648 



GA RDENERS' MA GAZI NE. 



October 8, 1898. 



unknown 



c* - I* IS 9 h° wever > ^ e marvellous details of the 



very minute which strikes the investigator with the greatest force. Among 

 the diatoms, for instance, we find the. transparent flinty skeletons of very 

 low forms of vegetable life to be absolutely invisible to the naked eye, 

 and yet to resemble the most ornate cut-glass work imaginable. Thou- 

 sands of different specific types exist, and a tiny patch of mud collected 



• m « Ml* ■ _ /• . 1 1 1 1 



riper the crop. Without manure there is a comparatively low percentage f 

 mineral matter and a medium percentage of nitrogen. With mineral manure al^ 

 there is the highest percentage of mineral matter, and the lowest of nitroge * 

 With purely nitrogenous manures there is the lowest percentage of mineral matte" 

 and the highest of nitrogen. Lastly, with mineral and nitrogenous manure*' ' 



4 



V 



intermed 



" ' ~ '. , , .... r • - , . nitrogen, m ««~~. ; t~* v.v U l. «. iuui imrogen ot the tubers 



from the nearest pond may yield a million ot these crystal wonders, each exist in the j uice . a comparatively small but variable proportion of the nitrogen 



one of which would yet£e a miracle of complete and perfect workman- Q f tne tUDe rs exists as albuminoids in the solid portion ; perhaps on the average 

 ship, though fashioned by a microscopic blot of seemingly inanimate ... . _i_M.i-.__ ... 



More than 80 per cent, of the total nitrogen of the tubers 



jelly. 



POLISHING FRUIT. 



only about 15 per cent. ; while from 40 to 50 per cent, of the total nitrogen may exist 

 as soluble albuminoids in the juice, so that about or nearly two-thirds of the total 

 nitrogen may exist as albuminoids, by far the larger proportion being, however, in ' 



the juice. The non -albuminoid nitrogenous matter exists chiefly as amides. The 

 The truth enunciated by Shakespeare, more than three centuries ago, characteristic effect of nitrogenous manures, provided there be a sufficient available I* 8 



that " to paint the lily," or ?'to throw a perfume on the violet," is " waste- su PP ! y of ash-constituents 



potash 



fuland ridiculous excess;" does not appear to be fully appreciated by 

 some of the present-day cultivators of fruit, and we, in consequence, have 

 at the autumn exhibitions evidence of attempts to improve upon Nature. 



substance — starch, in the tubers. Thus, the produce of starch 



>. without manure, nearly 2,000 lb. with purely mineral 



manure, and with nitrogenous and mineral manures together about 3,400 lb., or 

 about \% tons. In other words, the increased product of starch by the use of the 



That 



More especially has ^evidence been forthcoming at the exhibitions of au . OUL \ T-l 1 T >l ♦ Y 



British grown fruit held at the Crystal Palace under the auspices of the ml ** ral and TZV° g / T T,V ^ m • ' ™ 



~ , £ • , 10 • iit r- w -i ■ 7n . is, there was a great increase in the producuon of the non-nitrogenous constituent- 



Royal Horticultural Society, and the Council may be heartily congratu- _ starch _ by the use of nitrogen m manurCj just M there is an increase in ^ pr(> 



duce of the non- nitrogenous constituent — sugar — by the use of nitrogenous 



the practice of polishing fruit staged in competition for the prizes. This manures to root crops. The increased production of non-nitrogenous substances 



is no new practice, as conclusively shown by the fact that at least fifteen by nitrogenous manures, is equally striking in cereal crops; the result in their 



years ago we made a vigorous protest against the use of the oiled rag in 



the preparation of fruit for exhibition. We have a lively recollection of straw. Indeed, it is for the production of the non-nitrogenous substances— starchy 



a chrysanthemum show in one of the suburbs of the metropolis at which sugar, and cellulose — that our direct nitrogenous manures are chiefly used. 



the apples and some of the pears were so liberally oiled that the oil could The D 0 K er t Hojre Memorial Medal.— After the death of Dr. Robert 



case 



1 - - ^ • 



3d! a 



•JBW 



4m 



I 



be readily seen about the eye and stalk, and made the fruits most Hogg, a movement was set on foot to obtain subscriptions from those who valued 



offensive to handle. At the previous exhibition the judges had un- this eminent pomologist's services, to obtain a medal to be given for meritorious. ?j£JJj 



wittingly given the premier awards to fruit that had been polished, and exhibits in hardy fruits. ~~" 

 the other exhibitors, taking note of the advantage that had resulted from 



necessary amount was collected, and Mr. Harry J. 



necessary 



the procedure, used the oil so freely as to arrest the attention of the judges, arrangements. A suitable die has been obtained, and placed in the hands of the 

 and to bring about, to them, disastrous results, for every dish that had Ccuncil of the Royal Horticultural Society, who will issue the medals at their 



Banksian 



The medal wjA 



been oiled was properly disqualified. Of late years a more refined system discretion, as in the case of the 



of polishing has been adopted, and for a considerable period cream was awarded for the first time at the exhibition of British Grown fruit, held under 



used instead of oil. Cream has in its turn been superseded, and accord- the aus P ices of the societ ^ the recipients being Messrs. G. Bunyard and Co., 



ing to a statement made bv the Rev. W. Wilks, when addressing the Messrs. T. Rivers and Son, and Messrs. J. Veitch and Sons. The first -named 



.™ +Vi* l £jjL^ Z^L^aI *~ S.WW« *~ t e.* firm received the medal as the premier award m the class for a collection of hardy *U* 



Ml 



judges upon this question, the favourite materials for polishing are a soft 

 rag and saliva, and anything more objectionable than the latter it is im- 

 possible to conceive. Not one of the forty judges questioned the state- 



fruits not exceeding one hundred dishes, while Messrs. Veitch and Rivers were «(% 



awarded the medal for their contributions to the non-competitive class. 



lite 



east, consider- 



ment ; but they all appeared to have acted upon the instructions given , t . * ^ *u i> 1 a:^^ nn/i . winnincr has hecn 



4 , \, . , ,, 1 ,. t , r able progress has been made in the Bordeaux district, and a beginning nas Deen 



them that while they should not disqualify the polished fruit, they made V the champagne. The record of a grape harvest is necessarily much 



should take some points from it ; for we found numerous collections influenced by the me teorological conditions that obtain during the summer ; ^ Ff 



occupying a considerably lower place in the competition than they would sunshine ^ shower, which at their own respective seasons are each an all- ^ 



have done had the fruit been shown without having been subjected to a 



polishing process 

 administered 



portant factor in the production of good wine, seem in turn to have shed their 



r . _ Undcr the 



Let us hope that the somewhat severe lesson benign influences on the grape-growing districts of France generally 



on the occasion of the Royal Horticultural Society 



year's vintage, several points 



exhibition will be taken to heart by exhibitors generally, and be noted. The mild winter of 1897-98 was succeeded by a spring which, although 



that judges at provincial shows will follow the lead of the experts cold and dry, was singularly free from the frosts so justly dreaded by vineyard pro- 



to whom was entrusted the task ol making the awards at prietors. In April the healthy condition of the vines suggested hopes, further 



the Crystal Palace. To our minds no fruit is so attractive as when encouraged by the genial warmth that made its appearance with the commence- 



in its natural state, and apples and the smooth-skinned pears are no ment of summer 

 exception to the rule, and to give them an artificial gloss with the aid of of the fine weatl 



realised 



perienced 



oil, cream, or saliva, and a soft cloth, " makes," to again quote from 

 Shakespeare, "sound opinion sick and truth suspected." 



practically no rain having fallen since the flowering of the vines in June 



dryn< 



feet 



H A 

 51 Woe 



naving tallen since tne nowermg ui w j — ^, 



rain raure of Chateau Loudenne, which shows that the raintau- m 



Conference on Chrysanthemum Rust. — As announced in the 



recorded during the ninty days following the flowering, a period generally acceptea 

 as fixing approximately the date of the vintage in the Medoc, has only amounted 



Maoa/.tne of the 1st inst., the executive committee of the National to one inch. As a consequence of this drought, the healthy condition of the vines 



Gardene 



Chrysanthemum Society, has, in view of the devastation being wrought among 

 chrysanthemum plants by the action of the Chrysanthemum Rust, of 1898 in 

 arranged to hold a conference in St. Stephen's Hall, Royal Aquarium, 

 on the evening of Tuesday next, at six oclock, to which the members 

 of the society and all interested in the matter are , invited. Mr. T. W. Sanders, 

 chairman of the committee, will preside, and the programme includes a paper to 

 be read by Mr. P. Waterer. vice-chairman of the committee, on "The Practical 

 Aspects of the Chrysanthemum Rust ;" and one by Mr. G. Massee, Royal Gardens, 

 Kew, on " The Scientific Aspect of the Chrysanthemum Rust." At the close of 

 the reading of the papers time will be allowed for discussion. 



Nitrogenous Manures in Potato Culture. — The influence of nitro- 

 genous manures on the potato crop has been very clearly demonstrated in the 

 course of the experiments conducted at Rothamsted during the past twenty-three 

 years, and the results obtained are of much interest. It is of considerable import- 

 ance to cultivators to know that the plots receiving farmyard manure, containing 

 about 200 lb. of nitrogen, gave less produce than the mixture of mineral manure 

 and ammonium salts, or nitrate of soda, supplying only 86 lb. of nitrogen. This 

 "P^'ned by the fact that only a small proportion of the nitrogen of farmyard 

 manure is quickly available, that due to undigested matter being more slowly 

 available, and that in the litter remaining a long time inactive, 

 is, however, often applied in very large quantities for potato*, 

 a great extent one of forcing, and there remains a great amount of unexhausted 

 manure-residue within the soil. 



and their entire freedom from the onslaughts of insect pests, presage 



the Bordeaux as almost certain to be of excellent quality, while 



. , will be considerably increased by the timely showers of the last Jew 



days. The wood of the vines, moreover, is so well seasoned that it P ronu ^ 

 under pruning, to start well equipped for the campaign of 1899. A curious a 

 in connexion with this year's grape harvest has been remarked by those who re joic^ 

 in coincidences. For the last fifty years those which terminate with the figure 

 -viz., '48, '58, '68, '78, and 'SS-have all produced clarets of « ce " en ;.;^ 1 " h ; 

 and it seems, therefore, but fair to conjecture this year that 1898 will touow 

 example set by its predecessors having the same terminal figure. 



Bulbs for the London Parks. -The order for the bulbs required or 



: " 5 ~ *«" parks and gardens under the control of the London Low y 



year been eiven to a Dutch firm, and this purchase 



ndignation on the partol those interested '° commerc ^ 

 ° .. :„^.„f,„ „f th- United Kingdom 



an important 



xmg, me weii-known seedsuiau, ~- — , , _j er 



rprised to find that the London County Council has placed tne ^ 



am 



I co 



Farmyard manure 



potatos, the process being to to question whether or not tenders fro 



equired for planting the London parks with a Dutch hrm 

 >rds are strong enough to condemn such a piece of ( 

 hope that the matter will not be allowed to drop. It is certain , r~ 



Dutch houses should have been inuteJ- 



character and use. tnghsU 



h • The percentage of nitrogen in potato tubers is 



ucu increased by the application of nitrogenous manures, but the less so the 



Our splendid London parks are English 10 tneir ^-"n — - . . 



has orovided them Polish taxes support them, and English en h« 



beautify 



against. 



