262 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER, 
[ September 18, 1884. 
of aa abundant crop of fruit. Unripe wood never gave it and never 
will; and I am pleased to find that he sets so high a value on ripe wood 
and well-plumped buds, beyond which nothing but favourable weather 
B wanted for bringing the crops we all hope to see. — G. Abbey. 
Grapes at the Health Exhibition. —At the Fruit and Vegetable 
Show to be held on the 23rd and 24th inst. at South Kensington in 
connection with the International Health Exhibition, the classes devoted 
to Grapes are very numerous, embracing as they do more than half 
the schedule. Valuable prizes are offered for collections, as also for 
special varieties, and spirited competition is expected, which will result 
no doubt in the greatest display of Grapes in London this season. 
Lilium Aueatum. —At the last meeting of the Eoyal Horticul¬ 
tural Society a Lilium auratum was exhibited by Mr. W, H. Counsel!, 
Shenley Villa, Twickenham, in a 48-size pot, the plant bearing twenty- 
five flowers. No card was affixed to this plant when our representative 
left the conservatory, hence it was not referred to in the report of the 
meeting. 
Weights op Fruit.— “ A Gardener ” desires to know the 
highest weights recorded of Peaches and Nectarines. As it is impossible 
for us to search through the whole range of gardening literature to 
procure the exact information needed, we simply make the request 
known in case any of our readers may be able to assist our correspondent. 
We are informed that Mr. Folkard’s new work, “ Plant Lore,” 
will be issued next week, and, judging from the voluminous “ contents ” 
table before us and the list of works consulted, the author must have 
been very industrious, and his work ought to be interesting. 
- We are reminded that the'third Show of the season in con¬ 
nection with the Cheltenham Horticultural Society takes place this day 
(Thursday) in the Montpellier Grounds in that town, and, judging by 
the large number of entries, a good show is anticipated. 
- Mr. Bowlzer, The Gardens, Eokeby Park, Barnard Castle, 
referring to a note last week on Ferns for baskets, states he has 
grown Adiantum farleyense in a basket over five years, and exhibited 
one in a basket at Barnard Castle on August 22nd 4 feet across. 
Mr. J. Beadle sends us from Sandling Park, Kent, a box of 
very beautiful AUTUMN Eoses. The blooms are not large, but charm¬ 
ingly fresh and good in colour, while the foliage is as fresh and clean 
as the flowers. The following are especially meritorious Charles 
Lefebvre, General Jacqueminot, Franqois Lacharme, Mar6chal Vaillant, 
Duke of Connaught, Duke of Edinburgh, Fisher Holmes, John Hopper, 
Seaateur Vaisse, Alfred Colomb, Madame Bautin, and Mabel Morrison. 
Liliputian Potatoes. —A singular Potato plant with its crop 
of tubers attached has been shown to us by Messrs. Carter of Holborn. 
Carters Champion Forcing Kidney was crossed with Carters’ Ashtop 
Fluke. The produce was planted (very small tubers) in March. All 
but one have produced potatoes of the ordinary size, the exception being 
the plant in question. This has a yield of apparently hundreds of 
potatoes, the largest not exceeding an inch in length and three-eighths 
of an inch in diameter, perfectly kidney-shaped, while the majority are 
mt half that size. The stems of the plant and leaves are also small. 
The firm hopes to “ fix ” the novelty, with the object probably of serving 
the tubers like Peas or eating them with spoons. There is no telling 
what we shall get to in this Potato-improving epoch, only we can scarcely 
expect to have much smaller tubers than the sample in question. 
- Jefferies’ Little Queen Lettuce.— Mr. A. Young writes : 
I can fully endorse what is stated on page 202 concerning this Lettuce. 
I recommended it for the same purpose in the Journal two or three years 
ago. All-the-Year-Eound Cabbage Lettuce has stood the drought 
wonderfully well this season, and formed capital hearts.” 
—Chrysanthemum Madame Descrange.— The opening buds 
and expanding flowers of this white early-flowering Chrysanthemum show 
what a useful variety it is for those gardeners who have a conservatory at 
this period of the year to keep gay. Intermixed with Vallota purpurea 
the combination is extremely effective.—J. 
- Tea Eose, the Hon. Edith Giffard. —This, writes “ A 
Gardener,” appears to be a good acquisition ; its colour is flesh white 
shaded with salmon. It has been flowered continuously. The buds are 
of fine form, and do not expand too quickly. 
- Eose, Merveille de Lyon. —“ This new H.P.,” observes the 
same correspondent, “ has done wonderfully well this season, and if it 
maintains its character it will be the finest light Hybrid Perpetual Eose 
we have.” 
- Box.—I am not aware of ever having seen Box used for other 
purposes than edging. When dead and dried it makes capital scrubbers for 
cleaning benches, walls, and trees. When tied in bunches and fastened 
to the ground vertically and horizontally by means of wire and posts, 
it makes excellent scrapers or boot-cleaners.—L. B. 
- Tomatoes at the Health Exhibition.—I n continuation of 
a system adopted at the International Health Exhibition of showing 
natural specimens, Messrs. James Carter & Co. are now staging upon 
their stand a very representative group of Tomatoes, comprising the 
following varieties, which will be interesting to cultivators of this 
popular vegetable :—Green Gage, Dedham Favourite, Vermilion Gage, 
Vick’s Criterion, Stamfordian, Trophy, Carters’ Model, Holborn Gem, 
Hathaway’s Excelsior, Manpay’s Superior, Queen of Tomatoes, Holborn 
Coral, Eed Currant, Nisbett’s Victoria, Grapeshot, and Eed Cherry. 
- A crimson-fruited Bramble. —Eubus parvifolius is an ex¬ 
tremely charming and pretty plant, well worth attention because of its 
crimson fruit, which is brighter and larger than that of E. phoenicolasius 
It is free-growing but not rampant, and left alone it creeps on the ground 
and forms a close covering of green foliage. The leaves are pretty and 
very closely placed. This kind has been put down as a greenhouse 
evergreen, but Mr. Lynch informs us it is quite hardy in the Cambridge 
Botanic Garden. Native of China. 
- Gardening Appointments. —Mr. H. S. James, gardener to 
A. Laverton, Esq., of Farleigh Castle, and a very successful exhibitor at 
Trowbridge Flower Show, is leaving Farleigh to take the management 
of the garden of Charles Hill, Esq., at Clevedon Hall, Clevedon. He is 
succeeded by his brother, Mr. E. H. James, of Westbury House, Wilts. 
Mr. Henry Birch has succeeded the late Mr. Beech as gardener to the 
Marquis of Northampton, Castle Ashby. 
- Vicar of Laleham Potato. —This Potato, grown in a smoky 
midland town, has turned out remarkably well, a gardener in Walsal 
having tried it with other kinds this season. It gave a good crop of 
good-sized tubers, which are of excellent quality when cooked. School 
master in the same garden produced a poor crop and of inferior quality. 
- SoLANUM JASMINOIDES. —In One of the greenhouses at Mr. E. 
Holmes’s nursery at Whittington, Lichfield, is a plant of this Solanum 
which has grown through the ventilators and formed a large mass of 
growth outside, on which there is now an abundance of fine clusters of 
flowers. It is a charming object just now, and it is evident that it can be 
made a useful summer climber against walls in situations which suit it. 
In the same nursery is a plant against a wall of Ligustrum Quihooi in 
bloom, with long panicles of flowers, a really handsome shrub for wall 
decoration. 
- Nuphar advena. —It is not generally known that this is the 
finest of the yellow Water Lilies. It is the most worthy of them to 
associate with the white Water Lily, the finest variety of which is 
Nymphma candidissima. These two should be considered indispensable 
in all ornamental waters. The yellow Water Lily of which we speak is 
much like N. lutea, though much finer. Its leaves are massive, of dark 
green colour, projected above the water, and the flowers are yellow with 
orange-red stamens. It may be known by its six sepals, as all the others 
have five. Native of N. America. 
- Kew Gardens.—A t all times enjoyable and instructive, these 
famous gardens were never in more excellent condition than now. 
Every department affords evidence of skilful management. Not only 
are plants preserved, but they are cultivated. In the great Palm house 
the vegetation is of the most luxuriant character, the specimens large 
and small—and not a few are magnificent—as healthy as they can be 
