 N.W. and Ireland N. the thermometer did not touch 70 , 

 and in Scotland \V. it did not reach 6o". The lowest 



LAW NOTE, 



LOSSES ON A NURSERY BUSINESS. 



At the London Bankruptcy Court on Friday 

 last the public examination was appointed to be 

 held of Richard Carthew Middleton, residing at 

 " Hawkhurst," Mounthill Road, Finchley, and 

 carrying on business in partnership with another 

 at the North Enfield Nursery, Enfield, against 

 whom a receiving order was made on the petition 

 of a creditor, the act of bankruptcy being that 

 the debtor failed to comply with the requirements 

 of a bankruptcy notice duly served upon him. 

 Upon the case being called on for hearing the 

 official receiver stated that the debtor had not yet 

 completed his statement of affairs. The liabilities 

 amounted to something like £30,000, and it would 

 take the accountants a little while longer to com- 

 plete the accounts. The debtor alleged his 

 failure to have been caused through losses in con- 

 nection with Messrs. R. C. Middleton & Co., 

 underwriters, to liability in respect of goods 

 supplied to a company, and money paid by him 

 some two years ago to a partner, also to losses on 

 the nursery business. The examination was 

 ordered to be adjourned for a month. 



laid. 



f^^j b :^rS^^f^£& ANSWERS TO correspondents 



ritetn ♦H.v nrmrred on Friday, the values ranging from " 



re 



Britain SSr*c£^^ td "&" % f 3 



84- in Scotland N. and E. to 45* in ^and ££™i 

 S.W. and Ireland S., and to 47; in the bnglish Channel. 

 The lowest readings on the surface of the g ass were i o 

 at Crathes, 27* at Birmingham and 30* at Buxton. At a 

 depth both of 1 foot and 4 feet the temperature of the 

 soil remained above the average. 



Thi rainfall was considerably in excess of the normal 

 in Scotland N. t and slightly in excess in Scotland E. ; and 

 W. and England S.W. In all o.her districts it was again 

 descent ; at many places in the east of England the total 

 quantity amounted to less than 00o. 



The bright sunshine was much less than the average, 

 especially in the western districts, where the mean daily 

 duration amounted In many place* to less than two hours. 

 T.ie percentage of the possible duration ranged from H in 

 Scotland E. and 31 in England E. to only 10 in Ireland N. 

 and 8 in England S.W. 



THE WEATHER IN WEST HERTS. 



Week ending May 15. 



The warmest week as yet this year.— Since the P res e"t 

 month began there has been but one cold day, and but 

 two cold nights. The past week was the warmest as yet 

 this year, aiid on the hottest day the temperature in the 

 thermometer screen rose to 77°-a very high reading for 

 so early in the month. On the one cold night the exposed 

 thermometer registered l u of fiOJt. As was the case in 

 May last year, we have passed through the almost con- 

 stantly recurring cold period in May (9 to 14) without any 

 cold weather, if we except the last night of the period, 

 when the lowest reading in the thermometer screen was 

 5* colder than the average minimum temperature for that 

 night. The ground stid continues warm for the time of 

 year, being 4° warmer at 2 feet deep, and 5° warmer at 1 foot 

 deep, than is seasonable- Rain fell on three days, but to 

 the total depth of less than one-tenth of an inch. In fact, 

 the aggregate rainfall for the last seven weeks amounts 

 to less than three-quarters of an inch— equivalent to 3$ 

 gallons on each square yard of surface. There has been no 

 percolation through either of the soil gauges for over Jive 

 weeks. The sun shone on an average for 6| hours a day, 

 or for three-quarters of an hour a day longer thau is usual 

 at the 6ame period in May. Calms and light airs have 

 alone prevailed during the week, and the direction of 

 those light airs was extremely variable. The mean amount 

 of moisture in the air at three o'clock in the afternoon 

 fell short of a seasonable quantity for that hour by 4 per 

 cent. A selected bush of the Hawthorn came hrst into 

 blossom on the 10th in St., which is 12 days earlier than 

 its average date of first flowering in the previous 21 years, 

 and earlier than in any of those years since 1893, or for 

 19 years. £. M. t BerkhamsteU, May 75, 1912. 



Black Italian Poplar Dying : J. P. There is 

 no evidence of any disease due to fungi or 

 insects in the specimen you send. The injury 

 is, no doubt, due to last season's drought. 



Composite Exhibits at Flower Shows: 



Pigeon Manure. —The Spring number of 

 Pigeons Illustrated contains an interesting 

 article on the use and value of pigeon manure 

 in the garden. The writer of the article, Mr. 

 C. A. House, recommends this manure 

 general, though sparing use in the garden, 

 recommends that it be well trenched in 

 ground in the autumn, or if the soil be light, 

 manure should be applied as a top-dressing in 

 spring. If collected dry, it may be stored for use 

 in bags without becoming offensive. Unfortu- 

 nately, sawdust is often used in pigeon lofts, and 

 in such cases care must be taken to remove the 

 latter whilst collecting the manure. 



for 

 He 

 the 

 the 



TRADE NOTICE. 



F. CASE (RUMNEY), LTD. 

 The above-named company has been registered with a 

 capital of £1,000 in £1 shares. Business : Market gardeners 

 and nurserymen. Private company. Office : The Gardens, 

 Eumaey t Monmouthshire. 



W. T. A., South Africa. We are quite un- 

 able to say whether the prize should have 

 been awarded to the Ferns included in a mis- 

 cellaneous group, owing to the fact that you 

 have not sent us a copy of the schedule. It is 

 customary at horticultural shows for the ex- 

 hibits in a class to be staged separately. But 

 this practice is not invariable, and at Inter- 

 national Shows on the Continent, for instance, 

 we have frequently found that a large group 

 of plants contributed by an exhibitor was com- 

 posed of plants of several types, each type 

 being entered for an award in a separate class. 

 You will observe that it is impossible 

 to determine what should have been done in 

 your case without knowing the exact terms of 

 the schedule, and the practice at previous 

 shows held under the auspices of the same 

 society. 

 Cucumbers Diseased : Vines. The injury to the 

 plants is caused by Botrytis cinerea. If the 

 fruits are small, spray the plants with the 

 Bordeaux-mixture. If they are half-grown, use 

 liver of sulphur. 



Grapes Diseased: W. E. B. The Grapes are 

 attacked with Grape Rot or Anthracnose 

 (Gloeosporium ampelophagum), which infests 

 the shoots, leaves and fruit, and may be de- 

 tected first by greyish spots bordered by a 

 dark line appearing on the leaves. Flowers of 

 sulphur may be dusted on to the leaves and 

 shoots at intervals of 10 days for so long as the 

 disease spreads. On the second application a 

 small quantity of quicklime should be mixed 

 with the sulphur, and the amount of lime 

 should be increased on every successive occa- 

 sion until the proportions of lime and sulphur 

 are nearly equal, but always having just a little 

 more sulphur than lime. Wash the branches 

 thoroughly in winter with a solution of 

 sulphate of iron. Employ rich stable manures 

 very sparingly. Diseased leaves, shoots or 

 fruits should be removed and burnt. 



Grubs Destroying Plants in a Greenhouse: 



W. E. The insects destroying your plants are 

 weevils. Both the larvae and the perfect 

 insect are very destructive to plants, and it 

 is difficult to kill them without causing injury 

 to the latter. If the plants are turned out 

 occasionally from the pots and all larvae visible 

 picked out with a pointed stick and killed, 

 this may be sufficient. If this treatment does 

 not prove effective the best plan is to shake 

 the roots entirely free from the soil and larvae, 

 repotting the plants in a fresh, uncontaminated 

 compost. Another way of killing the grubs is 

 to turn the roots out of the pots, and spray 

 the soil and roots with carbon bisulphide. It 

 is necessary after this to destroy the perfect 

 insects, in order to prevent more eggs being 



Weevils feed chiefly at night, a:. J [all 



to the ground when suddenly disturbed. Von 

 should group the plants together in the day- 

 time on a large greased or sticky paper, then, 

 when entering at night, holding a brij t light, 

 the weevils will fall on the sticky i oq 



tapping the pots or shaking the plants. 

 Another method is to fumigate the hous- late 

 at night with hydrocyanic acid gas. They 

 may also be trapped with pieces of vegetable", 

 placed just below the surface of the soil. 



Names of Fruits : Lich. Hormead's Pearmain. 



Names of Plants : R. G. 1, Cupressus pisifera 



plumosa; 2, C. pisifera plumosa var ; 3, Juni- 

 perus communis; 4, Thuya orientalis aurea ; 



5, Diervilla " Abel Carriere"; 6, T. occi- 

 dentalis: 7, T. plicata (T. gigantea) ; 8, Libo- 

 cedrus decurrens ; 9, Thuya oriental]*; 10, 

 Cupressus Lawsoniana ; 11, Juniperus virgin- 

 iana ; 12, Picea Morinda. — T. W. 1, Spinea 

 prunifolia flore-plena ; 2, Syringa persica ; 3, 

 Viburnum Opulus var. sterile. — A. ./. L. 1, 

 Asystasia bella ; 2, Elaeagnus multiflora ; 3, 

 Prunus Padus; 4, Cercis Siliquastrum ; 5, 

 Staphylea pinnata. — W. G. Selwyn. I, Caly- 

 canthus glauca ; 2, Phlomis fruticosa ; 3. Thuya 

 orientalis aurea ; 4, Artemisia Stelleriana ; 5. 

 Symphoricarpus orbiculatus ; 6, Ilex Perado.— 

 E. A. H. 1, Epimedium alpinum ; 2, E. 

 pinnatum; 3, Rubus arcticus; 4, Symphytum 

 tuberosum; 5, Omphalodes verna.--i/. E. 1, 

 Cistus morispeliensis; 2, not recognised; 3 and 



4, both forms of Camassia esculent*.— 

 J. W. T. Chorozema ilicifolia. — Old Sub- 

 scriber. Paulownia imperialis.— F. 7'. //. 1, 

 Odontoglossum Adrians ; 2, Masdevallia 

 Harryana lilacina ; 3, Cypripedium Lawreiue- 

 anum ; 4, Encephalartos Altensteinii.— 

 W. P. B. So far as can be determined 

 without flowers the Orchids are : 1, Oncidium 

 Cavendishianum ; 2, Gongora species ; 3, Epi- 

 dendrum fragrans ; 4, Coelia Bauenana: 



5, Farfugium grande.— R. T. 1, Dendrobium 

 striatum ; 2, Dendrobium crunienatuni ; 3. 

 Masdevallia trichaete.— F. A. 1, Ptens longi- 

 folia; 2, Adiantum hispidulum ; 3, A. for 

 mosum ; 4, Pteris tremula. 



Pe\r Trees Casting Their Fruit: J. W. B. 

 The insect which is injuring the young 1 ear> 

 is the Pear midge (Diplosis pynvora). Fick 

 off all the injured fruits, and next winter re- 

 move 2 or 3 inches of the surface sod beneath 

 the tree, and replace it by fresh soil mixed with 

 a small quantity of kainit. 



Vines Diseased: X. Y. Z. The fungus attack- 

 ing your vines is Plasmopara viticola im 

 bunches should be sprayed with liver of sul- 

 phur three times a week at a strength ot s oz. 



in two gallons of water. 



for the 



Visitor: In reply to your enquiry 

 names of a few of the leading trade gro*eri 

 of Grapes, Tomatos, Cucumbers &c, ii iuj 

 neighbourhood of London, the f ollowmg oc ur 

 t0 ° us : _Messrs. Thos. Rochford Tu nford 

 Hall, Broxbourne; Messrs. P. La T dd %.*J. 

 Messrs. Mvatt, both of Swanky Jum :ion, 

 Mr. Peter Kay, Finchley ; Messrs Poupart, 

 Twickenham; and Mr. Mott, Barnet -bee a 

 article in this week's issue with regard to tne 

 other points of your letter. ^ 



Woodlice in Glasshouses : B.B. F^f^Lei 

 made to catch this pest by hollowing out piece 



of Potato, Turnip, &c, and P^8 *X£3 

 low-side downwards. If the ^"•£5 

 every morning it will be ^^JJgS 

 tain woodlice, which must be kiU^^«f r Af ling 

 replacing the baits. Another method o f_ k in S 

 woodlice is by placing baits which m£ 

 poisoned with Paris green .or "hite arjjn^ 

 There are also other effective poison- n 

 obtained on the market Bteiners ^^ 

 Paste " is recommended by Mr. n. ' " ]ei2 h, 

 who has used it in his nursery at £ ^ 

 and who strongly recommends ; it to °t ^ ^ 

 paste should be mixed wlth ,^ woodor 

 middlings and set on pieces of g^', w00 d- 

 tin, and then placed in the haunts of W ^ 

 lice. This means has been found auflKi 

 eradicate the pest in a week or ten a*. 



H. F. Z.-F. B-Wokingb^-j.; - - 



Communications Received. 



H. P._R. D. G._H. F. Z_F. «— - -- 4 



J.M.&Son_R.B.J.-C.H.P.-^G.^-^ G j,. O 



_Gatdener__G. W.-Shrub.-G. O-.^ A c H . X£ 

 _F. H. N._F. B.-F. W^-^rTlJ. S.-A- S T * 



F. W. C._J. W. B.-A. ^TTn f bo"x)-H.B^' t 

 S. J. T. (Thanks for Is. for R.G O.F. Doxj 



B. G. H. 



