696 



GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



October 2q> ^ 



within the past few days. The competition was arranged inttTTT " 

 and there were originally eleven entries, but owing to the extreme H u 

 disappointing nature of the crops seven withdrew. Competitors hadt 

 sometimes a consiuerauiy u. S u«, r -.«, 8l . ut mwugcu in uic ury suu- acres > which cou!d be treated with ^myard manure, phosphates of anvE^ 



stance of the diseased than in that of the sound tubers, indicating a loss P otash « but the only artificial nitrogen had to be from sulphate of amm'onia ' 

 of potash and other mineral substances. The still white and also the first pnze was awarded t0 Mr " J ames lKvdd. S«nm. m . 1 



able climatic conditions" are experienced, those tubers suffer the most 

 which have the richest juice ; or, to put it in another way, which have 

 the least fixity of composition. In all these cases there was a higher, and 

 sometimes a considerably higher, percentage of nitrogen in the dry sub- 



of potash and other mineral substances. The still white and also the first P nze was award ' d l T ° u Mr L J ames < K Yto> Scryne, with 15 tons k cwt. J* 

 separated discoloured portion of the flesh of the diseased tubers were th , e XT se '° n c d t0 *>' l ohn * IO ™> Peasiehill, with 14 tons „ C wts. • the to 



_ , 4 _„^j .v-r-.^.i , • • to Mr. W. C bwan, inverpener, with 11 tons it 



analysed, and the analyses demonstrated the fact that while the juice of the 

 white flesh contained approximately the normal amount of nitrogen, that 

 of the discoloured portion contained considerably less. The washed 

 " marc ;J of the white portion, on the other hand, contained a very small 

 proportion of nitrogen, while that of the discoloured portion consider- 

 able quantities. The distribution of the mineral matter followed to an 



" v — — — ■ ' a r s. j lwjlio XI 



D. Morgan, South Mains, with 10 tons 17 cwts. Mr. Kydd grew the B 

 variety, and used sixteen loads of farmyard manure per acre in the drills 2 cwt"^ 

 sulphate of potash, and 1 cwt. of sulphate of ammonia. Mr. Brown grew U D t 

 date and Farmer's Glory, manuring with twenty loads of farmyard manure and 

 2 cwt. of sulphate of ammonia. Mr. Swan grew Up-to-date, and dressed with 

 sixt een leads of farmyard manure on the stubble and 1 cwt. of sulphate of 



ammnm'a in fnA Grille. Mr. Alnroon nraur C« 1 i* 1 . . . 



appreciable extent that of the nitrogen, and justifies the opinion that the ammonia in the drills. Mr. Morgan grew Saxons, and applied sixteen loads of 

 uice had been deprived of a material proportion of both its nitrogenous farmyard manure in the drills, with 2 cwt. of sulphate of potash and 1 cw^of 

 and mineral matter during the growth of the fungus. There was also sulphate of ammonia. 



sulphate of ammonia. 



Watering Window Boxes.— A very interesting case was heard in the 

 Westminster County Couit the other day in which the plaintiff sought to restrain 

 the defendant from watering the plants in his window boxes in such a way as 



It was sta ted by counsel, in opening the case, that 



more sugar in the diseased than in the sound tubers, and it is assumed, 

 and rightly so, that this materially aided the growth of the peronos- 

 pora. The first material change in the development of the disease 



appears to be the destruction of starch and the formation of sugar. There to annoy other tenants ^ 



is also a considerable loss of organic, and chiefly non-nitrogenous, sub- defendant had seven years' lease at ^180 a year of a flat on'the fourth floor' with 



stance, due in part to the evolution of carbonic acid, as a coincident of a frontage to Victoria Street and Prince's Street. He had a considerable number 



the growth of the fungus at the expense of the available organic substance, of windows, and in each of these windows was a box which was filled with 



this being a characteristic of the growth of the fungi of which the species flowers. He took a great interest in the flowers, and watered them copiously, so 



attacking the potato is the type. It will therefore be seen that the results copiously that the water dripped on to the window-sills below and damaged the 



obtained in the course of the investigations are quite consistent with the curtains when the windows were opened. When pastry and puddings were left 



fact that the fungus attains to the highest degree of development in on the table by the kitchen window thf se were soaked, and so was any linen that 



tubers produced by plants grown with the aid of highly nitrogenous 



happened to be there. The Judge said it had been a very hot summer, and not 



manures, and having a juice rich in nitrogen. A full available supply of Hkdy t0 ° c ? x again ' ai l d cons ;. dered k t0 be a case wbich should be settled. It 

 mineral matter is essential to the successful growth of the potato, but ? * ^ ^1° % *** ^ **» PUt * 



- 0 r 1 his boxes. In the result the case was adjourned with a view to some arrangement 



these being provided, the amount of produce depends in a large measure 

 upon the available supply of nitrogen. The soundness of the practice 

 of successful cultivators is amply confirmed by these experiments, for they 



being come to by the parties. 



Horticultural Exhibition at St. Petersburg in 1899.— From May 



conclusively prove that nitrogen used in proper proportions is of im- 17 to Ma ? 2 7> inclusive, there will be held in 1899, at the Palais de la Taurkle, 



mense advantage, while when applied in excess it predisposes the plants 

 to disease by encouraging the production of luxuriant haulm, through 

 which the fungus is able to extend with extreme rapiditv. 



Chrysanthemum Exhibitions increase in number year by year, and the 



coming month will be a very busy one both for amateur and trade growers who do 

 much exhibiting. Whether this excessive multiplication of exhibitions is an un- 

 mixed blessing it is rather difficult to say ; we think not, and would much prefer 

 to see district rather than purely local shows, shifting the venue year by year 

 throughout the district. Our diary shows that not less than one hundred and forty 

 chrysanthemum exhibitions will be held in the United Kingdom during November, 



St. Petersburg, the third International Horticultural Exhibition organised by the 

 Russian Imperial Horticultural Society. At the same time the society also 

 celebrates its 40th anniversary. The schedule we have received shows that the 

 exhibition will be conducted on similar lines to those that obtain in Belgium, 

 Germany, and France. It provides two hundred and ten classes, and in every 

 instance the prizes are medals. These medals are of six grades, there being large, 

 medium, and small ones, both of gold and of silver. Ten classes are provided 

 for new plants, while there are ample sections for ferns, orchids, plants for dwell- 

 irg-rcoms, aroids, palms, crotens, and draccenas, conifers, cacti, bromeliads, 

 hyacinths, tulips, amaryllis, lilies, azaleas, rhododendrons, roses, forced and pre- 

 served fruits and vegetables, models of horticultural buildings, garden design?, 

 pottery, tools, heating apparatus, &c. One cannot find fault with the compilers 



and « do no, p,«e„d that „. n , complete Hs, \ doub«e S! .he secretaries o'f 1 , "L^*?" **** ? -S&lTZjfZXTZ 



small and comparatively insignificant societies have not taken the trouble to send 

 in their show dates ; it contains, however, all the leading displays in the four 

 countries. The month opens with ten exhibitions, followed by eighteen on the 

 2nd, fourteen on the 3rd, three on the 4th, two on the 7th, ten on the 8th, nineteen 

 on the 9th, seven on the 10th, thirteen on the nth, one on the 12th, one on the 



will be under the presidency of M. A. Fischer de Waldheim, director of the 

 Imperial Botanic Gardens of St. Petersburg ; and Mr. W. Ender is secretary. 

 As our readers have already been informed, Mr. James IT. Veitch, Chelsea, has 

 been appointed Commissioner for Great Britain and Ireland, and he will give 

 any information required in connection with the forthcoming exhibition. 



13th, eleven on the 15th, thirteen on the [16th, six on the 17th, four on the 18th, Berries of Daphne mezereum are generally considered to be poisonou 



three nn fhe rnf-K r»™« oo«^ ~— * 1 1 _ _ 1 . ■% t _ * . . «r , 1 • 1~ A nt tVi/»< 



three on the 19th, one each on the 21st, 22nd, and 23rd, and two on the 25th of 

 the month. No less than twenty-eight really good chrysanthemum displays will 

 be open to the public on Wednesday, Nov. o.h ; these, of course, including two- 

 day shows that opened the day previous ; a similar number will be open on the 



to animals, but according to some recent correspondence in Nature birds eat these 

 berries without fatal results. A Loughton gentleman wrote : From repeate 

 observations in my own garden, I know that song-thrushes will eat ripe mezereon 

 berries greedily. In the winter of 1S96 they cleared a small bush containing, 



10th, counting the third days of the N.C.S., Highgate, and Birmingham ; but on perhaps, two hundred berries, in the course of a week or two, returning at once 

 Ihursday, November 3, there are thirty-two shows to choose from, provided * * •' •" - "* - * -uv» *nnarenuv, 



one has not been visiting on the 2nd. Our list gives the dates of shows as Hide 

 apart as the Lizard and Aberdeen, Colchester and Carnarvon, London and Dublin, 



when driven away, and becoming half stupeHed ; so that they might, apparent.), 

 have been caught with the hand. Dr. Withering states (" British Plants, «• 

 1812) that six berries of this shrub (Daphne mezereum) will kill a wolf. Ano 



t\ f |« , x 7 ' * * AVA-^-y mat oiA i^ciiica Ul mis sniUU iiu^ivviiii/ r. 



Dunfermline and Waterford, and comprises ten exhibitions of three days' duration, correspondent, from Bedford remembered a young blackbird, some years 



one hundred andj nine pasting two days, and twenty-one that keep open but back, that used to frequent the'earden of the house in which he was staying, 



one day. n ■* ~*»i*»r fame ana 



Fruit Growing In the Colonies. —It is stated in the circular recently 

 issued by the Emigrants' Information Office that there is an excellent opening in 



who eagerly swallowed the berries of Daphne mezereum. He was rather 

 would take the berries when thrown to him, following them as they r ^ 1,cd dicaJ y 

 the ground, as a chicken would go after peas. Sowerby confirms the or 



the colonies for men withja little capital, who can take up land for fruit-growing, opinion as to the poisonous nature of these berries: "The whole P lan 

 dairvinor. «, r„— t_ , . " * ~ - * * powerful irritant, both bark, leaves, and fruit acting poisonously if taken m ivy 



quantities. A few of the berries nave been known to cause death when swa 

 The blackbird, however, did not seem the worse for them." 



Experimental Horticulture.-A lecture on this ^je* ^ fyr 



Mr. George Gordon at the meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society, o 

 Dr. Masters, F.R.S., presided. In the course of his lecture he •P ointed 



inconsequence of British horticulturists having in the past _been >o v ^ 



with the importance of practical knowledge, the great value of «P erl flf tbe 



had not been fully recognised. As the result of a want of appreaat ^ 



utility of carefully conducted experiments there were now but lew j ^ ^ 



stations in the United Kin gdom, the mcst important being the ga ^ ^ 

 Royal Horticultural Scciely at Chiswick and the experimental 0, *™ M ^ 



Madresfield Court and Woburn estates. Experimental plots ana g ^ 

 been formed by County Councils, and these, it was believed, wouw p ^ ^ 

 but it was felt that they were too few to produce a distinct " F * nWOB |d 



the advancement of horticulture, and he feared that an adequate ^ 

 not be obtained from them unless they could be brought into a 



dairying, or general farming. In Ontario and the North-West of Canada free 

 homesteads are given to settlers on simple conditions of residence and cultivation, 

 the 160 acre grants in the North-West being open land, requiring no clearing. 

 Western Australia is the only one of the Australasian colonies which gives free 

 homesteads— the Free Homestead Act there dates from 1893, and has lately been 

 much used ; 562 of such farms, of an average size of 151 acres, besides 54 homestead 

 leases, representing nearly 72,000 acres, were taken up in 1897. In the other colonies 

 land (mostly uncleared) can be bought from 2s. 6d. an acre. But settlers must 

 remember that the conditions of culture are necessarily very different from those 

 tney have been accustomed to here, so that they should not buy or rent land imme- 

 diately on arrival, but should work for 12 or 18 months with some colonial culti- 

 vator till they have acquired experience of soil, climate, and other local conditions. 



fr,l man • a *°, rkin e farail y he could, it is stated, cultivate a ten-acre block for 

 fruit-growmg, without the expense of hiring outside labour. 



.l ^) an " res ft>r Potatos.— An interesting competition for prizes offered by 

 »u 'J 1 / f Ammonia Committee, with a view to demonstrate the value of 

 ipnate of ammonia in the cultivation of potatos, has been brought to a conclusion 



