306 



GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



in the abundance and quality of their flowers those planted in the 

 autumn ; with novelties, it is a decided advantage to obtain plants and 

 bed them out in May, because of the liberal supply they will give of buds 

 for propagating purposes in the course of the summer. In the case of the 

 delightfully fragrant and exquisitely coloured tea-scented varieties, plant- 

 ing in May has much to recommend it, and we would strongly advise 

 those who propose to extend their culture to obtain plants in pots and 

 bed them out at once. The only objection to the practice of forming 

 beds with pot plants is the additional cost of carriage, but this of course 

 will only apply when they have to be obtained from a distance, and in 

 no case will it be found excessive. Plants in growth necessarily require 

 rather more care than those received in a dormant state ; and 

 when received from the nursery they should be placed in a frame 

 and carefully hardened, as success will materially depend upon 

 the plants being so thoroughly prepared that when bedded out they are 

 well able to bear the effects of unfavourable climatic conditions without 

 injury. To properly prepare the beds is not less necessary than to have 

 well-hardened growth, and to assist the roots to push freely into the new 

 soil, it is an excellent practice to fill in about the balls with a light rich 

 mixture from the potting shed. Supplying the plants with water until 

 they have become established, and other details, will suggest themselves 

 to the cultivator, who may be assured that he will obtain ample return 

 for the care he bestows upon the plants until they are well established in 

 their new quarters. 



May 14, 1898. 



pleasi 



shade. 



us 



othen 



Smoke is not the only enemy with which town trees have t Sub -i ec, «4 

 cases the soil is rendered unfit for promoting a healthy root ° C ? Wend ; in ^ 

 the heads are mutilated under pretence of pruning. Anothe° ' 

 rough, who appears to derive an immense amount of pleasure' ^rt^'* ^ y0ui * 

 trees that are not of sufficient strength to resist his efforts A 3truction of 

 injuring young trees appears to be on the increased 1 J: ? ' mict * 

 evidence that the magistrates are beginning to more f n 0ry to h"e 

 responsibilities in the matter. At King's Hnth the other day the TV* 

 a punishment of two months with hard labour, and it is reaJLw * aWMded 

 the trees in the district will enjoy immunity from injury for som » i ***** ^ 

 Similar severity is needed in the suburbs of London, for no sooner i° C ° m " 

 planted than some of the trees are more or less injured. a t0 *^ 



Apple Scab in New Zealand appears to cause fruit growers a ^ * , 



of trouble ; so much so that the government of the colony hat i«,.~i uI 

 prepared by Mr T. W Kirk, Government biologist, illustrating t he dis^td 

 indicating remedies. A full strength dressing of Bordeaux mixture is advSt 

 as the buds begin to swell, and another weaker dressing after the fruit h J "* 

 For an attack late in the year a solution of carbonate of copper is tec^l* £ 

 but this should not be given if the fruits are approaching ripeness ? £ 

 poisonous properties of copper. b c 



The Lady Gardener appears to have given rise to considerable a DDre 

 hension m some quarters, and one of the horticultural associations has J!Z 

 Truth a protest against the assumption that a woman can receive a sufficient 

 training in three years to fit her for the position of a head gardener. The assoT 

 t,on making the protest observes: "If it were a question of the young lady i n the 

 florist s shop, or any similar position, we should not attempt to lodge the protet 



has 



harge 



FRUIT AND VEGETABLE IMPORTS. 



The Board of Trade returns for April are hardly so satisfactory as 

 could be wished, more particularly in the matter of exports. In the 

 imports there is an increase equal in value to 14*5 per cent., but in the 



value of the exports there is a material drop, this being equal in the case . o 



of British and Irish produce to 1 vi per cent, and in foreign and colonial ofa well-kept public or private garden in all its cultural details/we wnfeTJe 



merchandise it is equal to 16 per cent. The increase in value of the wonder whether this is a fact or a fiction going the round of the Press. To nuke 



imports is to a considerable extent due to the greater receipts of cereals & practicaI g arde ner it is necessary for the individual to pass through all the various 



and at higher prices. The increases in the value of the products of the StagC f ° f WOrk ' lncludin g di gg in g, trenching, and other laborious items, and no one 



garden and orchard are about equally balanced, the two most marked CM /r com P etent and qualified judge of good workmanship, and the time 



features being the increase in the supplies of potatos and the shrinkage in " e , quired , for each °P ;ra tion and other details, without such experience. The work 



the apple supply. The imports of apples amounted in the aggregate to M^T^T TJ *°* ^TT' ^ ? ^ * the ° pen * undcr 



. • *> b *> a " sorts of climatic conditions, and he has to endure frequent changes of tempera 



£ 



£73 



* 'I *J - — 



For the four months there has been a 



Oh) 



ture from the hot-house to outside departments, which we find require a constitution 

 of iron to stand. In our opinion the time has arrived when it behoves every 

 gardener to make himself heard individually and by organisation in defence of his 

 profession." There will be no harm in the gardener expressing his opinion upon 

 the question at issue, but it is undesirable that concerted action should be taken 

 with a view to preventing lady gardeners obtaining employment irrespective of any 



fl I M llf XT tl-t _-M . _ _ - ______ 



The figures of 1S96 are of interest as showing the appreciation in the 

 value of these fruits, for, although the quantities received exceeded this 



. m 1 m , . . y ^v^ bushels, the value is returned at ^4°>ooo less. — c — -v-uug gamciicis uuiaium^ ciuyiuymeiu irrespective 01 am 



merries, « WHICH 33 r bushels were imported in 1897, have no place in ablHtv the y may possess. We, however, are strongly of the opinion that were it 



last month s returns. Plums, on the other hand, were absent from the desirabIe » there would be no necessity for such action, as the gardener has nothing 



returns of April, 1897, but this year one bushel appears to have been whatever to fear from the competition of the lady gardener. Certain operationsare 



received, and this is entered at the value of £2. The imports of pears was WeU WUhin the com P a ss of an intelligent woman, but, as a whole, the work of the 



somewhat smaller than last year, the aggregate being 1,355 bushels of f n 1S ' as P ointed ou t in the protest, so heavy that very few women are physically 



£743, or a decrease of 25 bushels and / 



fitted for it, and their thorough training in practical details, by which alone pro- 



value respectively. Augmented supplies of grapes were received, the fidenCY Can be obtained » 15 ^t of the question. 



mports being 2,259 bushels, of the value of , „ U4 uu 



the four months ending April there is a material decline. The imports 

 of ^enumerated fruits continue to increase, and their value for the 



ports 



/34i4o6, and for the four months £ 



West Indian Mangosteen are likely at no distant date to be regularly 

 imported into this country. The mangosteen is a native of the Molucca Island*, 

 and is cultivated in the Straits Settlement, Java, and in one or two localities in 

 India and Ceylon. The fruit is r^oiilarlv shinned from SinpaDore to the Cala 



26,505. The increase in the market PU r^- " 15 rCgUlar,y Shipped ^ ^P 0 '?" ^."T , 

 ,.- . ■ — — «.« ...unccd man the decrease in the sup- \ ? ° thlS we »"known tropical fruit have been widely distributed 



pl.es of apples, for during the month they amounted to i,i866« cwt of hTp t ■ °^ ' , CSt Indies ' and the first West Indian fruits were P roduced ^ 

 the value 0^275,630, or an increase in quantity of .,100,486 cwt. 'and ' * ~* '~ " ^ ~ 



,n . value of ^34,663. Germany appears to have benefited the most 

 materially from the fadure of the potato crop in the United Kingdom last 



J cw ° r and e m 0 th'rL ln tHat ? Untr y Sent us in A P ril «47,o 37 cwt., against 

 99 cwt., and m the four months 1,359,215 cwt, against 2,323 cwt. in the 



cor espondmg penods of last year. The gain of Germany in money i! 



^7" rre ye f,/ 2 9°. 26( > ^ance has benefitted to the extenLf 

 about / 5 o,ooo, and « other countries" to the extent of ^240,000 from * 



kSK2 2 ^ P . 0tat ° in m -nd figure" 



we 



/6oo,ooo 



the two preceding years and Tt£~ • a- ' P tatOS lftan ,n 



were the los^ nf u 56 ,nd,cate In some degree how heavy 



in ^ lessened °\ cu]u ^ ^ the other hand, onions were imported 



increase in t^^r^^ * deCrease of ^4 bushels, there is an 



the Botanic Gardens, Trinidad in 1875. In September, 1891, the Governor of 

 that island forwarded some West Indian mangosteens for presentation to Her 

 Majesty the Queen. The mangosteen fruited for the first time in the Jamaica 

 Uotanic Gardens in 1886 (Kevo Bulletin, 1895, P- 79)- ^ y ear a h° x waS 

 ceived at Kew from Mr. J. H. Hart, F.L.S., of Trinidad, containing nine fruit* 

 of mangosteen, which were perhaps the first to reach this country in a condiuoc 

 to allow their merits to be appreciated. Each fruit was separately packed in » 

 compartment with pine wool. Owing to the firm consistency of the outer wall 0! 

 the fruit, it appears to travel well. The fruits were distributed to the Secretary 

 of State for the Colonies and others. The reports received were uniformly 

 lavourable. One fruit was sent to Mr. George Munro, one of the leading h* 

 salesmen in Covent Garden, to obtain an opinion as to prospects of shipments , 

 mangosteens to this country. Mr Munro replied : " I cut open the *mt •« 



C.in;c 



them. 



can 



Town Trees - Of the 



second half of the present «ntu ,mpr ° Vements th *t have been made during the 

 trees in towns. It was lone ,„ 7' T the least NP*I-* is the plaming of 



famous 



arborescent 



trees in towns. It was lona an _ V 7~* % 



impossible to successful!, C ZZ ° f gCneral ^ that k 

 vegetation in smoky towns but n 7* ° f the Var '° US forms 

 relief the fact that while some tre^ SSS? has brought into strong 



influence of a smoke-laden atnuv^V^' dI >' SUCCUm h when exposed to the adverse 

 will flourish in smoky town, S * SUCh " the lime and th ^ plane 



planted in the streets, and in manv i„!, '"^ nUmbcis of trees have been 



> 'nuances they make so satisfactory a growth as 



1 trarl t l -"uuiu use CO try some, auu u " — - 



de f0r them - They appear to be a fruit that would carry well. 



r^A^f* BotanJc Garden for Ghent.-The burgomaster - 



2 r . CCentl y stated that the municipality proposed to make several new 

 rrangements m connection with its public parks and gard 



important item is the proposed creation of a new and extensiv 



The 



tK,f 11 v 7 f'oposed creation 01 a new acu caic.™.- - 

 hat will be of great value to the large horticultural community of the at) 

 sunounding districts. 



garden 



a naler mr T n0Us Nutrition of Flowering Plants formed the sub£t 



wasT reC !i: tly rCad the Paris Academy of Sciences by Mons L. JU* 



was sh own that nitrogenQus by means f arnin^ 



of ammonium compounds, and alkaloids. The amines can be assimilated <urect7 



