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Weather Influences on Farm and Garden Crops,— At the annual 



meeting of the Royal Meteorological Society, the President, Mr. Edward Mawley 

 gave an address on " Weather Influences on Farm and Garden Crops," i n which 

 he pointed out the intimate connection between meteorology, agriculture, and hor. 

 . . , , .., . , i-i • v i r ticulture. He explained the special characteristics of the climate of the Briti^ 



auriculas are profiting by the mild season to show their sleep is half a ^ ag temperaturej rainfall> &c . Q f all the influences brought to be 



makebeheve ; megaseas globular sheaths, in which the blossom lies, on vegetable life by the atmosphere, he considered temperature to be the 

 show fresh, clean surfaces as that blossom swells. The hepaticas in 

 their hearts show nascent hairy'^buds, and nine perennials out of ten are 



iiis is up in spiky profusion i several inches, and the first wedges of the 

 daffodils show here and there with promise of the golden blooms to 

 come. Not only the bulbs, however, are busy preparing for the fray ; in 

 the hearts of the taony the red buds are swelling ; the primulas and 



mos; 



powerful and far-reaching, and only second to this came rainfall. The leading 

 effects of snow, wind, and sunshine, as well as of prolonged droughts, severe frosts 



plainly on the move. Even the ferns in some species are fattening up an d persistent rains, were also described. He then dealt with the influence of 



their crowns, and show new growth in their centres, though we may be different important changes on such farm crops as wheat, roots, grass, &c, as well 



certain that no blandishments of the weather will induce them to rise as on fruit trees, vegetables, and flowering plants in the garden. In his conclud- 



for two or three months to come. This brings us to the curious fact that ing remarks he called attention to the great want of experimental farms in con- 



few plants, under natural conditions, are premature in their full awaken- junction with meteorological stations being estsblished in this and other countries 



ing. All this that we have noted is a slow preparation, but these visible ft Europe. For it was only by the examination of meteorological observations, 



spikes and nascent growths are either hard-frost proof or developed together with weekly records of the extent and growth made by our leading 



crops, that the close connexion existing between w r eather changes and their in- 

 fluences on such crops could be clearly traced. 



Veitch Memorial Trust. 



under protecting debris* so that, should a cold snap occur, no harm is 

 done to the blossom hid deep within, which will remain snugly ensconced 



there untib the 'proper period arrives for their lull development. It is Veitch Memorial Trust— At a meeting of the trustees, held on January 



our highly-cultivated plants which lose their instincts as it were, or cling l 9, Dr. Maxwell Masters in the chair, it was unanimously resolved that medals 



maybe too long to inherited habits developed in other climates. Bi't, for objects to be hereafter determined should be allotted for the present year, at 



truth to tell, the English spring is a tricksy season, ruled seemingly by e * hibitions to be held at Bristol > Leicester, and Cardiff respectively. A sum of 



Puck himself, and it must be indeed a wise plant which never gets ^o was voted to the trustees of the Lindley Library towards the preparation of 



caught, not " napping" indeed, but wide awake when it should not be. 



the catalog ue now in progress. Medals were also allotted to M. Marliac, in reco?- 



O 



nition of his success as ahybridiser ; to M. Ed. Andre, of Paris; and to M. le 

 Comte de Kerchove, of Ghent, President of the Royal Agricultural and Botanical 



American Apple drub. -There is some reason to fear that our already Societ y of Ghent, for their respective services to horticulture. 



The Hamburg International Horticultural Exhibition that was 



such a prominent feature in the horticultural world during 1897, was brought toa 

 successful close last October. The accounts have been now closed, and it appears 

 that there is a profit of 300,000 marks (about ,£15,000). A material portion of 



much-infested apple trees have acquired yet another pest from America. Many 

 of the apples from a Devonshire orchard were observed to be perforated by some 

 insect, and the injury was attributed to the familiar 11 codlin moth," Carpoeapsa 

 pomonella. Something unusual in the appearance of the injured fruit, however, 

 induced a member of the Royal Agricultural Society to send a specimens to the the income was derived from the rental of dining halls, restaurants, and sale of 

 Zoologist. Unfortunately this was not until October 26, when the fruit had been privileges ; season tickets realised 810,000 marks, and daily tickets 770,000 marks, 

 deserted by the insect, and there was no clue to the depredator beyond the appear- Watercress Culture.— The remarkable increase that has during the past 



ance of the injury. Clearly this was not the work of the codlin moth, but of some two decades taken place in the consumption of the most wholesome of our sal 

 smaller insect present^ in^ considerable numbers.^ Precisely similar injury is, plants should obtain a large share of attention for the paper which Mr. W. W. 



Glenny has contributed to the Royal Agricultural Society's Journal on the history 

 and cultivation of watercress. Watercress is an indigenous cruciferous plant, 



however, wrought in the Northern States of America by the larva of a fly scien- 

 tifically known as Trypeta pomonella, an insect somewhat closely allied to our 



" celery fly." The absence of any pest hitherto known in England capable of growing freely in wet and especially in shallow places, and has probably been used 



causing this particular injury, and the exact correspondence between the damaged as a salad plant in this country from time well-nigh immemorial, supplies being 



apples from Devonshire and American apples attacked by the ■ ' apple-grub," leave obtained from neighbouring brooks and streams. It has long been cultivated in 



very little room for doubt that this destructive pest has obtained a footing in our some parts of the Continent, notably in the neighbourhood of Erfurt, but it was 



country. In the case of apples infested by the " apple grub" instead of the one not until the beginning of the present century that the watercress was included 



or two large tunnels of the codlin caterpillar, the fruit is riddled with small amongst the cultivated plants of Great Britain. It appears that in 1808 William 



borings, and, at a later stage, there are numerous surface holes at which the grubs Bradbery first started the cultivation of watercress at Springhead, about one 



have escaped to pupate in the ground. There are two possibilities which may be and a half miles from Northfleet, Kent, and close to the secluded village of 



suggested. The pest may have been present among us for some years, but its Swanscombe ; and in a comparatively short period the cresses from these beds were 



injury attributed to the codlin moth. On the other hand this may be in reality its highly esteemed, and the cultivation of watercress at Springhead has been con- 



first appearance, but it by no means follows that our climate will allow it to tinued until the present time. Mr. Sylvester carries on the business founded by 



survive the winter and continue its depredations next spring. Other pests have Bradbery in 1808, and the cresses grow as vigorously as at first, owing in a large 

 made a similarly sudden appearance and flourished for a season, but have been 

 unable to maintain their ground. The best means of checking the pest is the 

 gathering up of the injured apples as soon as they fall from the trees, and before 

 the grubs have time to enter the ground to pupate ; and as this measure is equally 

 effective against the ccdlin moth, it cannot be too strongly insisted upon. 



Honours for Chrysanthemum Growers.— Among the French New 



Year's honours to horticulture, we are much pleased to find that our old friend, 

 M. H. latzer, ihe well knew n cultivator of large-flowering chrysanthemums, 



measure to the plentiful supply of water from the chalk. The cultivation of 

 watercress is carried out on a large scale at Mapledurwell, Overton, and 

 Echinswell in Hampshire, at Kintbury in Berkshire, at Abinger Hammer near 

 Dorking, at Arundel in Sussex, at Rickmansworth and other parts of Hertford- 

 shire. Ten or eleven years after commencing the cultivation of watercress at 

 Springhead, Bradbery migrated to West Hyde, near Rickmansworth, and estab- 

 lished watercress culture on scientific lines, and it has been continued ever since 

 by himself and his descendants. On February 19, 1822, Bradbery was presented 



grapes, &c, has been appointed a chevalier of the M6rite Agricole by the French h Y the R °y aI Horticultural Society with their silver medal in recognition of the 



public services lie had rendered in founding the industry ; and ihis medal is still 



in the possession of his son. While Bradbery greatly appreciated the honour con- 

 ferred upon him, it is conjectured that it cost him at least ^1,000, as the presen- 

 tation directed general attention to the industry, and a considerable number of 

 persons engaged in watercress culture, with the result that there was a reduc- 

 tion in the value of the produce. With regard to the area under watercress cul- 

 ture, Mr. Glenny states that "on the Colne, between North Mimms and Staines, 

 there are about twenty-two acres ; on the river Gade, between Great Gaddesden 

 and Rickmansworth, about forty- two acres ; on the river Bulbarne, from Duds- 

 well to Hemel Hampstead, about forty-one acres ; on the Mibaume Stream, from 

 Great Missenden to Denham, about seven acres ; on the river Chess, between 



Government, another testimony to thcimpartiality with which distinguished service 

 in horticulture is recognised by the French, for M. Fatzer is not a French subject 

 but a native of Switzerland. M. de Reydellet, the seedling raiser, has also 

 received ihe same distinction. 



Annuals and Biennials for Decorative Purposes.— N. N. Sherwood, 



Esq., Master of the Worshipful Company of Gardeners, having signified his inten- 

 tion of giving R.II.S. a silver cup annually, of the value of £10 10s., and having 

 left to the Council the decision as to what it shall be given for, it has been decided 

 to award it this year to the exhibitor who shall obtain the highest total number of 

 marks at the meetings in June, July, August, and September 6, for collections 

 lustrating the suitability of annuals and biennials as cut flowers for decorative 

 purposes. Exhibitors may exhibit at any one or more or at all of the meetings 

 during the months named. Marks will be given at each meeting, and the total 

 nounced after September 6. The contents of each tube must consist of one 

 variety only, but in addition to the flowers shown in tubes, an exhibitor may set 

 up at each or any of the meetings not more than three plain glass vases containing 

 an assortment of varieties and kinds arranged for effect-all stalks touching the 

 water or sand. The vases must be provided by the exhibitor, and must not exceed 

 six inches in diameter, and may be filled with water or with wet sand at exhibitor's 

 pleasure, always remembering that the clearness of both water and gla<s is 

 distinct point of advantage in decorative vases. 



The New Open Space at Islington, a part of the Cattle Market area, 



was purchased recently for the sum of ^8,000. The vestry of the parish of 

 Islington has now voted Zio, S oo for the purpose of laying out the space as a 



en. A large covered space for the use of children on 



recr< 

 raini 



I » llll 



* eu ™> are contemplated. Such a garden as this will be 

 a great boon to the population of a very congested area. 



Chesham and Rickmansworth, about sixteen acres ; on the Aldenbaume, between 

 Fulmer and Ives, about four acres ; on the river Ver, from Marget to Watford, 

 about five acres ; on the Tillingbourne, between Abinger Hammer and Chilworth. 

 about fifty-one acres." 



Edible Fungi on Beech Trees,-A box of fungi was sent by La4f 



Cave, Clere Hall, Downend, near Bristol, to the Scientific Committee of th« 

 R.H.S., but, as that body was unable to identify the specimens, they * crC 

 forwarded to Xew. The report from Kew stated that the species was Pleurotu* 

 ostreatus/<*7/., one of the best and safest of edible fungi. The specimens were 

 taken from a very old beech in the gardens of Clere Hall. They were growing <* 

 the wood about twelve feet from the ground. 



The Reading Gardeners' Association held a tea and smoking concert 



in the Abbey Hall on the 17th inst., when about a hundred members can* 

 together and spent an enjoyable evening. Mr. C, B. Stevens, president of tb« 

 society, occupied the chair, and the musical programme was carried out by mem- 

 bers and a few friends. 



