July 28, 1883. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
71 
bring Messrs. Cranston from Hereford and Messrs. J. Dickson & Co. from 
Chester, while the Wirral amateurs contributed largely by their beautiful 
blooms to the success of the Show. It will be memorable to me this 
season for the very best bloom of Marie Baumann I think I ever saw; it 
was exhibited in Messrs. James Dickson & Co.’s stand. Larger blooms I 
have seen, but I have never seen one more perfect in form or so brilliant in 
colour. In the latter point it was more like a good bloom of A. K. Williams. 
The blooms exhibited by Mr. T. B. Hall of Larchwood, Bock Perry, and 
by Mr. Griffiths, were very good, and the superb trusses of Madame G. Luizet, 
Marie Cointet, Baronne de Rothschild, and Capitaine Christy exhibited by 
Messrs. Cranston and Dickson were decidedly admired ; and altogether Dr. 
Bell may be heartily congratulated on the success which has attended his 
efforts to combine the love of the Rose with the advancement of so good 
-an object as a cottage hospital.—D., Deal. 
PIGEONS ATTACKING PEAS. 
Being a subscriber from the commencement of your valuable 
periodical, I am desirous of inquiring if you, or any of your nume¬ 
rous readers, know of a parallel case to that decided by Judge 
Stevens at the last court day held at the Boston County Court. 
I am a grower of the best varieties of Peas for seed, such as Pride 
•of the Market, Stratagem, Telephone, &c. They are scattered about 
in a nursery ground 4 acres in extent, between young trees. Some 
hundreds of cottages abut on the west side, and several of the occu¬ 
pants keep poultry and pigeons. The poultry I have occasionally 
caught, traced them home, and told the owner if 1 caught them again 
I should sue them for damage, and they have at once been kept in. 
The pigeons, however, continued destroying crops partly or wholly. 
I gave orders to my people to tell all who kept pigeons that the 
birds would be liable to be shot if they continued destroying my crops ; 
but as the annoyance did not cease, a gun and licence were procured, 
and a pigeon was shot by my son. An action was entered against him 
for this. He was sued in the County Court for £8 for the pigeon, and 
£1 costs. My solicitors assured me that the case was so good and the 
law so strong on my side that I needed no one to defend it. However, 
the case was gone into before Judge Stevens, who unfortunately is a 
pigeon fancier, and would not allow the pigeon to be brought into 
court to be fairly valued by a competent person we had for the purpose. 
Because the bird has taken prizes at a show held at a public house, the 
Judge told the plaintiff without seeing it he had no doubt it was a very 
valuable bird, and gave a verdict for the plaintiff for £5. When I asked 
that the case might be tried by a jury, I was told there is no 
appeal.—T. B. Dolly. 
So great has been the demand for Mr. Wright’s Treatise on 
Mushrooms that, although a very large edition was prepared, it is 
quite exhausted, and the publisher is unable to immediately execute 
many orders that he has received during the past week. Another 
edition will be published as quickly as possible, and the orders in 
tkand will then, be executed. 
- Mr. J. George, who has been gardener to Miss Nicholson, 
Putney Heath, for the past thirty years, has, we are informed, 
resigned his situation, and taken premises at 10, Victoria Street, 
Putney, with the intention of extending his business in horticultural 
sundries. It is well known that Mr. George has rendered good 
service in improving the Abutilons, having reared many beautiful 
-varieties. Ivy-leaved Pelargoniums have also received much attention 
from him with excellent results. 
- Relative to the Princess Louise Coil Grate that was 
illustrated on page 15 of our issue of the 5 th inst., and described as 
patented by Mr. Deards of Harlow, Essex, Mr. Robert Renton Gibbs, 
Mill Street, Liverpool, states that he “ has had the grates in use and has 
heen fixing them for the past fifteen years.” We never before heard of 
the “ Gibbs’ Hot-water Grate ” (which, according to the illustration before 
us, appears similar to the Princess Louise), nor, we venture to say, have 
the vast majority of our readers. Mr. Gibbs does not say that he 
patented his grate; but Mr. Deards informed us that he patented the 
apparatus to which we referred. 
- The evening fete held by the Chiswick and Turnham 
Green Horticultural Society in the gardens of the Royal Horticultural 
Society at Chiswick on Thursday last proved very successful, a large 
number of visitors assembling, as the evening was fine and clear though 
rather cool. The gardens were very tastefully illuminated with coloured 
lamps, about 4000 being employed in festoons and arches over the chief 
walks and around the Council-room. The Horse Guards’ band, under 
the leadership of Mr. C. Godfrey, performed a choice selection of music, 
including a new valse, “ Camille,” composed by the Honorary Secretary 
of the Society, Mr. J. T. Musgave, which was greatly admired. 
- The third part of the serial work on “ Hardy Perennials 
and Old-fashioned Flowers ” (170, Strand) continues the descrip¬ 
tion of species from Helleborus colchicus to Lathyrus latifolius. The 
matter both cultural and descriptive is correct and good, but several 
mistakes occur in the names, capital initial letters being used for the 
specific titles as in previous issues. Several woodcuts are given, one of 
Hydrangea paniculata grandiflora being a most unsatisfactory repre¬ 
sentation of a beautiful and useful plant. 
- “A Practical Treatise on the Fuchsia” is the title of 
a little work just issued (E. W. Allen, 4, Ave Maria Lane), which gives 
a brief outline of the general culture needed by this popular plant. The 
author is Mr. F. Buss, whose experience as a grower and exhibitor 
should render his production worth perusal. 
-A correspondent asks if any of our readers can give the name 
of the light pink Clove that is now being sold in a cut state in Covent 
Garden, The flowers are nearly the colour of C. Souvenir de la Mal- 
maison, and about as large as a good-sized Pink. 
- Mr. A. Faul of Gilmore Place, Edinburgh, informs us that he 
was the winner of the first prize for six stove and greenhouse plants at 
Edinburgh on the 11th inst., and not Mr. Paterson as stated in our report 
on page 56, last week. 
- Messrs. J. Jefferies & Sons, Cirencester, send us a choice 
collection of hardy flowers, including examples of many useful 
plants. Very noticeable is Liliurn testaceum with pale orange or 
creamy yellow flowers, exceedingly fragrant and free. Campanula 
Trachelium album plenum, a double white full-flowered form, is not 
very commonly seen, but is pretty and well worth notice. Several 
other dwarf species and varieties of Campanulas were also included, 
all attractive and useful. 
- A correspondent writes that “ the Phylloxera has been 
discovered in the vineyard of Mr. Alderman Lightfoot, Mayor of 
Accrington. It is feared that the Vines will have to be destroyed.” 
- Mr. H. James, Castle Nursery, Lower Norwood, writes :— 
“ Having constantly to reply to questions relating to Vanda teres, I 
thought a note of what I have recently seen might interest those of your 
readers who are anxious to succeed with this lovely Orchid. In a house 
at Mr. Alexander Durce’s garden, Dulwich, there is now in bloom a 
small plant with three spikes of twenty-one of its lovely flowers—seven 
on each spike. The plant is about 3 feet above the piece of cork to 
which it is wired. Mr. Bachelor, the gardener, informs me it has never 
been taken out of the stove, in the centre of which is a large water tank ; 
but during the winter months is hung near the glass. So it is not a 
necessity to take it out to the stokehole to dry it in the winter months, 
as we are sometimes told.” 
- We regret to record the death of Mr. William Biggs, Sandsfield 
Park, West Derby, Liverpool, age 51 years. He had been in the service 
of the late Mr. Arnold and his widow for twenty-one years, and was one 
of the first, if not the first, to exhibit dwarf-trained Chrysanthemums in 
St. George’s Hall. Mr. Biggs was a good practical gardener, and a man 
highly respected by all who knew him. He leaves a widow and six 
children. 
- Mr. John Nixon writes :—“I am disposed to think that many 
writers take a great deal more trouble in striking Roses than they 
have any need to do. I strike mine in the same manner as Gooseberry 
or Currant cuttings, and all grow equally well.” 
-A hitherto unknown form of the Potato Disease, which 
had been making slow but steady progress near Stavanger during the 
last ten or twelve years, has recently begun to show increased energy. 
The stalk of the plant is the part affected, and Herr Anda has dis¬ 
covered small white fungoid growths, which after a time assume a 
greenish, and finally a black, colour, after attaining the size of a small 
Bean. While the fungus is rapidly increasing at the expense of the 
plant, the interior of the stem is first reduced to a pulpy condition, and 
next shrivelled and hollowed out, until nothing remains but a mere outer 
