08 S 



THE GARDENERS* MAGAZINE. 



December 21. 1912. 



3Ir. Percy Hohii^'iS, Tuekhwoud, in place of 

 Mr. W. Laws, who hacs gone to British Colum- 

 bia. A list of proposed alterations to rules 

 and exhibition classecs. which had been dealt 

 with by the committee, was adopted, Tlie 

 Secretary also i-ead the proposed list of esciays 

 and lectures for 1913 .scrvsion, which indicated 

 practical subjects by well known local experts. 



At this meeting" some of the members made 

 very good exliibit.s, special mention being due 

 to the deiidrobium, from Mr. W. Shoesmith, 

 the vatse of cut cypripediums from Mr. J. W. 

 Chapman, Tlie Gardens, Ashwellthorpe Hall; 

 and the bunch of Alicante grapes put up by 

 Mr. W. Marjoram, gardener to W. T. F. 

 Jarrold, Esq., Thorpe St. Andrew. 



The annual dinner is fixed for Wednesday, 

 Jan. 13, at the Criterion Restaurant, Norwich. 



Croydon Gardeners' Asso- 

 ciation. 



The attendance of mcml>ers of this society 

 at their headquarters, the Sunflower Tem- 

 perance Hotel, George Street, on the 3rd 

 inst.. wa> very good. Each member had in 

 mind a \ciy interesting lecture delivered to 

 them in October liarst by Mr. H. H. B. 

 Shepherarl, F.I.C., F.C.S,, on the uses of 

 artificial fertilisers. At that meeting Mr. 

 Shepherd promised to answer any questions 

 the mem!l)ert> ^^dshed information upon if 

 they Avould write him giving details, and he 

 would furnish replies in similar form. A 

 good list of questions had been forwarded 

 to him, and this evening wae* set apart for 

 the replies and further discussion. 



In framing the questions, it was borne in 

 mind th a t t o a d v ise t he use of eh em iea 1 

 fertilij^ers one has first to studv local condi- 

 tions. Generally speaking, the local soils 

 are rich in lime, and thig being one of the 

 essentials of plant food, study mu^t be made 

 as to Avhat other substancevS should be added 

 to produce the even balance ne<!essary. 



After each written an.sw^er from Mr. Shep- 

 herd had been read the members entered into 

 brisk debate on their experiencen, and by 

 this means a consensus of opinion wag ob- 

 tained wiiich will benefit all who heard it. 



Tlie meeting unanimously accorded a 

 hearty vote of thanks to Mr. Shepherd for 

 his lucid remarks, and the hon. .secretary 

 was requested to write him to this effect. 



Considerable interest w^as displayed in the 

 exhibits shown on this occasion and it was 

 freely commented upon how the increase of 

 these exhibits by members helps to improve 

 cultural methods. Mr. O. Jeal and Mr. H. 

 Bridges contributed collections of vegetables. 

 Three vases of single chrysanthemums were 

 snown bv Mr. M. E. Mills. Mr. W. Coles 



brought a dip>h eacli of globe beet and pota- 

 toes, and Mr. Mann three dishes of dessert 

 apples and on^^ of pears, the colour in the 

 apples being splendid. 



Dundee i-lorticuitu 



Association. 



rai 



Tlie ordinary monthly meeting was held 

 in the Technical College on the 6th inst. 

 Mr. "Vm. Christeson presided, while Mr. 

 J. D. Aimer, Wellington Street, Dundee, 

 gave a very interesting and fascinating lec- 

 ture on Mendelism." In the course of an 

 excellent address Mr. Aimer gave a graphic 

 outline of the principles on which Mendel 

 based his theory, which is now fullv recog- 

 nised as "law'* in plant-breeding. Ry the 

 aid of lantern slides and sketches on the 

 blackboard, the lecturer made perfectly plain 

 the full significance of a good knowledge of 

 Mendelism to plant and animal breeders 

 who wished to attain the best results on 

 scientific lines. The lecture was thoroughly 

 enjoyed, and evoked numerous questions. 

 The lecturer was cordially thanked. 



m macranthum. 



are 



— This 



uiay Ix^ liad in bloom at different seasons, 

 |»ut at no time are its rich tyrian purple 

 blossoms more appreciated than they 

 during the dull weather so often experi- 

 <^noed towards the end of the year. The 

 yellow anthers stand out verv conspicuous 

 against the purple background.— K. 



THE FLOWERS OF APPLES 



As an Aid in Identif yingT 



Varieties. 



Chief among the contributions to the cur- 

 rent issue of the "Journal" of the Eoyal 

 Horticultural Society is a highly interesting 

 paper by Mr. E. A. Bunyard on the flowers 

 of apples as an aid in identifying varieties. 

 As the subject is one of considerable prac- 

 tical importance as well as of much interest, 

 we give, with permission, the following 

 summary of the paper : 



A casual inspection of a number of dif- 

 ferent varieties of apples in flower reveals 

 many differences even to the unpractised 

 eye, and a closer inspection shows that the 

 flower presents many characters which may 

 be of great aid in determining, in diflicult 

 c a ses , t he cor rec t n o m e n cl a t u r e of t he 

 variety. 



It may be asked, ''Why is thie minute de- 

 tail required ; cannot we rely upon the fruit 

 alone for purposes of identihcation?" There 

 are oases, however, where it is extremely 

 diffieult to s-eparate two similar varieties, 

 and others occur in which, though fruits are 

 practically identical, two varieties may pre- 

 sent certain well-marked differences which 

 are valuable from the cultural point of 

 view. As an example of this we may cite the 

 case of the existenee of two forms of the 

 apple Borovitsky (Duchess of Olden- 

 burgh), which are practically alike in fruit 

 and leaf characters, but whilst one form 

 thrives only in the southern parts of Russia, 

 the other will grow in much more northern 

 latitudes. Anv small detail therefore of the 

 flower in which they differ would enable the 



distinction to be made without an actual 

 experiment. Furthermore, the importance 

 of full and accurate descriptions cannot be 

 overrated. Quite apart from the interest of 

 deciding cases of doubtful nomenclature, a 

 very consiiderable practical issue is often in- 

 volved. Pomology is largely a matter of tra- 

 dition, knowledge being handed on from one 

 genexation to the next, and whilst this 

 actual practical knowledge is of the first 

 importance, and without it the merely book- 

 learned would fail dismally, the converse 

 also holds some truth. The traditional pomo- 

 logist cannot afford to dispense with re- 

 cords. As an instance of this danger we may 

 mention the curious error in regard to the 

 apple Mere de Menage. This apple was intro- 

 duced into England in the early part of last 

 century, and bears no resemblance whatever 

 to the true Mere de Menage of the Conti- 

 nent, from whence it was imported. An 

 error in orthography probably started the 

 mistake, which has persisted in this coun- 

 try for nearly a hundred years. The apple 

 is probably a sort much grown in Flanders 

 formerly as Mere des Pommes, and the simi- 

 larity of names doubtless caused the con- 

 fusion. Unfortunately, though a coloured 

 plate of the Mere des Pommes exists as well 

 as a description, the latter is not detailed 

 enough to decide the point with absolute 

 certaintv. 



This case establishes the point which we 

 are trying to make — namely, that a reliance 

 on tradition without records is a dangerous 

 practice, and, further, that records should 

 be ample and systematic. 



The botanist will not undertake the nam- 

 ing of specimens from one part of a plant 

 alone as a general rule, and the pomologist, 

 whose material is often fully as difficult' 

 should, for the purposes of accuracy, be able 

 to refer to the most fully detailed records. 

 That all advance in science is due to greater 

 accuracy is a truism, and 

 science 



porno logical 

 no exception to this rule. 



The special points considered in this paper 

 are: Flowering season; size and shape of 

 flowers; colour of flowers; sepals; styles and 

 stamens, comparative lengths; stvles 

 various forms. ' 



In regard to these characters as a whol 

 we may say that they are less subject to 

 variation than any characters of the fruit 

 leat, or wood. Conditions of cultivation 

 have much less effect upon the flower than 



upon other parts of the tree, and in all case ■ 

 the observations have been made over a 

 series of three years, and the facts do not 

 therefore relate to one season only, but have 

 Ix^en twice confirmed. 



The writer does not wish it to be thought 

 that these characters are in anv wav new 

 to pomology (except in so far as' bud colour 

 is concerned), as i)uhamel du Moneeau has 

 used most of them in his descriptions, and 

 Englebrecht in " Deutschlands Apfelsorten " 

 uses the various forms of styles as dried in 

 the fruit as recognition characters. 



Season of Flowering:. 



It is not necessary to go into detail as to 

 the relative flowering periods, as tliis matter 

 has lately been dealt with in reference to 

 pollination (''Journal" E.H.S., vol. xxxvii., 

 p. 350), but it will be remembered that very 

 considerable differences occur between the 

 different varieties, and the relative posi- 

 tions of early, mid, and late flowering kinds 

 are on the whole well kept in varying 

 seasons. 



It may be well, however, to direct atten- 

 tion to cer tain v ar i e tie s wh ic h m ay }>e 

 termed successional flowering varieties, in 

 which the flowers expand in succession, thus 

 ensuring that a better chance is given of 

 avoiding a frosty period than with those 

 varieties the flowers of which are nearlv all 

 open at the same time. Such successional 

 varieties are Worcester Pearmain, Cox's 

 Orange Pippin, and Annie Elizabeth. 



Size a.nd Shape of Flowers. 



This is an obvious distinction, and not of 

 very much value in discriminating between 

 two similar varieties, as, generally speak- 

 ing, the size of the flower is correlated with 

 that of the fruit. The shapes, however, of 

 the petals afford a much better ground. 

 The shape of the expanded flower is 

 characteristic, and may be described as 

 cupped or flat. Those that are cupped do 

 not, even at their maturity, lose this form, 

 and representatives are Lady Sudeley and 

 Lane's Prince Albert. Others open flat, or 

 even in some cases the petal is forced back 

 at less than a right angle to the axis of the 

 flower stem. Examples of the flat type are 

 Peasgood's Nonsuch and Gravenstein. The 

 various petal forms are to be found in all 

 sizes. 



Colour. 



The colour of the expanded petal is very 

 characteristic, and is generally confined to 

 the outside, but there are certain varieties 

 in which a general suffusion is common to 

 both sides. Such, for instance, is Golden 

 Spire. 



The difference of colour is most prominent 

 when the flower is in bud, a.nd it forms an 

 excellent recognition mark, and one to which 

 We believe attention has not hitherto been 

 drawn. The flower buds should be examined 

 when about the size of a pea, and it will 

 then be found that the colours are most dis- 

 tinct, ranging from a light yellowdsh pink 

 (Rep. df^a Couleurs, Hydrangea Pink T3) to 

 the darkest carmine (Rouge Cramoisi, 111- 



The value of this differentiating mark Tvill 

 be appreciated in the case of such easily 



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