80 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ Jaiuary 8,1£85. 
is to be seen in the central avenue, Covent Garden, nor do I either recol¬ 
lect in all Paris a fruiterer’s shop “ pure and simple.” Those which have the 
finest fruit, such as Potil and Chabot or Cbevets, besides the vegetable and 
fruit, have displays of game, venison, “ comestibles” of all sorts. There is not 
in all Paris such a shop as Solomons or Webber’s. When I was there in 
September it was of course the height of the fruit season. There were 
quantities of Grapes, Peaches, Figs, Pears, Walnuts, &c. ; but let it not 
be supposed that these were all of first-rate quality. The Peches de 
Montreuil were then at their height, and very delicious they were, in¬ 
tensely dark in the colour of their skin, as if they had imbibed the full 
splendour of the French sunlight. These were to be had, the finest at 
about 4 d., others at 3 d. and 2d. a piece. I need not say that no such 
opportunity of eating good Peaches is obtainable with us. It struck me, 
however, as very odd that I did not see one Nectarine either at the 
Halles or in the fruiterers’ shops. Grapes were especially abundant, but 
nothing of really good quality could be had under a franc a pound, and 
these were the Chasselas of Fontainbleau, or Buckland Sweetwater. I 
saw at Potels on the Boulevards some fine boxes of this Grape from the 
celebrated gardens of Messrs. Salamon of Thomery, where outdoor cultiva¬ 
tion is carried on with great success. They were very beautiful, with 
that lovely rosy tint on them which they acquire in a sunny climate, but 
after all they somewhat laek flavour and lusciousness. The cheaper 
kinds of Grapes, black and white, come from the south, and although 
very sweet and cooling, are no way to be compared to the hothouse Grapes 
to be procured here. Of course the price is very different, varying 
from 25 to 70 centimes a lb. The little purple Fig was the only one I saw 
in September in the market or shops. They are very luscious and are 
much prized, whereas comparatively few English people care about them. 
Neither Pears nor Apples presented anything remarkable ; and although 
France is the country par excellence of the Pear, yet the common idea 
amongst French people is that Duehesse d’Angouleme is the thing to arrive 
at ; and, as far as my experience goes, good Pears are not often to be had 
in the Halles Centrales or the other markets in Paris. Some, of course, 
are to be had in the fruit shops, but probably the best go for exportation. 
It is in the flower markets, however, that the French have the pull on us, 
not on the costliness of our cut flowers, for I am sure that the lovely 
Orchids and stove plants that one sees at Dickson’s are rare visitants in 
the Paris bouquetiste ; but one has only to go the flower market at the 
Madeleine and see how widespread is the taste amongst the Parisians for 
flowers to decorate their rooms. The plants are not, as a rule, expensive 
ones, Marguerites, Heliotropes, Verbenas, Geraniums, and small plants of 
Pomegranates, Dahlias, and such like; but as they stand in quantities, 
each enveloped in its sheet of white paper, you see at once how much 
beyond us they are in such matters, and how ready they are to bestow 
care and attention upon their pets. 
In making this comparison I have not been actuated, as far as I know, 
by any feeling of partiality. One so constantly hears France upheld in 
such matters to the disparagement of our own country, that I thought it 
might be well to show there are more ways of looking at a question than 
one. I believe that the market gardeners in the neighbourhood of London 
are quite as well up to their business as those of Paris. The things culti¬ 
vated are in many respects, as I have shown, different, but that is because 
there are different tastes to supply, and that we come to the higher pro¬ 
ducts of horticulture, either in fruits or flowers, we are far ahead of them ; 
and so I think, on the whole, we may well be satisfied that we hold the 
foremost place amongst the nations of the earth in that science of which so 
many are such devoted adherents.—D., Deal. 
We have received the Programme of the International Horti¬ 
cultural Exhibition, which is to be held at Paris from the 20th to 
31st of May next. It comprises 247 classes, embracing every section 
of horticultural industry, 
- Messrs. J. Cheal& Sons, Lowfield Nurseries, Crawley, Sussex 
inform us that they have learned by cable from their representative at 
the New Orleans International Exhibition that they have been 
awarded the gold medal for the best collection of one hundred varieties 
of Apples, also five silver medals for other collections and classes of 
Apples and specimens of fruit trees, and money prizes to the amount of 
420 dollars. The whole collection consisted of about two thousand fruits 
in two hundred varieties. 
-— We are pleased to learn that the Cambridge Botanic Garden 
Syndicate have recommended the increase of the Curator’s stipend 
from £150 to £200 per annum. In the comparatively short time thi s 
garden has been under Mr. Lynch’s superintendence a wonderful improve, 
ment has been effected in its condition ; the general health of the plants 
is very satisfactory, and the collection is being rapidly increased by the 
addition of rare and beautiful plants. By his energy and wide know¬ 
ledge of plants Mr. Lynch will soon raise the Cambridge Botanic Garden 
to a foremost position, and even now it is well entitled to rank next to 
Royal Kew. 
-The Liverpool Horticultural Association’s third meeting 
of the season was held on Saturday evening last (3rd inst.) in the lecture 
room of the Free Public Library. The Vice-Chairman of the Association, 
Mr. T. White, occupied the chair. Papers were read on the “ Cultivation 
of the Azalea” by Mr. W. Mease, Wyncote, Allerton, and “ The Culture 
of Selaginellas,” by Mr. R. Cubbon, Woolton Heys, both of whi -h 
subjects were rendered in a manner to call forth warm approval from 
the well-attended meeting. At the conclusion of a good discussion the 
usual votes of thanks were accorded. 
- In addition to the plate of Magnolia Campbelli mentioned in 
another column, the “ Botanical Magazine ” for the present month gives 
a figure of the old Fuchsia triphylla, an interesting and pretty plant, 
upon which the genus was founded 180 years since. It was collected by 
Plumier in the West Indies, chiefly on the Island of St. Domingo, and it 
was imperfectly figured by this writer in 1703 under the name of Fuchsia 
triphylla flore coccineo. The same plant was many years afterwards 
named by Lamarck Fuchsia racemosa, which was adopted by several 
other writers. Though so long known, this Fuchsia is scarce in cultiva¬ 
tion, and the specimen from which the figure referred to was taken was 
sent to Kew by Messrs. Henderson. The flowers are bright scarlet, about 
inch long, the tube contracted towards the base, with short sepals and 
petals. The blooms are produced at the ends of the branches in a race¬ 
mose manner, and are slightly drooping. 
- Mr. James Beadle sends the following record of the Rainfall 
at Sandling Park, Hythe, Kent, for the year 1884 :—January, 1-42 
inches; February, 1*89; March, 1*45 ; April, 1*70 ; May, 0 00; June, 
0-93 ; July, 2 25 ; August, 0 - 85; September, 2 00 ; October, 2-77; Novem¬ 
ber, 1-28 ; December, 4-46 inches. Total, 2L00 inches. 
- Mr. R. H. Govett, in the “Transactions of the New Zealand 
Institute,” gives some startling facts as to the bird-killing powers of 
Pisonia Brunoniana, or P. Sinclairii. A sticky gum is secreted by 
the carpels when they attain their full size, but is nearly as plentiful in 
their unripe as in their ripe condition. Possibly attracted by the flies 
which embalm themselves in these sticky seed-vessels, birds alight on the 
branches, and on one occasion two silver-eyes (Zosterops) and an English 
sparrow were found with their wings so glued that they were unable to 
flutter. Mr. Govett’s sister, thinking to do a merciful act, collected all 
the fruit-bearing branches that were within reach and threw them on a 
dust-heap. Next day about a dozen silver-eyes were found glued to 
them, four or five of the pods to each bird. She writes :—“ Looking at 
the trees one sees tufts of feathers and legs where the birds have died 
and I do not think the bird could possibly get away without help. The 
black cat lives under the tree, a good many of the birds falling to her 
share, but many pods get into her fur, and she has to come and have them 
dragged out.” The Pisonias are relatives of the Marvel of Peru, being 
included in the family Nyctaginaceae, and several others are remarkable 
for their spiny glutinous branches. 
- We are informed that Mr. Philip MacMahon, Curator of the 
Hull Botanic Garden, has commenced a series of fifteen Popular 
Botanical Lectures at the Young People’s Institute, Charlotte Street, 
Hull. The Syllabus includes a general discussion of the structure of 
plants, their classification, distribution, uses, and cultivation. 
- Mr. Joseph Mallender sends the following Summary of Me¬ 
teorological Observations at Hodsock Priory, Worksop, Notts, 
in December, 1884 :—Mean temperature of month, 39-1° ; maximum on 
the 13th, 57*7°; minimum on the 31st, 23 3°. Maximum in sun on the 
13th, 84 - 2° ; minimum on the grass on the 31st, 19'4°. Warmest day, 
the 14th ; coldest day, the 31st. Mean temperature of air at 9 A.M., 38*0°. 
Mean temperature of the soil 1 foot deep, 39'7°. Number of nights 
below 32° in shade, seven ; on grass, twenty-three. Total duration of 
sunshine in the month, 14-2 hours, or 6 per cent, of the possible duration. 
We had twenty sunless days. Total rainfall, L45 inches. Maximum 
fall in twenty-four hours on the 2nd, 0-23 inches. Rain fell on eighteen 
days. Average velocity of wind, 14*7 miles per hour ; it exceeded 
400 miles on fourteen days, and fell short of 100 miles on five days. Up 
to the 19th the weather was very mild, with strong west and south-west 
winds, and an average amount of rain. Sunshine very deficient through¬ 
out the month. 
