498 



THE 



GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



June 29, 1912. 



remarkable endurance. It must be remem- 

 bered that the last was the severest winter 

 experienced for fifty years. Under such cir- 

 cumstances the future of Ontario a« a fruit- 

 growing section is assured. 



ROSES NOT EXPANDING, 

 terworth : Heavv rains often 



W. S., Lut- 

 prevent the 

 The outer 



that 

 the 



packed 



Heavy rains 

 proper opening of rose buds, 

 petals becomes so tightly 

 they do not readily separate, and so 

 growing inner petals either burst the outer 

 ones and so produce a damaged flower, or 

 they force the whole mass of petals from the 

 ba^e or hip. Defective root action is also 

 responsible for buds decaying instead of open- 

 ing, and this is the trouble in your case, as 

 evidenced by the poor leaves and yellowy 

 flower stems. There is something radically 

 wrong with the plant, and it should be given 

 a better position in the autumn. The soil is 

 probably wet and cold a foot or so below the 

 surface. 



GARDENERS AND HEALTH INSUR- 

 ANCE.— M. M., Lincoln : Can you enlighten 

 me as to the manner in wliich a friendly so- 

 ciety, approved by the National Health In- 

 surance Commissioners, will obtain the money 

 paid by an insured person, seeing, as I un- 

 derstand it, the member's contribution i8, so 

 to speak, paid into the Post Office for an 

 equivalent in stamps?— The money is paid in 

 the first place into the local post office in 

 exchange for insurance stamps (not postage 

 and revenue stamps) to be placed on the cardo 

 of the insured persons, llie stamped cards 

 are lodged with the societies at the end of 

 the pei^od of their currency, and the society 

 then forwards them to the Insurance Commis- 

 sioners and io credited with the amount of the 

 stamps, les8 a deduction which will be ex- 

 plained later. The money received by the 

 post offices from the sale of stamps has in the 

 meantime l>een accumulating in the " Na- 

 tional Health Insurance Fund" in the same 

 way that money is accumulated in a bank. 

 As the societies are called upon to pay-out 

 benefits they draw upon this central fund, as 

 from a bank, for the amounts paid out and 

 for the expenses of administration. The de- 

 duction referred to above is a deduction of 

 one penny and five-ninths from every .seven- 

 penny contribution collected and credited to 

 the societies, and it is made for the purpose 

 of providing the money for the reserve values. 

 It is not retained permanently by the Com- 

 missioners, but has to be u«ed by them in 

 payment of interest upon the reserve values 

 and in paying off the reserve values them- 

 selves. In other words, it is redistributed 

 among the .societies in accordance with the 

 ages of the members, and it is itself part of 

 the money upon which societies can draw, 

 as explained in the previous paragraph. 



NAMES OF PLANTS. 



J. C, Goodmayes.— Geranium albanium. 



C. P., Wolverton.— 1, Phacelia campanu- 

 laria; 2, Erica ciliaris; 3, Taxus baccata 

 glauca. 



F. W., Coventry.— Probably a variety 

 Anthemis tinctoria ; send a plant, or so 

 basal growth with a few more flowers. 



J, L, S., Bramber.— Alyssum alpestre; 

 Achillea alpina; 3, Dianthns deltoides; 

 poor specimen, probably Artemesia argentea, 



M C, Chippenham.— 1, Ginkgo biloba ; 2, 

 Prunus Pissardi ; 3, Philadephus Gordoni- 



anus; 4, Lonicera 

 Soaforthianum. 



of 



2, 

 4, 



pervirens ; o 



^ Solan um 



Cole wort©.— Perhaps the most estim- 

 able of all autumn and winter vegetables, 

 and the least grown. Too much value is 

 ;ittached to the old cabbage beds sprouting 

 for a supply at this time, whereas if two 

 sowings of coleworts were made, one at the 

 end of Mav, and another at the end of June, 

 much worry would be saved, besides having a 

 plentiful supply of delicious cabbage through- 

 out the winter. The last season proved this, 

 where grown in quantity, other winter vege- 

 tables being cut badly, and the later cole- 

 worts came through the ordeal almost un- 

 scathed. Plant one foot apart eaeh way as 

 ground becomes cleared of early peas, pota- 

 toes, etc. — G. E1.LW00D. 



OBITUARY. 



MR. WILLIAM FYFE. 



With much regret we have to record the 

 death of Mr. William Fyfe. which occurred 

 at l^ockinge Park, Wantage, on June 24. 



Mr. Fyfe, who had been in rather indif- 

 ferent health, was appointed to the charge 

 of Lockinge Park gardens by the late Lord 

 AVantage about twenty years ago, and dur- 

 ing this period he succeeded, by means 

 of administrative ability and cultural 

 abill of a high ord?r, in greatly enhancing 

 the high reputation these great gardens so 

 long enjoyed, and of obtaining for himself a 

 foremotst position among practical horticul- 



turists. 



It is interetstin^" to recall the fact 



that Mr. Fyfe occupied a prominent position 



tables to public notice at the exhibitions 

 This is not the time to deal at length with 

 hid successes as a winner of prizes for vege- 

 tables, but it should be mentioned that dur- 

 ing the period in which he exhibited them 

 iic was a formidable competitor, and obtained 

 the premier position in many a hard-fouffht 

 contest. It is even n:ore important to place 

 on record the fact that by the tasteful man- 

 ner in which he staged his collections, he did 

 mircli to luring about a great and highly bene- 

 ficial reform in the exiiibition of the products 

 of the kitchen garden. Mr. Fyfe also 

 achieved distinction as a cultivator of both 

 hard and soft-wooded plants, and, as a cul- 

 ti^ator of Fortunes Yellow rose, had pro- 

 bably no equal. For some years Mr. Fyfe 

 was a regular contributor to the Gardeners' 

 Magazine, and he was long a member of the 

 Kcval Horticultural Society's Fruit Commit- 



Till-: LATE Mil. WILLIAM FYFE 



ii the gardsns of Lockinge before he assumed 

 charge of them, for previous to his doing 

 excellent work at Ditton and Overate ne ParlT, 

 he was general foreman, and in that position 

 afforded ample evidence of his commanding 

 ability. The fact that Mr. Fyfe was ap- 

 pointed to the position of head of the gar- 

 dening staff at Lockinge some years after his 

 leaving to fill responsible positions elsewhere, 

 is an unquestionable proof that in the di 

 charge of liis duties he favourably impressed 

 his employers during the first period of his 

 Vveing in the grirdeup^ of their historic Berk- 

 shire estate. During the time Mr. Fyfe was 

 in charge of the gardening establishment the 

 several departments were to well maintained 

 that it would be difficult to mention one as of 

 exceptional excellence in comparison with the 

 others. He was v^enerally regarded, and pro- 

 perly so, as one of the most successful fruit 



of the day, and throughout the time 

 in charge of the Lockinge Park gar- 

 dens the vineries were regarded by thoee 

 specially interested in fruit culture under 

 plass as^ one of their chief attractions. Mr. 



was not less successful as an exhibitor 



cultivator, and many were the 



tee, and enjoyed to the full the esteem of 

 those who were associated with him in the 

 work of that body. 



grow 

 he w 



F J f e 

 than 



as a 



prizes that he was successful in winning at 

 the leading exhibitions. Mr. Fyfe was remark- 

 ably successful as an exhibitor of vegetables, 

 and took a leading part in the d^'velopment 

 of the modern metiiO'ds of presenting vege- 



Ada. Aurantiaca is another species 



which is wortiiy of cultivation on account of 

 its peculiar yoke-of-egg coloured flowers, 

 which, when mixed with the long spikes of 

 odontoglossums and the other inmates of this 

 house, prove most effective. The plants have 

 just passed out of bloom, and, like Tricho- 

 mosa sua vis, the half -formed growths will 

 quickly produce new roots, therefore any 

 plants that require potting should be now 

 attended to. After repotting give but little 

 water for some time, as should the compost 

 l>e overcharged with moisture there is gr^^*' 

 danger of the young growths damping on, 

 and the plants receiving a severe check 

 thereby. When thoroughly established and 

 well rooted tJie plants may receive copious 

 supplies of moisture at the roots. Both this 

 and the (preceding are easy plants to cul- 

 tivate, and should be grown by those who 

 cultivate a few orcihids for the love of them, 

 but who do not indulge in an orchid house 

 proper, as these two species may be culti- 

 vated amongst ordinary greenhouse plants, 

 provided they are shaded from the sun 

 J. T. B. 



