November 29, 1883. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
465 
phosphate now, and such dressings of sulphate of ammonia and 
mitrate of soda as he recommends early in summer, after growth 
has commenced, and ,iust before rain if possible. This, if the 
■soil be otherwise good, especially if there be enough lime in it, 
will almost certainly cause luxuriant growth followed by the 
best crops. But possibly potash may be needed too—it may be 
absent from the soil; but dressing a portion of the land only will 
4;ell you that. If an addition causes more luxuriant growth, it 
is necessary; if it makes no difference, it is not. There is one 
thing, potash and nitrogen have a very favourable influence on 
Cm*rants. Always apply dressings right over the roots, where 
&hey will be sure to find it. We should very much prefer to give 
one spade of ordinary well-decayed manure to each plant to secure 
a thorough start.— Single-handed.] 
WHITE ELEPHANT POTATO. 
Some speak well of this Potato, but many have been disappointed in 
it. It is certainly a wonderful variety to produce a heavy crop of large 
tubers, but this is all that can be said in its favour. "VVe have grown it 
two seasons, and each time it has been very prolific. The finest of the 
tubers have weighed 22 ozs., but the quality when cooked might be 
termed sixth-rate. In flesh they are not white when boiled nor yet are 
they mealy, but a dull unattractive colour, and altogether disagreeable 
when compared with other varieties, such as the Queen, Paterson’s 
'Victoria, and Schoolmaster. I consider many advertisements I have 
•seen in favour of this sort quite misleading, as, although it may 
•excite curiosity in the way of producing a heavy crop, the quality will 
ciever give satisfaction. As to its being a good poor man’s Potato, I 
would not class it as such. If it could be boiled and relished with salt 
••alone, as all good Potatoes can, then it would have every quality to 
recommend it to the poorest of cottagers, but there is no hope of seeing 
fit in this condition. Respecting disease, it must be named with those 
varieties very liable to be affected in its worst forms.—J. Muir. 
ROYAL METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY. 
The first meeting of the present session was held last Friday evening at 
•the Institution of Civil Engineers, Mr. J. K. Laughton, M.A., F.R.A.S., 
President, in the chair. The Earl of Dalhousie, K.T., T. H. Davis. D. E. 
Embleton, M.R.C.S., J. Hargreaves, and T. L. Lewington, were elected 
Fellows of the Society. 
The following papers were read :— 
1, “ Report on Temperatures in two Different Patterns of Stevenson 
^Screens,” by E. Mawley, F.R.Met.Soc. The screens employed were an 
•ordinary Stevenson screen obtained from Casella, and a new Stevenson screen 
made in accordance with the recommendations of a Committee appointed by 
•the Council of the Society. The new screen is 2 inches wider and deeper 
than the old screen. It has also an upper sloping roof, and, at a little 
•distance below, a flat inner roof pierced with holes for ventilation ; while the 
old screen has a single fiat roof with only a narrow slit beneath on each side 
-for ventilation. Observations were made during the three months, July to 
•’September, and the results are given in the paper. From these it appears 
that the new screen is, of the two, slightly cooler and better ventilated, and 
retains the heat of the sun for a less time than the old screen ; also, having 
■a double roof and overlapping boards below, it is better suited for extreme 
'Climates. 
2, “ On the Storm which Crossed the British Islands between September 
1st and 3rd, 1883, and its track over the North Atlantic,” by C. Harding, 
F.R.Met.Soc., of the Meteorological Office. This storm caused considerable 
havoc in the south-west and south of England, owing not only to its excep¬ 
tional violence, but also to its occurrence before the completion of the 
harvest. The storm is traceable in the first instance to two centres of 
•disturbance, one being first shown at about 450 miles to the south of 
Bermuda on the 26th of August, and the other to the east of the Rocky 
Mountains on the 27th; these two disturbances afterwards merged on the 
■29th at about 300 miles to the north of Bermuda, and formed one great and 
-destructive gale, which continued to grow in violence as it crossed the 
Atlantic until it reached the coast of the British Islands. The average speed 
•at which this storm crossed the Atlantic was fully forty miles an hour, which 
is more than double the usual speed of storms which traverse that ocean. 
3, “ On the Influence of the Moon on the Height of the Barometer within 
the Tropics,” by Robert Lawson, Inspector-General of Hospitals. 
4, “ The Great Ice-storm of July 3rd, 1883, in North Lincolnshire,” by J. 
•Cordeaux. The direction of the storm was nearly south-east to north-west, 
•and travelled from Caistor along the higher ridges of the hills to Barton-on- 
Tlumber. The storm commenced at about 9.20 P.M. with heavy drops of 
rain, and increasing to a downpour, speedily followed—amidst the blaze of 
lightning and the constant roll of thunder—by the rush of hail or rather 
lumps of ice. An eye-witness remarked that they were not like hailstones 
but “salt-cellars;’ 1 another that they resembled “duck’s eggs;” in fact, 
they were solid lumps of ice of every shape and size, weighing from 2 ozs. 
to 6 ozs., and some were measured 6 inches in circumference. The injury 
•done to the growing crops cannot be estimated at less than £20,000. 
STORED-UP SAP IN VINES. 
Me. Taylor’s attempt (page 438) to explain and reconcile things, 
-which he confidently asserted as facts, to “ the best of his ability,” is 
■very unsatisfactory. He ought to be ready with his reasons as well, and 
give them plainly. I decline entirely to accept his own unsupported 
explanations of the “ analogous ” functions of the roots and stems ; but 
lie clears the ground a little when he says he regards “ root-extension and 
root-action as synonymous terms.” He is in error there, however, for 
root-action no more means root-extension than “leaf-action” means 
leaf-growth. But, accepting his meaning as he gives it, will he tell us 
what he meant by implying that his Vines were “dependent” on the 
stored-up sap of the previous autumn till the shoots were long and had 
leaves 5 inches broad ? In the meantime what became of the sap coming 
up daily and hourly from the roots ? How came it also that those dark 
patches of colour did not begin sooner under these circumstances ? The 
fact is, the “root-extension” explanation seems to present a ready loop¬ 
hole for your correspondent to escape from an untenable position. 
There is really no such thing as storing up sap in the sense Mr. 
Taylor states in plants like the Vine. Only bulbs and tuberous roots 
store food, for reasons apparent to anyone. I still assume that few or 
no experienced gardeners believe that Vines are dependent on the stored-up 
sap of the previous autumn till they reach the stage Mr. Taylor says, but 
if there be any will he produce them, and their reasons for such belief ? 
It does not seem to have occurred to your correspondent that the darker 
colour in the Vine leaves was due to their advancing growth and the more 
light they were receiving. 
Dr. Lindley’s explanation of the phenomena of the sap is the right 
one, and is still accepted by all. He says, pages 26 and 52 of his 
“ Theory and Practice,” “ There is no period of the year when the roots 
become altogether inactive except when they are actually frozen. At all 
other times during the winter they are perpetually attracting food from 
the earth. . . . The tubes are nearly empty at the fall of the leaf (this 
is the period, according to Mr. Taylor, when they have completed then- 
store of sap). During winter the roots absorb water from the soil and 
fill the tubes again. By the arrival of spring they are filled almost to 
bursting, and then if the stem is cut it bleeds.” This is a clear state¬ 
ment, and I commend it to Mr. Taylor, especially the statement that 
there is no period of the year in which the roots are “ inactive ” — i.e., not 
“in action,” and that it is “food” they are drawing up. For fuller 
corroboration I refer him to the book itself. 
If Mr. Taylor would put his theory on the subject into plain 
language, or give us facts instead of surmises in proof of it, I would 
accept his opinions as readily as any other person’s ; but that is exactly 
what he has not done, while his replies are full of invidious and imaginary 
references to those who venture to differ from him. Will he, in as few 
words as possible, tell us clearly what he does mean by “ stored-up sap ” 
in the Vine, when the Vine stores it, where it is stored, and what the 
difference is between this stored-up sap and that which is continually 
rising from the roots ? His teaching on this subject is very loose indeed. 
It is an old and excellent maxim, recognised as fair and honourable by 
all scientific and educated authorities since the time of Bacon, that a 
man is bound to substantiate, what he advances as facts, with proofs, and 
to meet all fair questions in the same spirit. I therefore ask Mr. Taylor 
to do this, and above all to keep to the point, take up the questions one 
by one as they are put, and answer them in as few words as possible. I 
want to take up your space and his time as little as possible.— A Non- 
Believer. 
HISTORICAL JOTTINGS ON VEGETABLES.—No. 10. 
THE TURNIP. 
Dr. Tanner of fasting notoriety, if the American press is to 
be believed, has experimented with some vegetables to ascertain 
the effect they had upon the disposition of those who ate them. 
Turnips, he believes, induce amiability, for instance, and French 
Beans considerable sharpness of temper; having given the latter 
vegetable to an individual in his household, when he found 
irritability so decidedly developed that this person “ threw a jug 
at his head.” He then hastened to administer Turnips, but 
found it took some time to overcome the unpleasant influences 
of the Bean. The amount of nutritive matter Turnips contain 
is certainly less than that in any variety of Bean. According to 
Dr. Lyon Playfair, 90 per cent, in an average Turnip consists of 
water, and therefore, where the vegetable is largely consumed, 
we might suppose irritative matter would be washed out of the 
system ! The Greeks, who first grew the Turnip, appear to have 
thought the best use of this vegetable was as a cataplasm or 
outward application to relieve pains and lessen swellings, but 
the Romans appreciated the somewhat insipid root, and, 
being fond of tasty dishes, they devised a variety of modes of 
dressing it, which have not been rediscovered by our modern 
cooks. Pliny and Columella agree that as a vegetable the 
Turnip should be placed next to the cereals, and feeding cattle 
with the roots, though occasionally practised, was secondary to 
their use amongst mankind A choice Turnip grown in the 
land of the Sabines was worth a sestertius—say 2d. or '6d., at one 
period. 
Fields, waste lands, and roadsides in Europe and the tem¬ 
perate districts of Asia afford samples of the Turnip (Brassica 
Rapa) growing wild, with rough, dark green radical leaves, and 
if two years old, a flower-stalk, surrounded by smooth leaves 
exceedingly like that of the Cabbage. Ancient Gaul is said to 
have supplied to Greece and Italy the first Turnips grown in 
those countries, but in fact nobody knows. The Romans were 
accustomed to manure the ground thoroughly before sowing 
