548 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



July 20, 1912 



age and experience. Youth was also a 

 handicap when Mr. Newsham was placed 

 on the ^ort list for the post of Curator of 

 the Liverpool Botanic Gardens. When the 

 movement for appointing properly trained 

 men as lecturers and teachers of horticul- 

 ture and agriculture developed Mr. 

 Newsham's opportunity came, and here his 

 early agricultural training stood him in 

 good stead. He secured a position as lec- 

 turer under the auspices of the Hants 

 County Council, and a few years later was 

 made principal of the Farm School at Old 

 Basing, a position he holds with great cre- 

 dit to himself and all concerned. Mr. Xew- 

 sham holds strong views in connection with 

 the eilucation of gardeners. He believes 

 that young men should take np definite 

 courses of study, and so become well 

 equipped scientifically as well as practically, 

 and he is very anxious that the horticul- 

 tural lecturer may soon occupy a position in 

 every way equal to that of his agricultural 

 iconfrere. 



Fruit Crops on the Continent. 



We are informe^l by th^? Board of Agri- 

 culture and Fisheries that reports have 

 been received from His Majesty's Consuls 

 on tlu' condition of the fruit crops in cer- 

 tain <listrict-s in Germany, France, Belgium, 



and Holiaiul. The Consul-General at 

 Frankfort-on^Main, writing on prospects m 



Gcnniniy generally, reports tliat this \-car\s 

 crop nearly nil kiiuls of fruit in Ger- 

 many will picsimiiiMy be a small one. The 

 fruit trciv, and hiisluvs suffered heavily 

 through the great drought of 1911, subse- 

 quently through the sudden change of tem- 

 perature from warmth to intense cold in 

 Februar}', and finally through the spring 

 frosts in April and at the beginning of May. 

 In many districts a complete failure of the 

 fruit crofj^s is certain. In the di*^trict of 

 Biihl, in Baden, the centre of the early 

 plum cidtivation, the loss sustained by the 

 proprietors of vineyards and orchards is 

 estimated at from £50.000 to £100 000. As 



^ ated at from £50,000 to £100,000. 

 to Franc(% there is, generally, a great defi- 

 ciency in ovevy kind of fruit for exporta- 

 tion. Tlier(^ will only be available for ex- 

 ilic 



port 



most 



to tnc Tnited Singdom this year at 

 !talt ordinary available quantities 

 of pears, <'herrie.s, apricots, and apples ; but 

 of prunes, peaches, and black currants there 

 will only be one-third, if as much, and their 

 price will probably be about one-third 

 higher than last year. The plum crop will 

 be bad. In Belgium prospects are very 

 poor. Early frosts destroyed the bloom, 

 and the subsequent prolonged period of 

 drought hindered the formation of the 

 fruit. The crap is likely to be poor in 

 quality and restricted in quantity. The 

 fruit crops in Holland are reported to be 

 satisfactory as a whole. 



Messrs. R. Wallace and Co.'s 



Rock Garden. — As recorded in the re- 

 port which appeared in our issue of May 25, 

 Messrs. R. Wallace and Co., of Colchester, 

 arranged at the Royal International Horti- 

 cultural Exhibition a rock and watei 

 den so remarkable for its taste and beauty 

 as to dbtain for the firm the award 

 of the handwme cup offered hy Queen 

 Alexandra for the Ibest exhibit in the sec- 

 tion. A few days since Messns. Wallace 

 received from Colonel Streatfield, her 

 Majesty's private secretary, the following 

 letter having reference to their rock and 

 water garden : I am commanded by Queen 

 Alexandra to thank you very sincerely for 

 the beautiful water colour and photographs 

 of your rock garden at the Royal Interna- 

 tional Horticultural Exhibition, which you 

 sent to Her Majesty, through vSir George 

 Holford. Her (Maiestv thinks iMrss i)u 



gar- 



Cane's picture lovely, and is very glad to 



accept your kind present. Queen Alexan- 

 «dra is very glad to know that vou won 



her cup, and thinks the aw^ard most justly 

 made, as she has a pleasing recollection of 

 the beauty of your garden when visiting the 

 exhibition at Chelsea.'' 



The Potato Crop.— At the present 



time potatoes present a very promising ap- 

 pearance, and, provided the climatic condi- 

 tions continue favourable, the crop will 

 closely approach, if it does not prove equal 

 to, that harvested last year. The early 

 potatoes suffered somewhat from the 

 drought experienced in May, and in a few 

 districts the potato disease made its ap- 

 pearance in June, but the change from 

 the moist conditions that obtained during 

 that month prevented the disease spread- 

 ing to an injurious extent. Maincrop 

 varieties are especially promising in the 

 North of England and in Scotland. 



The Golden Tulip Tree (Lirioden- 



dron tulipifera aureo-marginata) is re- 

 markable both for its golden flowers 

 and the yellow mai'gin to its some- 

 what singularly cut leaver, and should 

 p rove a u sef id addition to the t r ees 

 of sper-ial value for the garden. We 

 are reminded of this distinct and 

 beautiful form by several cut speoimens 

 that Messrs. Paul and Son, of Cheshuntj 

 have kindly sent us. The flowers of this 

 variety are of a more decidedly yellow hue 

 than are those of the type, and the brown 

 blotches on the petals that are characteris- 

 tic of the flowers of the latter are replaced 

 by others that are bright orange-yellow. 

 The leaves are irregularly margined with 

 greenish-yellow, the varieg£|.tion extending 

 in some cases over onenhalf the leaf. 



Proposed Park for Shadwell. 



— The Corporation of the City of London 

 have been considering a proposal to sell 

 their Shadwell Market property to the 

 King Edward Memorial Committee, with a 

 view to its preservation as a public park. 

 To assist in bringing the project to a suc- 

 cessful conclusion the London County Coun- 

 cil, who are lessees of a portion of the 

 site, are prepared to redeem for £14,000 

 their liability under the lease. The Fish 

 Markets Committee have recommended the 

 Corporation to accept from the Memorial 

 Committee a net payment of £70,000, on 

 condition that the property be converted 

 into a public park^ for the use of the public 

 for ever, as a memorial of King Edward, 

 and that due provision be made for laying 

 out the park. The purchase and conver- 

 sion of the site will cost about £100,000, 

 and as £75,000 has been received by the 

 Memorial Committee in cash or promises, 

 a sum of about £25,000 remains to be 

 collected. 



Presentation to Mr. and Mrs. 



Barnett.— Advantage was taken of the 

 opportunity that the judges' luncheon on 

 the occasion of the Wolverhampton Show 

 afforded to make a presentation to the late 

 secretary, Mr. W. E. Barnett, and Mrs. 

 Barnett, for the pui^ose of giving practical 

 expression to the esteem in which he was held 

 by both judges and exhibitors. The Mavor, 

 who presided, called attention to the fact 

 that those who had been associated with the 

 show since commencement were desirous 

 of showing their appreciation of Mr. Bar- 

 nett's ability and conrtesy during the long 

 period he occupied the position of secretary. 

 Mr. Owen Thomas then, on behalf of the 

 subscribers, asked Mr. Barnett's acceptance 

 of a silver tea and coffee service, with a set 

 of vases for Mrs. Barnett, together with an 

 address. The address was as I'follows : The 

 news of your retirement from the position of 

 secretary of the ahove great show, after the 

 successful service of 21 years, was received 

 by the exhibitors and judges with very sin- 

 cere regret. Many of them have heen asso- 

 ciated with vou in the service to the socielv 



during the whole of this time. That regr. 

 was felt the more keenly by the knowing, 

 that the cause of your giving up your posil 

 tion was due to ill-health. It is earnesth 

 hoped that your strength may soon be re^ 

 stored to you in full measure. The exhibi. 

 tors and judges feel that they could not let 

 the opportunity pass without offering you 

 as a mark of their respect and sympathy 

 some small, tangible token of their appre^ 

 ciation of the extreme courtesy and unos- 

 tentatious, helpful kindness yon had alwavs 

 extended to them during this long time. 

 They ask your acceptance therefore of the 

 accompanying present of a silver tea and 

 coffee service, with four silver vases for 

 Mi's. Barnett, with their sincere wishes that 

 you may both long be spared to enjov 

 them." Mr. Barnett snitahly acknowledged 

 the gift and the many kind things said of 

 him. 



Finchampstead Ridges. 



The 



committee which was recently appointed 

 with powers to negotiate with the trustees 

 of the Bear Wood estate for acquiring 

 several acres of Finchampstead Ridges, and 

 to appeal for funds to carry out the scheme 

 has secured an option of purchase for 

 £3^000 of 60 acres of the most elevated and 

 beautiful part of the property. Tliis will 

 preserve an uninterrupted view over Ever- 

 sley as far as Highclere Beacon 26 milea 

 away, and to the south or south-east as far 

 as Hindhead ; while the pretty valley of 

 the River Blackwater, with the village of 

 Yateley in the foreground, will not be 

 hidden from view if any houses are built 

 upon the intervening ground. Not only 

 have the vendors treated the committee 

 generously in the matter of price, but Mr. 

 John Waiter has himself promised a dona- 

 tion of £500, and the committee announce 

 that £2,400 has heen promised. On the 

 completion of the piirchase, the land ac- 

 quired will be vested in the National Trust 

 for Places of Historic Interest or Natural 



Beautv. 



British 



dee.— As 



pages, the 

 Association 



Association at Dun- 

 previously announced in these 

 annual meetins: of the British 



L .J 



will this vear be held at Dun- 



dee, and it 

 to sueirest 



year 



is creating iso much interest as 

 that it will, in every way, be 

 a great suocess. The dates of the meeting 

 are September 4 to 11, and the president- 

 elect is Professor E. A. Schaffer, F.R.S., 

 who, we understand, will devote his address 

 to a consideration of the nature, origin, and 

 maintenance of life. Professor F. Keeble, 

 D.Sc., will he the president of Section K 

 (Botany), and will take as the subject of 

 his address, *SMendelism as an Aid to Phy- 

 siological Research/' His chief ohject will 

 be to show that the iMendelian method of 

 plant rearing is an indispensable adjunct to 

 physiological research ; and the need for 

 this alliance hetween Mendelism and phy- 

 siology will be illustrated Iby a summary 



of the results of the researches carried out 



him- 



hy 

 self 

 tion 



Dr. E. F. 



nd 



on the 



Armstrong 

 mode of pigment 



It is intended 



fornia- 



by lantern slides. 



in plants. it is 

 devote one morning session to papers on 

 genetics and allied subjects, and it is hoped 

 that a semi-popular afternoon lecture wiH 

 be given by Mr. J. H. Burkill on the 

 botany of the Abor Exhibition illustrated 



In the Geological Sec- 

 tion Dr. Gordon will read a paper on the 

 Fossil Flora of the Pettycur hme&tone, Fife^ 

 and its bearing on botanical evolution. 1* 

 is anticipated that the paper will form the 

 basis of a discussion in which several lead- 

 ing palavo^botanists will take part. At a 

 joint meeting with the botanists, fixed for 

 Friday, Septemher 6, several papers ar 

 ranged by the Chemistry Section will oe 

 read and discuss-ed. Dr. J. V. Eyre 

 deal with the enzymes of flax and the 



_ r 



