Apeil 27, 1912. 



THE GARDENERS* MAGAZINE^ 



333 



of the various methods of planting, prun- 

 ing, training, and spraying of fruit trees ; 

 the'efFe<*t of lime and the various kinds of 

 manures ; and the prevention and destruc- 

 tion of insect and fungoid pests. Arrange- 

 ments are being made for training elemen- 

 tary school teachers to take the subject of 

 gardening in the day schools. One of the 

 features w'Al be a model cottage, which 

 is being erected on a special part of 

 the Hutton farm, with a garden to 

 be devoted to horticultural instruction con- 

 ducted on commercial lines. The garden 

 has an area of 20 rods, part of which will 

 be devoted to the cultivation of vegetables 

 under a proper system of rotation, and 

 part to fruit and flowers. A strict account 

 w411 be kept of the receipts and expendi- 

 ture. The fruits that will be grown in 

 the garden will comprise apples, pears, 

 plums, gooseberries, black currants, rasp- 

 berries, strawberries, and rhubarb. A 

 so-called French garden, with an area 

 of one-sixtieth part of an acre, is being 

 formed with the object of determining 

 whether the climatic conditions in Lanca- 

 shire are favourable to the growth of early 

 vegetables and saladings under the French 

 system. The head gardener is Mr. J. Gil- 

 lett, and the horticultural instructor for 

 Lancashire is Mr. A. G. Sowman, who has 

 written an excellent description of the 

 garden and its objects. 



Ac- 

 hy the 



Victorian Fruit Exports. 



cording to information received 

 Agent-General for Victoria, Australia, 

 about 318,000 cases of fruit will be de- 

 spatched from Melbourne to London and 

 Antwerp during the present season. 



Spring: Fiowe 

 Park, Liverpool. 



at Sefton 



Mr. 

 the 



Jas. Gutt- 



ridge, superintendent of tne ijiverpoo 

 Parks, is to be congratulated upon the 

 beautiful display of early flowers in the 

 large palm house at Sefton Park. Near 

 the north door is a fine groiip of hippeas- 

 trums surrounding the lovely marble re- 

 presentation of Highland Mary, with 

 lachenalias overhead. Near the oppos te 

 door is a mixed group of lilacs, rhododen- 

 drons, spiraeas, genistas, wistarias, azaleas, 

 and tulips. Cineraria stellata is good, and 

 Senecio Moorei, mixed with daffodils, was 

 delightful a week or two ago. Facing the 

 marble seat is a group of choice orchids, 

 including many Iselio-cattleyas, oncidiums, 

 and dendrobiums, with tulips', roses, and 

 ferns as a basal setting. 



Am 



Gooseberry 



M 



^ received information that 

 the summer stage of the Gooseberry Mil- 

 dew (Sphaerotheca Mors uvse )was found in 

 a Cambridgeshire garden on April 15, the 

 Board of Agriculture urges gooseberry 

 growers to carefully examine their bushes, 

 promptly report the presence of the 

 disease, and, if the least evidence of the 

 fungus is found, to spray the gooseberries 

 with potassium sulphide used at the rate 

 of lib. to each 32 gallons of water. 



Tobacco Growing: in Ireland. 



From the annual report of the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture and Technical Instruc- 

 t.on for Ireland, we learn that in 1911 pipe 

 varieties of tobacco were planted on one 

 lumdred acres, cigarette varieties on 

 twenty-eight acres, cigar varieties on five 

 uteres, and varieties for the production of 

 nicotine on one acre. The season of 1911 



xreptionally favourable 



J^, on the whole^ . 



for tobacco growing. The crop would pro- 

 nabiy have been the best both as to average 

 Jiem and as to qual'tv that has been grown 

 since tlie beginning of the experiments liad 



X^^l 7^"" ^^"^ ^^^^^ tobacco on 



oout fifteen acres was injured hy in.^e-.ls 



disease. The tobacco grown in 1910 



at all centres except two was sold to manu- 

 facturers, the average price obtained being 

 5;|d. per lb. The prices ranged from 4d. 

 to 6Jd. per lb. for pipe varieties, 6d. per 

 lb. for cigarette varieties, and from 3:^d. 

 to 8d. per lb. for cigar varieties. The re- 

 ports of the manufacturers who purchased 

 the crop were similar to those made on the 

 1907 and 1908 crops. * Most of the tobacco 

 was blended carefully with foreign leaf, 

 but in one case Irish-grown tobacco alone 

 was used with succeissful results. 



Tulips at Sheffield.— Last Sunday 



was a great day at the Sheffield Botanic 

 Gardens because of the wonderfxd display 

 of tulips that greeted visitors. Thirty 

 thousand were on view, and most of them 



had their flowers all fresh and newly 



Proserpine, Belle Alliance, Ver- 

 Brilliant. Keizerskroon. and 



opened, 

 milion 



White Hawk were particularly fine, the 

 purity of the white blooms of the latter 

 causing not a little comment, and it was 

 generally conceded that the coal strike, and 

 consequent reduction of black smoke and 

 dust, was largely responsible for this pleas- 

 ing state of affairs. 



Sweet Pea Prizes for 



Children. -.One of the special features 

 of the exhibition of the ^national Sweet 

 Pea Society, to be held at Boston, U.S.A., 

 July 13 and 14^ which is attracting much 

 attent'on, is the proposed display by school 

 children. A leaflet has been issued show- 

 ing the schedule of some twenty-four 

 classes^ open only to school children, and 

 carrying simple suggestions for the suc- 

 cessful growing of sweet peas. A large 

 number of these has been distributed 

 through school superintendents in Boston 

 and vicinity, and an interesting exhibition 

 is anticipated. The ''Weekly Florists' 

 Review " states that the seed stores note a 

 considerable demand for seeds as a conse- 

 quence of these school children's prizes. 



A New 



discovered Fossil 



Plant. — At the monthly meeting of the 

 Royal Society of Edinburgh, a communica- 

 tion from Dr. AV. T. Gordon, Edinburgh, 

 was read by Professor James Geikie on 

 " Rhetinangium Arberi, a New Fossil Stem 

 from Pettycur." This newly-discovered 

 fossil plant has, according to Dr. Gordon, 

 several features which render the type 

 rather important from an evolutionary 

 standpoint. The specimens, of which three 

 have so far been obtained, were derived 

 from rocks of Lower Carboniferous age at 

 Pettycur, Fife, and Edrom, Berwickshire. 

 The Pettycur specimens are better pre- 

 served, and anatomical description was 

 therefore based on the stems and petioles 

 from that locality. One important feature 

 was the occurrence of resin ducts and sacs 

 in practically every tissue in the stem — 

 wood, inner cortex, and outer cortex — and 

 the first part of the generic name denotes 

 this characteristic. At the same time, the 

 monostelic ax's and the genera 

 that axis are distinctly of the Hetei angium 

 type. The generic name therefore repre- 

 sented two well-marked features of the 

 stem. The specific name was given in 

 honour of Dr. E. A. Newell Arber, who 

 supervised the work of the author when in 

 Cambridge. The affinities of th s new pi nt 

 were interesting; for, while it resembled 

 Heterangium in many points, there were 

 several characteristics wh'ch seemed to in- 

 dicate some relation with Sutcliffia and the 

 other coal measure Pter'd-^sperms. But 

 there was no genus with which it seemed 

 more closely ail ed than Dr Kidston's new 

 genus, Stenomyclon. Indee<l, Rhetinan- 

 gium was a possible phvllogenetic link be- 

 tween the lower Pteridosperms as repre- 

 sented by Heterangium and the higher 

 membe 's of that group. 



YELLOW SAXIFRAGES. 



Only a few years ago the number of 

 saxifrages with yellow flowers was very 

 limited, and the writer can well 

 member the enthusiasm among alpine cul- 

 tivators when such beautiful flowers as 

 Saxifraga Boydi were brought within their 

 ken. Since then many new species and 

 varieties have made their advent, and it 

 may be said tliat we have now a- good 

 choice of plants of this colour. We had, 

 theui, it is true, a small number of yellow 

 saxifrages, but some of these -did not ac- 

 oo m mod a t e th em s e 1 ves to th e ord i n a r y 

 conditions of our gardens, and there were 

 otliers which did not flower freely enough 

 to give satisfaction to their growejis. 



Saxifragra Hirculus. 



One of the older plants is the native 

 Saxifraga Hirculus, the Marsh Saxifrage, 

 whose limitations as to position are indi- 

 cated by the popular name it bears and 

 never does really well anywhere where it 

 cannot rec*eive an ample supply of mois- 

 ture. It is at its best by the side of a little 

 streamlet ; an artificial or natural bog in 

 the garden ; or the margin of some little 

 tank or pool whea-e it can obtain plenty of 

 the moisture it calls for. 



The ordinary S. Hirculus is an upright- 

 growing plant about six inches high, and 

 h a ving na rro w leaves, a nd bea ring fa i r- 

 sized good yellow floweis on the tops of 

 the stems. There is a scarce, but superior 

 variety, 8. Hirculus major, which is taller, 

 has larger flowers, and is altogether more 

 desirable. 



Saxifraga aizoides. 



Here we have another and desirable 

 native plant with yellow flowers, and also 

 a lover of moisture It is a low-growing, 

 more tufted plant, making small cushions 

 of pretty foliage and bearing pleasing yel- 

 low flowers. It is eclipsed in colouring 

 the fine variety S. aizoides aurantiaca, 

 which is now rather scarce, and has its 

 blooms of a deep orange yellow. It is 

 rather a pretty plant, and is withal not 

 quite so desirous of moisture as 8. Hircu- 

 lus. The writer, in default of an ideal 

 position, such as the edge of a pond or 



the 



stream, grew it for several years 

 lower part of the shady side of a small 

 rockery, giving it good soakings of water 

 every few days. It will also do well on 

 %vet locks. There is a later-floweriug 

 varietv, called S. aizoides autumnalis. 



Yellow Varieties of S. aizoon. 



Wc have now two very beautiful yellow 

 varieties of Saxifraga aizoon, one of our 

 most useful Silver Saxifrages. They are 

 beautiful enough when not in flower, their 

 rosettes of silver-edged leaves giving great 

 pleasure, but they are still more &o when 

 they throw up their little spikes of yellow 

 flowers. The finer of the two is called S. 

 aizoon flacescens, and this has l>eautiful 

 little flowers of a good lemon-yellow. The 

 other. S. aizoon lutea, is not so bright in 

 its colouring, but it is much cheaper than 

 its ally. These should have a sunny plac6 

 and gJ'itty soil. 



Saxifraga aspera. 



Some will object to the inclusion of this 

 among the "yellow" saxifrages, hnt its 

 blooms are of a kind of butter colour, and 

 may be included in a somewhat broad list. 

 It is of mossy habit, and can be grown in 

 sun or slri<le on the rockery. It is easily 

 cultivattnl in a mixture of peat and loam 

 with sand and grit, or with leaf-soil substi- 

 tuted for the peat, 



Saxifrag^a aplculata. 



This charming little saxifrage is one of 

 the most valuable for the rockery, and Is 



