272 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



April 6, 1912. 



lowed, and then came his appointment to to those who take an interest in fruit cul- 

 the charge of Battersea Park. For twenty 



, been 



in London, and has had charge of five dif- 

 ferent parks. He hokls the record for long 

 service among the parks superintendents 

 imder the London Comity Council, and dur- 

 ing his service has seen many changes in 

 the system of control and management, and 

 in the public demands. We have so fre- 

 quently referred to and illustrated ex- 

 amples of Mr. Rogers' work at Battersea 

 Park, that it would be superfluous to add 

 verbal commendations here. Indefnl, Mr. 

 Rogei^ would prefer that his works shoidd 

 praise him. 



The Royal Ga.rdens, Kew, pro- 

 mise to be unusually attractive this Kaster- 



tide. nie 



is an early one, and at 

 the moment of writing there have been no 

 ftcrious frosts or heavy gales to spoil the 

 beauty of the early spring flowers. The 

 magnolias are especially fine, as also 

 the yellow forsythias, whWv thi 

 floweretl peaches near the Directors' House 

 and the large bed of (h'sli-coh)ured ones 

 near the Victoria Gate are magnificent. 



py ruses an<l 

 while daffo- 



are 

 doubli'- 



ainelancliici's and many 



f in bloom 



the grass, in 

 Cumberland 



Til 



pnuiu.ses will a Is. ) I 

 dils appear on cvei y liatul. in 

 beds and l>orders, on the 

 M()un<l, in tiieat dritts near the North Gal- 

 IfTv. an<l flsrwlHM-e. Tulips add their quota 

 ot gay col;juring, and in the Conservatory 

 (No. 4) and the Temperate House flowering 

 fthrubs and trrtM^nhons*^ flowers are niakin-j; 



■ - ^ - ^1 



a brave >li()\v. The Ho<-k Garden is hrii^lit 

 with hardy heaths, .saxifragas, anenH»nr:s 

 cardamines, chionodoxas muscaris, pnl- 

 nionaria^, primulas, erythroniums, and a 

 h(;st of ether beautiful plants, whih' 

 greenery ot the treshly-niown lawns an*i 

 the newly-expanding leaves of many tree, 

 and shrubs add to the many attractions. 

 In the S\ieeident House t!ie Hhn^ Am.iry'- 

 lis (Hippeastrnm proeiM inn) is flowiM'ing, 

 and jiixt (UUside the house is a gi'int .speei- 

 men ot Agave atrDviiens (inninij; inte 



Tins plant abdut ^H't. hmh. :uid a 



dozen feet throu,irh. whilst its huge th.wer- 

 spike reachi's alxuit 18ft., and is still grow- 

 ing. All beint: well, it will ben;in to i)i uu'h 

 from the uppfu- portion eie huiu;. <ind then 

 produce its flowers, probably about the 

 time of the International Horticultural 

 Exhibition. 



flower. 



tion Society 



flowering: 



The committee of 



Carna- 



this 



ture, that the earlier the period of flowering 

 the greater is the risk of injury from frost. 



that 



society "have decided to entertiun the Ameri- 

 can and Continental carnation groweiv. who 

 are visiting the Koyal International Horti- 

 cultural Exhibition. In accordance with 

 this decision, the committee havo :,,r-.n-eM 

 for a, banquet at the Holborn l?estaur ant 

 on Thursdav, M^^v 23, 1912. 



Fruit prospects.— The plum trees 

 are now enveloped m their snowy ^^\<^^<^^ 

 and the great <lisplay of flovvers that 

 whitens the landscape m districts in w 

 ])lum orchards have a place i^ 

 to considerable discussion a.s to the pios- 

 pects of the yield of hardy r;^^ts n th^ 

 Inrrent year. Those who hold opt" 

 views suggest that, as a consequence of the 

 thorottgh ripening of the wood f ar the 

 flower buds are .so abundant as to pr^^^^ 

 cally ensure a crop of fruit. Other ob- 

 <.ervers who are more or less pessimistic, 

 Regard the development of the flowers^thm 

 ^ ■ • indication ot an m- 



too 



ic 



certain 



early as a 



different fruit harvest. . 

 carlv to formulate an opinion on which to 

 br.s; an estin.ate of the yield of the var.oiis 

 kinds of hnrdv fruit Flower buds are 

 plentiful, and appear to be well developed, 

 and there will consequently be a tine dis- 

 play of bloom. It ntHHl hardly be pointed 

 out for it is a matter of common knowledge 



It is not however, invariably the 

 arly flower-prmluction is followed by 

 a shortage in the fruit supply, or 

 that late flowering is followed by an abun- 

 dant harvest. Tlie next six or seven weeks 

 will be a period of great anxiety to growers 

 of hardy fruits, and but little that will be 

 useful can l>e said relating thereto, except- 

 ing to advice the protection of pear, plum, 

 and cherry trees on walls, as far as is prac- 

 ticable, on the same lines as peach and 

 nectarines are protected. In gardens an 

 endeavour should also l>e made to protect 

 bush and pyrami<lal fruit trees, including 

 tluvse of ap|)les, even if the most primitive 

 methods of protection have to be resorted 

 to. The slielter of a few branches of fir, or 

 a double thickness of old fish netting, may 

 make all the difference between a good and 

 an iiidifl'erent croo. 



International 



Horticultural 



Exhibition. AVe have nnu'h i)]easure in 

 nH'ording the fact that the {lircH'tors of the 

 International Hort'.eultural Exhibition have 



<lecided to issuo transferable 



tickets 



to the public at €3 3s., admitting whenever 

 the exhibition is open. These tickets will 

 be a great convenience to large numbers of 

 thase who are interested in the various 

 aspects of horticulture that will be repre- 

 sontofl at the exhibition, and their issue 

 should contribute materially to the finan- 

 < ial results. To the Fellow^s of the Royal 

 Horticultural Society they will be a great 

 advantage, for in pursuance of the agree- 

 ment entered into bv the Council of the 

 st.ciety with the directors of the exhibition 

 r\ fry Fellow <-an ])ur chase one of these 

 season tickets, at a r-ost of £2 2s. Gd. As 

 with all other H .H .S. pi'iviloged tickots. 

 they can (udy In* had hy Follows, who apply 

 direct to the H.ll.S.. in accordance with the 

 <iir(v iinns iii\<'n on pa^c 276 of tlie last 

 .lournal. ^^•llows who have alrt^adv ordei-od 

 tickets troni the H.H.S. can, if they wsli. 

 change their order into a season ticket by 

 transmitting tlu^ difference in cost, together 

 with cx])ress instructions tliat their pre- 

 vious cheques, etc., be taken as part-pay- 

 ment for tlie season ticket. Each Fellow 

 c ui onlv pur^'hase one season ticket 'it th(^ 

 reduced rate. 



Presentation to Mr. W 



E. 



the fete, and are acquainted with his abili- 

 ties, are much gratified by his having con- 

 sented to assume the responsibilities of the 

 office. 



Trial of Violas at Wisley.— The 



Rev. W. Wilks informs us that the presi- 

 dent and Council of the Royal Horticul- 

 tural Society have arranged for a trial of 

 violas, to be conducted at the Wisley Gar- 

 dens during the season of 1912. It is hoped 

 that a large number of varieties will be 

 sent to the superintendent, -R.H.S. Gar- 

 dens, Wisley, Ripley, Surrey, for this pur- 

 pose, that the trial of so important and 

 popular a flower may be made as useful as 

 possible. Six plants of each variety should 

 be sent at once. 



Presentation to Sir William 



Schiich.— rThe officers of the Indian 

 Forest Department, and the probationers 

 for that service now under instruction at 

 Oxford, have presented Sir William Schlich 

 with a handsome Burmese silver bowl bear- 

 ing a suitable inscription, and a cheque, 

 on the occasion of his retirement after 

 forty-five years* service. On the comple- 

 tion of nineteen years' service in India Sir 

 William Schlich retired from the post of 

 Inspector-General of Forests, and organised 

 in 1885 the first School of Forestry in this 

 country in connection wdth the Royal In- 

 dian Engineering College at Cooper's Hill. 

 On the closing of the latter, the Indian 

 School of Forestry was, in 1905, transferred 

 to the University of Oxford. Tnder the 

 late orders of the Secretary of State for 

 India the State endowment of the chair 

 has come to an end, but Sir William Schlich 

 hopes to raise a sufficient sum for the en- 

 dowment of a cliair of forestry at the Uni- 

 versity of Oxford. He has decide<] to give 

 the proceeds of the cheque presente<l to 

 him, further augmented by himself, as the 

 first donation to the endowment fun<l. 



New 



Barnett. — Mucli regret ivill be felt by 

 all who have taken p-ii t in the great flower 

 >liows annu'dly at Wtdverhamptoii that 

 Mr. W. K. Barnett has, through ill-health, 

 been oompelleil to resign the srrretMi ysliip 

 of the Wolverhampton Floral Kete. Mr. 

 Ha nun t held tlie position he has just 

 \ a( ated tor t wentv-one vears an<l has 

 seen the a ntuia I exhibition grow from a 

 reallv small i:atherin"i to one of first-rale 

 iiiiportancp. At tho r(M«'i\t liciicriil meeting 

 the tollouinii ic'vohitioii was unanimously, 



eairieii: "'riiat tlx' nicnihet^ of tlie Wol- 



vcihampt:!!! Klnfd Kete, liavin<^ re.-eived 

 the resignation of tlieii- respected secre- 

 tarv, desire to expret>> their deepest regret 

 at the eireiinistance. and their sineere ap- 

 preciation of. and tluinks for, thp wry faith- 

 ful and valuable servi<('s he his leiulered 

 in the important position he lias held dur- 

 in<r the past twenty-one years, and at the 

 same time their best wishes fnr hLs speedy 

 re<-toi<vtion to health. That. a-, a slight 

 token of appreciation of Mr. Harnett's in- 

 valuable services to the Wolverhampton 

 Floral Fet<>, an honorarium of £150 he 

 voted to him and sent with a copy of this 

 resolution." Councillor R. F. Amplilett. 

 of Messr«. Adams and Amplilett of Dai- 

 lington Street, Wolverhampton, has been 

 unanimously elwted as successor to ^\v. 

 Barnett and those who are interested m 



Open Space at St. 



Leonards The owners of the gardens 



in till' lower part of Warrior Square, Kt. 

 Leonards-(in-Sea, offered to present them 

 for the use of the town. The Corporation 

 of Hastings accepted the offer, and have 

 decided to adapt them to public u.se and 

 construct a sunken band-stand, at a cost of 

 £4,500. 



The Flower Spikes of Eremuri 



have become very popular in Paris within 

 recent years for decorative purposes, and a 

 considerable demand for them has arisen in 

 the Parisian markets. Owing to the ex- 

 tension of their cultiire in the market gar- 

 dens in the vicinity of the city, the prices 

 have heen considerably reduced during the 

 past year or two, and now range from 

 one to four francs per spike. 



Doubleness in Stocks. In the 



fourth part of the - Journal of Genetics, 

 ?kliss K. 11. Saunders <^nitributes a paper 

 on the inheritance of <loublene.ss a.nd otner 

 character's in stocks, in whi<'li she fo.tows up 

 her conductions that have been previously 

 published. Having proved to denion.stra 

 tion that certain single races of ^^wks pro- 

 duce single flowers, while others, ever spor 

 ing, produce both double and smgie bio. 

 soms, and that the pollen grains apparency 

 a'i carry doubleness. while the ovules car 

 in some cases double and in other.- si^^ _ 

 characters. Miss Saunders now shows tn- 

 the siilphnr-white. a double thrmving i.^ _ 

 is ako highly sportive in repHxl to <^"'^ 

 of the seed-b^ai-ing pa rent SW -tatcs^ J 

 the singles are all white and the majc^^^ 



<lou!)les ar.' creani-fdonretl. - 



ion to tne n» 



of the 

 Sa uiuhi 



also uives expres- 



. <l<mble 



li».f that plants destined to pro<i>i(^ ^^^^^^ 

 flowers are more vigonuis m t:ro\\ 

 are those which wi'i bear -ingK" fl<>«*'r' ■ 



