August 15, 1872. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



135 



The nest house inspected -was the large one alluded to above — ■ 

 the Crystal Palace of the group — and at the entrance of this 

 was a gigantic specimen of the Sooly-Qua, or Chinese Cucum- 

 ber, the fruit being, when full grown, 6 feet in length. The 

 growth is very rapid, some Cucumbers not more than a week 

 old having already attained the length of 24 inches, and a 

 profusion of flowers covered every stem of the plant, which was 

 carefully trained to a lofty trellis. On inquiry we were in- 

 formed that the flavour of the Cucumber is " flat," but that 

 in China it is much relished, being there boiled and eaten 

 with rice. In this house was a tempting crop of Pine Apples 

 in every stage of growth ; also hundreds of young Vines in 

 pots. In other Grape houses were successional crops of late 

 Grapes — Lady Downe's, Alicante, Mrs. Pince's Black Muscat, &c. 

 _ Hitherto Mr. Meredith has confined himself almost exclu- 

 sively to Grape-growing, but recently he has turned his atten- 

 tion to floriculture as well, and in one of the small houses was 

 a magnificent stock of an old, but now somewhat neglected 

 favourite, the Balsam. In another house was a large assort- 

 ment of Fuchsias, well trained, and, by the appearance of the 

 foliage, of _ most healthy growth. The fernery appeared to be 

 stocked with a choice collection of Ferns. In the stove were 

 numerous specimens of Nepenthes, or Pitcher Plants ; I noticed 

 also, a fine Stephanotis floribunda, the branches from which 

 extended upwards of 40 feet along the supporting wires. Bou- 

 gainvillaea glabra, with its singularly beautiful bracts, was also 

 there in vigorous growth. 



Out of doors the frames, &c, were crowded with thousands 

 of Pelargoniums, Colenses, and other bedding plants, and 

 a large space of ground was laid-out as a rosery. Altogether 

 nearly two hours were most agreeably spent at The Vineyard. — 

 Typo, Southport. 



P.S. — On the parsonage green of the village is a cottage, in 

 front of which is a Vine said to be three hundred years old. 

 The stem is about a foot in diameter, and although rugged 

 and perforated in several places, it still spreads its branches 

 luxuriantly over the adjoining cottages, and produces a yearly 

 vintage of Grapes. 



TRIAL OF BOILERS AT BIRMINGHAM. 

 In consequence of some advertisements and letters appear- 

 ing in the horticultural press representing that the Royal 

 Horticultural Society gave medals and appointed judges for the 

 recent competition of boilers at Birmingham, I am directed by 

 the Council of this Society to ask you to be kind enough to 

 make it known that they had nothing to do with the awards 

 made, nor the appointment of the judges, neither was any 

 medal of the Society given to the competitors. — James 

 Richabds, Assistant Secretary, Royal Horticultural Society, 

 South Kensington. 



LARCH AND WOODEN PAVEMENTS. 

 The Pendulous Larch (Larix pendula), sometimes called Red 

 Larch, has been highly extolled for many uses, -as a durable 

 and valuable timber tree. But I do not recollect of much 

 haying been said about its superiority for wooden pavements. 

 It is hard to split, very tough, quite durable, free from swell- 

 ing or shrinking, and will not rot for many years. Therefore, 

 if sawed into blocks about 10 inches in length, more or less, and 

 made either 4 or 6 inches square, or round, and set on end, it will 

 make a more excellent pavement than any other kind of wood. 

 The corks of the horseshoe will not chip it, and it will wear 

 longer and keep in better condition than any other timber now 

 used for that purpose. When green, a cubic foot will weigh 

 from 33 to 36 lbs., and after being thoroughly seasoned for two 

 or three years, will yet weigh from 30 to 33 lbs., showing a 

 very slight shrinkage in both size and heft, while most other 

 kinds of wood will lose in drying from one quarter to a third 

 their original weight, and considerably in size. On this 

 account it is also valuable for floor plank, and all kinds of 

 building timber, especially for beam timber on which to lay 

 the floors. Pine, oak, and white wood will shrink so as to 

 crack the plastering or draw the base boards away from the 

 floors, which is very injurious to a first-class house. 



NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 

 We have received the following from "D., Deal:"— "I 

 have heard that my excellent friend Mr. Jones, the gardener 

 at Lord Leconfield's, Petworth House, has been appointed 



Hek Majesty's Gaedeneb at Frogmobe in succession to Mr. 

 Rose. As I have had the pleasure of his acquaintance for a 

 number of years, lean safely say that no more worthy appoint- 

 ment could have been made, and I cannot but rejoice that he 

 is now, in the full vigour of life, placed where his abilities will 

 have full scope, and in a position where he will necessarily be 

 brought more into contact with the gardening world generally." 



Meteopolitan Floeal Society's Show. — This is to 



take place at the Crystal Palace on the 28th and 29th inst., 

 and in addition to the liberal schedule for cut flowers, there is 

 an equally liberal one for fruit, the Crystal Palace Company 

 having decided to revive their fruit show ; and from the num- 

 ber of entries already received, and the character of the season, 

 we can confidently predict a successful exhibition. 



The Report of the Government Cinchona Plantations 



at Oataearaund in India for 1870-71 states that the growth of 

 the plants has been very satisfactory. The older shrubs have 

 grown into trees 22 to 23 feet high, and 18 to 21 inches in 

 girth. Of the Cinchona succirubra, the finest samples reach a 

 height of 30 feet, with a girth of 3 feet. Amongst the new 

 species of plants lately introduced is the Pitayo bark, which 

 appears hardy and well suited to the climate. During the 

 year 51,353 lbs. of fresh bark were supplied to Mr. Broughton, 

 the Government quinologist, for the manufacture of amorphous 

 quinine. From one thousand eight-year-old plants of the 

 Cinchona succirubra as much as 2560 lbs. may be expected to 

 be extracted this year. This average of more than 2 J lbs. to 

 each tree will yield, at the present rate of 2s. Sd. to 3s. per lb., 

 a clear profit of at least 2s. per lb. — {Nature.) 



At the Nursery, Huntingdon, on the 8th inst., 



Wood, aged 88 years. 



■ Mrs 



WORK FOR THE WEEK. 



KITCHEN gabden. 

 Get more Cape Broccoli and Cauliflower out in warm situ- 

 ations, and hoe through former plantings, watering also when 

 necessary. Late Celery must be planted out — the final planting 

 — taking care to water it frequently. Other Celeries growing 

 fast must be soiled in due time, taking care not to add too 

 much soil at once. About 2 inches in depth once a-week is a 

 good maxim, and it is an excellent ^plan to give a thorough 

 soaking of manure water the day previous to soiling. The 

 slug defaces the stalks much. It is also a good practice to give 

 the plants a thorough liming previous to the first earthing. 

 Let the Horn Carrots for drawing young be thinned and 

 weeded. To those who would insure a constant succession of 

 the choice kinds of vegetables and salads, the next fortnight 

 will be the most important of the whole year. Endive plant- 

 ing must now be proceeded with in earnest, for what is now- 

 planted will constitute the great bulk of the autumn and 

 midwinter salads. Let elevated beds of 4 feet in width and 

 possessing a bold curvature, be provided in an open and dry 

 situation. Such beds should be a foot or more above the 

 ground level, and must be made very rich. These beds may 

 be hooped over at the end of October, and be readily covered 

 with mats when frost arrives. Let ripening Onions be bent 

 down in order to get the ground clear for Winter Greens. 

 Winter Spinach for the whole winter supply must be sown from 

 the 7th to the 15th of the month, according to the situation. 

 feuit gabden. 

 The preservation of wall fruit from birds and insects should 

 occupy attention. Worsted or other small-mesh netting may- 

 be employed with advantage to protect Green Gage or other 

 Plums, the scarcity of which fruit this season invites such pre- 

 cautions. Look carefully over Peach and Nectarine trees, and 

 remove nails which are near to the swelling fruit. In stopping 

 and arranging the wood let only such as can conveniently be 

 laid-in be allowed to remain. It is also an error to retain 

 a large amount of wood, to be removed inevitably in the winter 

 pruning ; an undue excitement and extension are given to the 

 roots, which with a superabundant supply of sap, induce in 

 the spring the growth of rank and unmanageable wood. Pear 

 shoots which have been left or only partially shortened should 

 now be pruned to three or four eyes. Proceed with Straw- 

 berry planting. Remove runners from established plants. 



FLOWEE GABDEN. 



This year's beauty should assist to suggest next year's im- 

 provement in the distribution of the masses in the flower gar- 

 den. Attention should be given to insure duration of bloom, 

 habit, and colour in the different plants, and another arrange- 



