July 17, 1884. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
49 
Birds have been exceedingly troublesome, the blackbirds eating the 
fruit when quite hard and green, and the smaller birds being also greater 
depredators than usual. I hear that many blackbirds have been found in 
the woods round about dead for want of food. The drought has deprived 
them of slugs and worms, and this has caused them to attack the Straw¬ 
berries and Cherries with quite unaccustomed boldness. After protecting 
a bed with netting I was surprised to find my fruit eaten. 1 also covered 
a few plants with a frame, and shut it up. Then also I found the fruit 
eaten, and marks of a mole. I never heard of a mole eating Strawberries 
before, so hardly knew whether to impute the robbery to our underground 
friend or not, but on calling on my neighbour, the gardener who was 
removing the netting from his Strawberry bed remarked that he could 
not keep the rats from his Strawberries. I asked him if he had any moles 
about, when on removing some of the litter he found the hole of a mole. 
This was conclusive evidence against Mr. Mole, so for the future Straw- 
berry growers must protect their fruit from enemies above ground and 
below.—H. S. Eastt. 
THE LATE MR. ALEXANDER HONEYMAN. 
It will be remembered that the circumstances connected with the 
death of this estimable man were so distressing that they had only to be 
mentioned to evoke sympathetic aid. Mrs. Honeyman, acting on the 
advice of friends, having recently become settled, and with a fair pro¬ 
spect of procuring a comfortable livelihood, the time has arrived for me 
to return my earnest thanks to all who so generously assisted in this 
case. As in the great majority of letters a wish was expressed that no 
publicity should be given to the donors’ names, I can only say that I have 
had the great pleasure of receiving for Mrs. Honeyman the sum of 
£144 5.9. ■^d, which amount is also recorded in the preface to the volume 
through which it was obtained. That what has been done was needed 
and is gratefully appreciated is sufficiently evident from the following 
letter from Mrs. Honeyman :— 
“ What can I say for all that has been done for me in this bitter trial ? Words qu he 
fail me to convey the gratitude I feel for the generous kinduess of which I am t he 
recipient. Helpless, almost pennyless, far from home and friends, friends have been 
raised up for me everywhere, and help, such as I never dared to hope for, has been given 
bountifully. I can only try to merit what I have received by striving assiduously to 
bring up my children in a manner worthy of such a father as they have lost, and who 
called forth in such a remarkable manner the respect and aid of so many noble-minded 
and Christian-hearted people through the Journal which he loved, and to which and its 
Editors I shall ever feel profoundly indebted. The strongest words I can utter are feeble 
thanks, and only He who knows the secrets of all hearts can know the measure of my 
gratitude. The beautiful letters that have been sent will cheer me on, and will be 
treasured as the most prized of my possessions as long as I live. A widow’s deepest 
thanks to all.— Janet Honeyman.” 
Mrs. Honeyman, it may be said, is now residing in Grangemouth, 
where she has good friends and advisers, and her frugality, prudence, and 
industry will, if she is vouchsafed the blessing of health, enable her with 
the start that has been given to carry out her cherished wish of support¬ 
ing and educating her family, so that they may become industrious 
members of society. That was their father’s wish. His books he divided 
amongst them, a certain number being reserved as a small library acces¬ 
sible to them all during their youth. The residue, placed at my disposal, 
have been sold, and the small proceeds added to the sum above men¬ 
tioned. Helpers in this case have been very numerous, assistance having 
been sent from every county in England, from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, 
the Isle of Wight, the Isle of Man, France, Belgium, America, and 
Australia. To the toilers who have sent their shillings and the affiuent 
who have sent their pounds my thanks are equally due, and are hereby 
gratefully recorded.— J. Wright. 
NICOTIANA AFFINIS. 
It may not be generally known how easily this plant may be grown, 
and how fine it is for conseiwatory or greenhouse decoration in the 
summer and autumn months. It is also well adapted for culture in the 
open air during the same seasons, but the plants when exposed to the 
weather rarely produce such good results as when cultivated under glass. 
A rather serious drawback to the use of Nicotiana affinis for house 
decoration is that the flow'ers close for about eight hours in the daytime, 
usually opening again about 5 p.m. They are white, and when closed 
practically scentless ; hut as they open in the evening their agreeable 
perfume may be easily detected on entering the house. The plants grow 
from 2 to 3 feet high, and have a much finer appearance when arranged 
in small groups than when dotted about singly. If well grown a panicle 
with four or five branches will be produced on each plant, containing a 
dozen or more flowers in each, and if the plants are not tied beyond the 
point where the panicle branches the latter will depend gracefully with 
the weight of the flowers. 
To obtain the best residts the plants must be well treated in the early 
stages of growth, and not allowed to become starved. Those in flower 
with us for the past month or more, and are lilcely to remain attractive 
for a lengthened period, were sown in March. The seedlings of all the 
Tobaccos are very liable to damp off in the seed pans, consequently they 
should be carefully watched and pricked off as soon as large enough to 
handle. Grow them in heat and pot into 60’s, transferring the plants 
again in due course into 32-sized pots, which are sufficiently large for any 
purpose. The soil should be rich and used broken up without sifting, as 
the stronger the plants become before showing the flower spikes the 
better. A situation in a house devoted to Fuchsias and similar plants 
will suit Nicotianas during the growing period, and they may be brought 
on a few at a time or retarded as may be required. Few plants in flower 
withstand the heat of midsummer for so long a time as the one under 
notice. The only requirements when flowering are plenty of air and 
water and a light shading from bright sunshine. A small quantity of 
seed may be sown occasionally for a succession, but as the plants remain 
in flower so long it is not necessary to sow often.—J. G. 
FOSTER’S PATENT ROSE-HOLDER. 
In the report of the Canterbury Rose Show in our issue of the 
3rd inst. reference was made to the Rose-supports of Mr. C. Foster, 
instead of to Mr. R. Foster of Ashford, Kent. This extremely simple 
yet very efficient method of fixing Roses in tubes is shown in the engra¬ 
ving. The main wire, about the thickness of a knitting needle, is made 
to form three loops and a spring, the two former for supporting the 
Fig. 8.—Foster’s Rose-holder. 
Rose, the latter for pressing against the side of the tube and holding the 
bloom of any required height. The name “ holder ” is fixed to the tube. 
The patentee describes this Rose exhibitor’s aid as follows :—“ The Rose- 
holders or supports are made so that the Rose with its name may be 
moved together. To put the Rose in, first put the top loop of the wire 
round the neck of the Rose ; then put the stem in the loop in the middle 
or by the side ; then put altogether in the inner tube, far enough for the 
lower end of the wire to come just below the tube. The Rose can then 
be set to the name by turning the lower end of the wire round to the 
right position. It can then be set the height required. The small wire 
can be used, if wanted, by just putting either end once round, which will 
hold the Rose quite firm.” 
We have only to add that we consider this the best ap^iliance for the 
