482 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



June 29, I9ii I 



rediioecl. The practice which is sometimes 

 adopted of allowing all the shoots to re- 

 main and then cut them back when summer 

 prvining is in progress is not one that can 

 be recommended. '^Ihe best method of pro- 

 cedure is to thin the shoots w^here crowded 

 at a quite early stage by rubbing off those 

 which are weakly and ill-placed. If this 

 was not done when the surplus shoots could 

 be removetl with the finger and thumb, it 

 should be done now with the aid of a sharp 

 knifcj the removal being effected hy cut- 

 ting them off close to the base. This re- 

 duction will more fully expose the base 

 of the remaining shoots and the short spurs 

 to the beneficial influence of light and air, 

 and thereby assist in fruit production. 



Professor J. B. Farmer, D.Sc, 



FiR.Siy who has for some years past occu- 

 pied the important position of professor of 

 botany at the Royal College of Science, 

 London, evinced quite early in life a strong 

 taste for botanical pursuits and natural 

 science. He had a distinguished career at 

 Magdalen College, Oxford, and was First 

 Class Final Honour School Natural Sc-ience 

 in 1887. He was demonstrator of botany 

 at Oxford T'niv(M'.sity from 1887 to 1892, 

 elected a Fellow of his college in 1889, and 

 w^as assistant professor of biology at Oxford 

 from 1892 to- 1895, when he was appointed 

 to the position he now occupies. Professor 

 Farmer was a member of the Science and 

 Education Committee of the Royal Inter- 

 national Horticultural Exhibition, and con- 

 tributed in no small degree to the success 

 of the exhibition of scientific objects. He is 

 a member of the R.H.S. Scientific Commit- 

 tee, and with a taste for gardening, he 

 appreciates the importance of a close asso- 

 ciation of practice with science. 



A Minister for Horticulture 



has vet to come, but we must be tliankful 

 for small mercies, and for Mr. Runciman's 

 assurance that under the Board of Agri- 

 culture and Fisheries there will be a dis- 

 tinct Horticultural Branch. In answer to 

 a question put in the House of Commons 

 last week, Mr. Runciman stated that this 

 new horticultural branch would embrace all 

 sections of horticultural industry, and 

 would have as its head Mr. A. G. L. Rogers, 

 who would be assisted by nine experts and 

 an adequate clerical staff. 



Gold Medal Sweet Peas. —We 



understand that Mr. C. W, Breadmore^ of 

 Winchester, obtained a gold medal for his 

 exhibit of sweet peas at the York Gala, 

 whereas, owing to a clerical error, we cre- 

 dited him with a siiver-gilt one. 



The Ontario Fruit Crop. — Ac- 

 cording to the official report on the fruit 

 crop that we have just received from the 

 Ontario Department of Agriculture, the 

 severity of the winter told upon some or- 

 chards in a very marked manner, while 

 many others were practically un&cathedi 

 In the more western counties of the Lake 

 Erie group, and in Lambton, a number of 

 peach trees were more or less frozen in tlie 

 bud, and many were at first thouglit to be 

 deetroyefl ; but later examination showed 

 that the damage was not so bad as had been 

 feared, as the deep snow had in most eases 

 prevented root-killing. On the other hand, 

 in what is known as the Niagara district— 

 the leading commercial fruit section of the 

 Province— ^peaches came through the winter 

 with but little harm, and the frost of May 

 was not heavy enough to injure the fruit 

 buds. Plums and cherries give promise cf 

 good yields, and apples are also likely to 

 give a good crop. Complaints are made of 

 injury to va-nous classes of fruit trees from 

 the San Jose scale, more especially m the 

 Lake Erie counties, and of the caterpillar 

 threatening apples in some of the Lake 



Raspberries, blackberries, 

 bush fruits 



Ontario counties east of Toronto ; but spray- 

 ing operations have been more active than 

 ever this season 



and other bush fruits were considerably 

 broken down or frozen back as a result of 

 the deep snow and the severe cold, but, as 

 a rule, they have been merely checked and 

 not killed. Strawberries also suffered, but 

 more from the drought of last summer than 

 from the winter. However, taking fruit 

 prospects generally, the outlook is encour- 

 aging, considering the unusual severity of 



the past season 



Rainfall at Cardiff— The Cardiff 



Naturalists' Society have issued a report 

 of the meteorological observations made in 

 that district for 1911. From this w^e learn 

 that the total rainfall for 



50.95in., 

 12.3oin. 



the year was 

 and December 



for July 0.39in., 

 The highest mean during the 2^ast 

 ten yeai^ was 67.9in. in 1903, and loAvest 

 39.98in. in 1905. With readings above 80 



deg. on seventeen days, and above 90 deg. 

 on two days, the residents of the district 



had good cause for thankfulness that so 

 large a proportion of the rainfall was regis- 

 tered in December, and that the period of 

 torrid heat was accompanied, as in July, 

 by a light fall of rain, for, while a high 

 temperature and heavy rainfall ma}- have 

 a stimulative effect upon plant life, it is 

 not particularly pleasant to the ordinary 

 individvial. 



Cuscuta 



owi.— The biology 



and physiology of this species of dodder, 

 which is parasitic on willows, has been in- 

 vestigated by Dr. K. Spisar, and the re- 

 port thereon has been published in a 

 recent bulletin issued by the Interna- 

 tional Academy of Science, Prague. It was 

 found in the course of the investigations 

 that seedlings would wind round organic 

 or inorganic supports of varying thickness, 

 the contact stimulus being so strong that 

 contact with a thread was sufficient to bring 

 about a reaction. During the formation 

 of haustoria, which is not dependent either 

 on light or the want of food, growth ceases, 

 and the circumnutation movements are 

 lost, but reappear after a few days. The 

 tissues in the haustorial zone when the 

 rest of the dodder has l^een torn off, give 

 rise to adventitious buds, and thus regene- 

 rate the parasite, w^hich is not very fasti- 

 dious about its host, and may be parasitic 

 on itself. 



Horticultural Sc 



and 



uc 



ion. 



lence 



At the Conference on 

 conne ct io n with PI a nt 



Legislation in 



Diseases, held recently at Chelsea, a resolu- 

 tion was passed asking the iScience and 

 Education Committee of the Royal Inter- 

 national Horticultural Exhibition to con- 

 tinue its work with the object of further- 

 ing international action if possible. The 

 need for combined international action ap- 

 peared to be the keynote of the conference. 

 In view of the fact that this committee vir- 

 tually came to an end on the completion of 

 the conference proceedings the Royal Hor- 

 ticultural Society has agreed to appoint a 

 committee to carry on the work suggested 

 above. 



Synthetic Rubber. — Remembering 

 what a large amount of capital has been 

 expended, and how much labour employed 

 in the production of Para and other forms 

 of rubber, and that planting is still being 

 vigorously conducted in many tropical coun- 

 tries it is something of a shock to know that 

 Professor W. H. Perkin has discovered a 

 means of making rubber from fusel oil 

 produced from starch. It is said that syn- 

 thetic rubber can be produced cheaply and 

 abundantly from such bases as cereals, 

 maize potatoes, etc. Two points of interest 

 have arisen in connection with this dis- 



a similar discovery, but along differp^ 

 lines, and at a later date than the Brit^l 



and 



durmg 



xne process a war 

 producing acetone cheaply has been foJi^j 

 and this is important because of theij- 

 acetone plays in the manufacture ?J 

 munition. In future, therefore, our do^ 

 toes, for instance, may serve for food, or ^ 

 the chemists' hands become peaceful riibl)^ 

 or death-dealing ammunition. 



Postponement 



Show.— In 



of 



National Rose and 



Saltaire 



consequence of 

 Xationjil 



11.- 



Sweet Pei 



Societies having fixed the date of thei' 

 respective exhibitions for July 9, the Si', 

 taire Rose Society have altered thedat«t' 

 their exhibition from July 9 to WeduRyt 

 day, July 17 ■ 



The 



National 



Chrysanthe^ 

 mum Society's Outing: will takt 



place on Monday, July 15. A visit will be 

 paid to the gardens of F. G. Gledstanti 

 Evsq., at Berry Hill, Taplow. The traia 

 will leave Paddin2:ton at 9.15 a.m., and'^ 



From Staines/ 



Paddington 

 arrive at Staines at 10.13. 



the party will proceed by steam-launci io 

 Maidenhead, lunch at the Dumb Bell Hotel, 

 visit Berry Hill gardens, and return to tli? 

 liotei for tea. At 5.30 p.m. the party wil 

 go by the steam launch to ^larlow^ return- 

 ing in time to catch the 8.35 p.m. train 

 from Taplow to Paddington. This trip will 

 include six hours on the most lovely par* 

 of the river Thames, and, given fint 

 Aveather, the outing should be a most en- 

 joyable one. Tickets may be obtained frcir. 

 Mr. R. A. Witty, not later than July 8. 



Gardeners' Visit to Hillingdon 



Court.— A party of about thirty members' 

 of the Hanwell and Greenford Horticultural 

 Society visited Lord Hillingdon's beautiful [ 

 gardens at Hillingdon Court, Uxbridge. a 

 few days ago. The visit proved most in- 

 teresting and instructive under the guid- 

 ance of Mr. A. R Allan, the head gar- 

 dener. The blue Avalk, with its borders of 

 delphiniums and anchusas, ami "the red 

 walk, with its abundance of roses, attracted 

 special attention, while the choice conifers, 

 flower garden, and fruits indoors and out 

 were all greatly admired. 



of Flowers 



contribution 



Protection 



—. In 



ava.ria. 



South 



a 



in 



to 



ature " on the protection of plants ni 

 th Bavaria, Mr. C. C. Hosseus gn>- 



what 1^ 



some interesting particulars of 



in the district of which the 



Berchtesffaden in 



being done 

 health resort 



of 



til 



Bavarian Alps, with a view to prot^^ct a 

 large number of wild flowers and a^rew 

 tiees and shrubs from the vandals. rxm\\ 

 this communication we learn that the t«o^- 

 ernment has ordered that all wdd pla"^^ 

 of commerce, as well as rare specnnens. ai. 



Without special pernns- 



the following 



remove 



to be protected. 



sion nobody may . - , 



plants : Leontopodium alpinum, RhocUxlen- 



dron hirsutum, R. intermedium, «• I*'''.''"] 

 gineum, Rhodothamnus chanipecistus L'^i^ 

 leuria procumbens, Helleborus nigcr. t.M^r - 



pedium calceolus, Primula auricula, 

 t^ana pannonica, G. purpurea, ^^S^'^^^, ■ 

 suaveolens, Orchis lustulata. Chamjeorcns. 

 idpina, Ophrys muscifera, Gentiana /J^^ii 

 lis. LUium martagon. Platardhera bitoua, 

 Scolopendrium vulgare. Cyclamen eur 

 pteum, Achillea clavennse, Imperatoria o 

 truthium, Xvmphfea alba. Ilex aq^^^^l^^J"^^ 

 Taxus baccata, Pinus cembra, etc. 

 the names of these plants are exannnei , 

 it is seen that many of them fi^*^ reniai^ 

 able for a limestone flora. Tables 

 coloured flowers show the ^xact ^.^^^^^^j^, 

 si-»eciineai under consideration, and the 

 ing-rooms in railway stations, as well as 

 foyers in the big hotels, have ^xcellen^L 

 painted illustrations of the P*;^;^^^^ 



navo i*riat;ii m v^^niJ.'.*- — - i . i mj 



oovery ; the German chemists have made plants. This system, liowever, is nox 



