SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17, 189S 



HORTICULTURAL CORRESPONDENCE CLASSES.— For PROS- 

 PECTUS and LIST of PRIZES apply T. H. Smith, 18, Somerville Road, Small 

 Heath, Birmingham First Examination Paper ready November 5. Join early for the whole 



iiirse. 



0 SECRETARIES OF FRUIT SHOWS, &c— JUDGING OF FRUITS, 



FLOWERS and VEGETABLES, by Stephen Castle, F.R.H.S., Consulting 



Horticulturist, Bottesford Vineries. Notts. 

 Terms on api lication. Telegrams, ''Grapes," Bottesford. 



the wants of the latter will not be overlooked, and that now, as in the 

 past, those who are in a position to do so will remember that portion ot 

 the community who from their own resources are unable to participate in 

 the good things that abound on all sides, and thereby act in accordance 

 with the spirit of the Christmas season. 



♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ 



AN ALMANACK FOR 1899 



Printed in Colours and representing the 



PENZANCE HYBRID SWEET-BRIERS 



Is presented with this Number. 



MISTLETOE. 



HE mistletoe is curious in being the only truly parasitical 

 plant, native to this country, of which any decorative use is 

 made, the comparatively few others, such as the broomrape 

 and dodder, being neither conspicuous nor ornamental, while 

 there are few things more beautiful than a well-developed bunch of 



Subscribers should see that their Newsagents deliver this Supplement mi stletoe pendulous from its host tree, and thickly bedecked with its 



with each copy. 



NOTES OF THE WEEK. 



THE CHRISTMAS SEASON. 



HE Christmas season that now spreads its ab j e Here 



lovely pearl-like berries. Examining it carefully we find its entire 

 structure to be curiously distinct from that of plants of independent 

 habit, its peculiar jointed character, and the dull olive green of its 

 blunt ovate leaves set on in pairs, together with its pendulous habit 

 of growth and peculiar mode of branching, all distinguish it most 

 markedly from the foliage among which and at whose expense it 

 grows and flourishes. Its mode of establishment is also very remark - 



we have a plant absolutely incapable of taking its 



genial influence upon all classes of society nour ; s hment direct from the soil by its own roots, so that were its seeds 



never appears to lack a certain degree of tQ fall t0 the groun d w hen ripe, as with ordinary plants, there would be 



freshness, although many festivals have be- a n end of them. On the other hand, when they by chance lodge in a 



come obsolete, and in some instances are well-nigh cleft of the tree, there lies between them and the necessary sap of their 



forgotten, except by those who delight in the host a thick and see mingly impenetrable layer of bark. Any ordinary 



study of those things which entered into the seedj under such c j rC umstances, would push out a root, and, finding no 



life of past generations. Young and old alike suste nance, would die off straightway, but the mistletoe is a crafty and 



breathe the spirit of this blessed i ns j d j ous plant, and starts by developing and inserting a series of claws, 



season, blessed for the opportuni- whjch grjp the bark and slowly pierce jt> long before ; t atte mpts to form 



ties it affords for friendly gather- anything in the shap e of leaves. It thus concentrates all its energies 

 ings, generous contributions to upQn tappillg the v j ta l forces of the tree, and having in time fixed its 

 the needs of those in want of help, tentac i es within the circulatory system, it then leisurely proceeds to profit 

 . . and kindly thoughts for others. by what jt can draw therefrom, and with it fashions its pendulous bush, 

 An inquiry into the cause or causes of the remarkable freshness that and cventua u y i ts pearly freight in addition. Those little pearls, too, are 

 characterises the celebration of this happy season would unquestionably marvels 0 f adaptation to needs. Therein lies the seed, embedded in a 

 yield much that is of interest. This investigation would probably reveal tenacious? sticky medium, so that a bird, making a meal of a number of 

 be fact that it is not alone due to the religious element, or to the social is bound tQ cleanse its beak by rubbing it on the branches, and 

 spect of the season, but is in great part the result of their combined ^ Xm ^ equa i ly bound n<w and again to fix an adherent seed in a suitable 

 intluence. It would also probably be found that the climate has exercised ]ace for its subseqU ent development, while, by way of revenge for those 

 material influence in the maintenance of a keen interest in all that actually devoured, the plant supplies the birdcatcher with his bird- 

 tongs to Christmas, for while the festival has occupied an important lime> Finally, j n re turn for its life of parasitism and treachery to its 

 Position in English, German, and Scandinavian customs, its observance f eat hered friends, by some strange irony of Fate its pearly branches are 



k materially lessened as we proceed southward. We, however, do not 



advise that our readers should engage in the solution of difficult problems 



at this season, but rather would suggest they regard the Christmas fes- 

 llv al as in " 

 ficiaL 



selected at this joyous season as a symbol of innocent freedom among 

 coy maids and bashful youths, and snatched from the leafy glade to 

 deck the festal hall. Its moral obliquity as a plant is entirely condoned 

 its nature a necessity of our being, and altogether bene- f QJ . t ^ e sa k e 0 f j ts beauty and the traditions of the past which cling 



It is satisfactory to observe that the relation of Christmas to 

 Wiculture, which in the distant past was extremely slender, is rapidly 

 doming closer, and as the result the products of the orchard and 

 &^raen pi ay an increasingly important part in the festivities associated 

 n the Christmas season. The shrubbery is resorted to for the holly 

 . glistening berries, and the orchard is searched for supplies of 

 etce, which by old and young is regarded as an essential part of the 

 e enery employed in the decoration of the home, while flowers in great 

 the' kvisMly employed by those who are in a position to indulge 



r taste in this direction. Having regard to the increasing demand 



to it. 



FLORAL EVOLUTION. 



f °r the v 



0 j c v ^nous products of the garden, it is satisfactory that the supplies 

 ^ the more important are abundant and obtainable at reasonable 



In some instances prices are rather too low from the grower's point 



rates, 

 of 



^ iew, but while we sympathise with those who are unable to obtain an 

 bin return fr° m an y particular crop, we derive satisfaction from the 

 ed S e that the section of the community with but moderate means 

 me * V [ Xt ^ ln x ^ tlr reach the choicest fruits and flowers grown for com- 



Pfcntif PUrPf SCS ' and that a11 but the VCry poorest are able to obtain a 



N these days of advanced scientific floriculture, based upon a far 

 deeper knowledge of the laws of reproduction than obtained even 

 when this century was well advanced, floral evolution is seen to be 

 split into two distinct branches, one literally as old as the hills, and 

 the other altogether of recent development. The one form of evolution 

 has been the outcome of the general struggle for existence which has 

 been going on between all forms of life for countless ages, and 

 when we regard the infinite types of beauty, in form, tint, and 

 detail which have resulted from the intricate relations of hostile and 

 friendly factors in the enviionment of plants, we cannot fail to be 

 struck with a far greater wonder and admiration than is evoked by 

 the other branch of evolution referred to, marvellous as that is seen 

 to be. That branch, embracing the selective power of man, has 

 with his intellectual development, and precisely as that, in 



wn 



th 



*pply of wholesome fruits and vegetables. Let us hope that enlightened days of ours, has suddenly burst forth into 



the full 



