GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



453 



1 returns from flowers and those obtained from bulbs at the end action of bright daylight the colour soon returns when the plant is alive, owing to 

 dear that the annua r^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ expenses and affor d a profit. 



t Time Mr White has in growth 1,500,000 bulbs of Ornatus, between 

 At the present 1 • ^ ^ and of Horsfie ldi, 75°»°°° of common 



4 00 ! 000 . T^T^moniiis Plenus), 1,000,000 Double Whites, 100,000 each of 



of three years 



7 daffodils (Telamonius plenus), 1,000,000 iJoubie wnu«, « 

 E^ror and Grandee, 40,000 of Empress, and a number^ other vanet.es. 



usua 



n r °h ins to pick forced flowers in the first week of January, and finishes at 

 h d of February or early in March, when the open-air flowers are ready. 

 T^showthe difference of time between the flowering in Scilly and in Lincolnshire, 



it may 



the evolution of oxygen consequent on its splitting up the carbon dioxide which 



has been evolved by it, and which has been accumulating in the water, during the 



plant's stay in darkness. Many other plants fail to give such quick results ; thus 



of Elodea requires about two days in darkness to obtain the reaction. All the plants 



experimented on give a result much more quickly if they have previously been 

 starved of oxygen 



He 



And this indicates that the oxygen is not directly utilised 

 either by the protoplasm, or some of the normal combustible bodies present in the 

 cell, but by some dissociation product formed during metabolic activity of the 



The condition ol apples in 



hp "nted out that whereas Mr. White began to pick Emperor and Empress protoplasm. Of course, decoloration of the blue does not occur when the plants 

 U "^n A^l 7 or 8 > the whole of the former and about haIf of the Iatter had been are ex P osed to the action of free oxygen ; this element can then be obtained more 



Only OH P TtGSCO by M&fCll I4# Clieanlv than Kv rpHnrinnr onilmD A%ra TIi^ca of-e Kavo Kppn dTr\\ror\ oh 



Anple and Peach Crops in America. 



* -J» in all the New England States except Rhode Island, is considerably 



America m ** aa - - 



above the average for this season. 



r-average, in North Carolina eight points above, in Michigan seventeen points, 

 ^Wisconsin thirty-one points, in Iowa eight points, and in Nebraska thirteen 

 m On the other hand the present early indications are less favourable than 



cheaply than by reducing the aniline dye. These facts have been arrived at 

 during an investigation by Mr. Farmer, which is still proceeding, into the respira- 

 tory processes of plants. The method here detailed is, however, so simple, and 



points 



In New York it is five points above the ten- S f ms like, y t0 P rove useful to teachers and others as a demonstration-experiment, 



that it is important to make it generally known. 



Black Currant Shoots Falling,— Mr. E. Ballard submitted specimens 



to R.ILS. Scientific Committee, from a large plantation, which break off at a 



usual in the following states and to the extent indicated : 

 points, New Jersey four points, Maryland eight points, Virginia four points, 

 Georgia three points, Alabama three points, Arkansas thirteen points, Tennesse 

 eleven points, West Virginia thirty points, Kentucky twelve points, Ohio 

 points, Indiana fifteen points, Illinois six points, Missouri eleven points, Kansas 

 one point. Excepting in New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, Tennesse, 

 Mississippi, and Arkansas, the season has been highly favourable for peaches 

 throughout the entire eastern half of the country. In Georgia, probably the 

 greatest peach-growing state in the Union, the condition is one hundred and five, 

 against an average June condition for the last ten years of sixty-one. 



Hybrid Tea Medal Roses. — By an inadvertance we omitted to give in 

 our report of the National Rose Society's exhibition, at the Crystal Palace, the 



Rhode Island five sli £ht touch or by the wind. Mr. W. G. Smith, who has examined them, reports 



upon them as follows : "The currant leaves bore a mildew, but other fungi were 

 also present when I examined the material. The characteristic mode of attack 

 pointed to a Peronospora species. I have raised good crops of one on fresh portions 

 of the leaves, and am following up the clue. If it be really a species of this family 

 it is new to Britain, although one (Plasmopora ribicola) has been reported from 

 U.S. America. I have observed the emission of motile swarm spores from the 

 sporangia (so-called spores) of fresh material, and otherwise feel sure of the 

 Peronosporese nature of this fungus. As to remedy, I should recommend a 

 spraying of Bordeaux mixture or allied copper mixture. To a black currant 

 plantation this could be done by a knapsack sprayer, which are readily obtainable." 



New Early Pea.— Mr. E. Beckett writes: "The new early pea, Thomas 

 Laxton, is one of the very best early peas that has come under my notice. It is 



names of the blooms of the hybrid teas selected for the medals offered for the best said to ^ a cross betwe en Gradus and Earliest of All, but in appearance it much 



blooms of varieties belonging to the second class. We now supply the omission, 



resembles Ne Plus Ultra, except that the pods are double the size ; the latter are 



by stating that the medal in the amateurs' division was awarded to Mr. C. J. of a deep green colour and welI filled> and the flavour is excellent. With us it 

 Grahame for a magnificent bloom of White Lady, and the medal in the nursery- proyed tQ be earlier than Gradus> and only a fcw days behind Earliest of All. 



In my opinion, it will become a great favourite with exhibitors of vegetables ; also 

 for market and home use in general. I can fully endorse the good opinion formed 



en's division was awarded to Messrs. Paul and Son for a finely developed bloom 

 of Mr. W. J. Grant. 



The Rainfall in Wiltshire, as recorded at the Compton Bassett Gardens b y the Fruit and Vegetable Committee, last week, at Chiswick. I am enclosing a 



by our coadjutor, Mr. W. A. Cook, during the past half-year, was as follows : 



few pods for your inspection." The pods sent by our able coadjutor are large 



In January rain fell on ten days, and the total amount was 45 inches ; February, and handsome, and the peas, of which there are eight or nine in each pod, are of a 



seventeen days, 1 74 inches ; March, twelve days, 79 inches ; April, thirteen days, fine dee P g reen colour > and of hl S h flavour when cook ed. 

 2'02 inches; May, twenty-three days, 2*50 inches; June, eleven days, 2*07 

 inches. - 



Intending Emigrants are informed, on the authority of the Emigrants' 

 Information Office, Broadway, Westminster, S.W., that there is a good opening 

 for experienced farm hands in Canada at this season of the year. There is no 

 great demand for labour in New South Wales, notwithstanding the total acreage 

 under cultivation this year is considerably more than it was in 1897. In Victoria 

 the general demand for labour has ceased, but there are excellent openings for 

 men who understand fruit-growing. In the sugar-growing districts of Queensland 



Metropolitan Parks and Gardens. — The report presented to the monthly 



meeting of the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association evinced, as usual, a con- 

 siderable amount of activity on the part of the governing body. It was reported 

 that since the last meeting the garden which the association laid out in York Street, 

 Walworth, and the Central Park and drinking fountain, East Ham, had been 

 formerly opened to the public. It was agreed to undertake the laying-out of a 

 disused burial ground in Hoxton, the enclosure at Portland Place, New Kent Road, 

 and some small City churchyards, provided that proper arrangements were 

 made in each case for maintenance. In response to the appeal of the association, 



- — ™ smecubuinu j was received f rom the Rev. Harry Jones, the rector, to the effect that so 



there is a good demand for farm labourers during the crushing season, which lasts £ ^ wag aWe fae hadj m giving up a strip of the churchyard of St . Peter Cheap 



S C t0 Dece £ be '. labour are wanted in Western Australia, but wideni rf Wood Strcet> safeguarded the existence of the fine plane tree 



TrnZ ^^ ? New Zealand affords opportunities to experienced farmers with ^ q{ Qh ide and Wood Stre et. It was agreed to communicate with 



capita , while in Cape Colony marked progress is being made in developing the Corporation asking that body to take care to do nothing which would injure 



important industry of fruit growing. ^ 



Investigation of Respiration in Plants.— It has long been known that 



methylene blue is capable of being decolorised by reducing agents, but botanists Cambridge House Settlement, Camberwell Road, is the centre, there is a children s 



appear not to have recognised the possibilities latent in the methods, perhaps be- geranium club, embracing some seven hundred members. In the early part of the 



the roots of this unique tree. 



Children's Geranium Club. — Amongst the many organisations of which 



cause some ten years ago Pfeffer stated that though fermenting yeast would deco- 

 lorise the blue solution, green plants would not do so. Doubtless this was true 

 under the conditions of Pfeffer s experiments, but nevertheless, many green plants 

 are, as a matter of fact, found to give admirable results. Mr. J. B. Farmer states 

 in a communication to Nature that if germinating seedlings of barley or peas be 

 placed in test tubes filled with a 0*0005 per cent, solution of methylene blue, 

 which has been boiled in order to expel air, it will be found that in the course of a 

 few hours the liquid around them will have lost its colour. The most striking way 

 of performing the experiment is to suspend the peas in the solution, then a deco- 

 lorised zone is formed between the upper and lower parts of the liquid, each of 

 which still retains its blue colour. Gradually the clear zone extends until the entire 

 mass of the liquid, except just at the surface where it is in contact with the air, 

 becomes decolorised. 



If some of the decolorised liquid be drawn off baskets 0 f f erns , &c. 



At first the radicles of the seedlings are strongly stained, 

 they finally again become white. 



by means of a pipette, and shaken up with air, the blue tint speedily returns. If 

 some of the seedlings be removed from the now colourless liquid, and be rinsed in 

 toiled water and then exposed to the air, they soon become blue, and the stain 



Th eXtends into the internal tissues as these become gradually aerated. 



c< development " of the blue can readily be seen in sections, quickly made, 

 tm er the microscope. Cress seedlings are far more active than either barley or 

 P«as, just as would have been expected from the relations which they exhibit 

 towards oxygen. " 



obtained from a plant like Chara. This alga is suspected to possess peculiar pro- 

 ^^ mre S ar( i to its connection with oxygen, and it has been ascertained in 



ways that the plant is nearly as greedy for oxygen as are many seedlings. A 

 ranch of Chara placed in the methylene blue and put in the dark, will decolorise the 



year a geranium cutting was handed to each member, proper care being taken 

 to prevent cheating, and each child was invited to cultivate the plant and exhibit 

 it at the show. That the interest of the children was thoroughly aroused is shown 

 by the fact that the seven hundred cuttings were represented at the show held on 

 Monday by six hundred and seventy grown plants. The geraniums were used in 

 the floral decoration of the large hall, which was also embellished by many choice 

 plants kindly supplied by Messrs. Segar and Wills, of South Kensington. The 

 show was opened by the Duchess of Devonshire, who also distributed the prizes 

 to the successful competitors. 



Messrs. J. Laing and Sons, Forest Hill, specially distinguished them- 

 selves on the occasion of the recent visit Jof H.R.H. the Duchess of Albany to 

 Camden Park, Chislehurst, in aid of the Royal Deptford Fund. In the floral tent 

 the firm arranged a magnificent trophy of palms andlflowering plants, with hanging 



Carnations, orchids, streptocarpuses, and begonias made 

 as also did a collection of bouquets and fancy floral 



The most remarkable results are, Mr. Farmer observes, those 



surrounding li quid in a few hours ; bufc if the tube containing it be exposed to the n the co-operative movement 



fine displays elsewhere, • , , . ^ ^ 



designs. The Messrs. Laing placed large standard bays and giant drachmas as an 

 approach to this tent ; they also decorated the duchess's tent with myrsiphyllum 

 and white flowers and made the presentation bouquet. Her Royal Highness 

 expressed her admiration of all the productions of the Forest Hill firm. 



The Potato Crop in the United Kingdom is on the whole somewhat 



satisfactory than at the corresponding period of last year. In England the 

 crop is about equal to that of last year, in Wales it is hardly so good, while in 

 Scotland it is decidedly better. 



The Co-operative Flower Show will be opened at the Crystal Palace 

 on August 19, when Earl Grey will deliver an address to a gathering of workers 



& The exhibition will as usual extend over two days. 



more 



