72 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ January ss,1883. 
retaining the habit thus forced upon them, and are, so to speak, 
taking their work before them.—W. Thomson, Dalkeith Park." 
No better-ripened, shorter-jointed, smaller-pithed, finer young 
wood was ever produced on a Vine ; and when it is remembered 
that no more than eleven months before the eyes producing that 
wood were planted, we believe that such success was then without 
a parallel, though it may have been equalled since. The drawing 
of a section from the Golden Champion cutting is exactly of the 
size sent to us.] 
We give the three following records of kainfall in 
widely separated districts as illustrating the great difference in 
the annual totals registered. 
- Me. R. Inglis, The Gardens, Borde Hill, Sussex, writes— 
“ The total bain fall in Mid-Sussex for the past year was 
33 42 inches. It may on the whole be termed rather a dripping 
season, there having been rain on 181 days, nearly one-half of 
the number. The heaviest fall for one month was October— 
686 inches — and the driest month was May, during which 
1-34 inch fell. The greatest depth in twenty-four hours occurred 
on October 21st, when T24 inch was registered. The following 
is the fall in each month :—January, T62 ; February, 6-69 ; March, 
1-34 ; April, 3 09 ; May, T34 ; June, 2-41 ; July, 3 86; August, 
187 ; September, 2-44 ; October, 6 86 ; November, 4T8 ; Decem¬ 
ber, 2*72—Total, 33-42 inches.” 
- Mr. Geo. Machray registered the following rainfall in 
1882 at Kelly Gardens, Wemyss Bay, near Greenock :—January, 
6 50 ; February, 5-50 ; March, 3 50 ; April, 3-70 ; May, 2-70 ; June, 
5- 10 ; July, 4-20 ; August, 4-20 ; September, 4-20 ; October, 4 00 ; 
November, 7 90 ; December, 6'80—Total, 58-30 inches. 
- Mr. G. Summers, The Gardens, Sandbeck Park, sends 
the following record of the rainfall —“ In 1882, 34'02 inches fell 
on 214 days ; 1881, 27'30 inches on 171 days ; 1880, 34-87 inches on 
170 days ; 1879, 28-61 inches on 209 days ; 1878, 26 88 inches on 
179 days ; 1877, 31-50 inches on 163 days. From the above 
figures it will be seen that the rainfall of the past year was 
6- 72 inches more than 1881, a difference of 678 tons, or 151,574 
gallons per acre. March was the driest month, 1-37 inch falling 
on 12 days ; and October the wettest, 5 34 inches falling on 
24 days.” 
- “F. H., Oxon," writes as follows respecting suitable 
PLANTS FOR growing under A Rookery :—“ There is a very 
large rookery here, and I find nothing succeeds better under the 
trees where the rooks inhabit than the common English Ivy. We 
have a quantity of it here, with Box trees planted at intervals 
amongst it, which answers very well. But I would advise your 
correspondent, “ J. D.,” not to let nettles find root room with the 
Ivy, or they will very soon overgrow and kill it.” 
- Messrs. Barr & Son, King Street, Covent Garden, send 
us specimens of Coebularia alba, a charming little Hoop Petti¬ 
coat Narciss with neat white flowers. They state that, “ In the 
Bummer of 1881 we had a quantity of the pseudo-bulbs from 
Algiers, and planted them in bottomless pans, where they have 
remained since, with the exception of moving the pans last 
summer with the view of having them under better control, and 
have given them a slight protection when necessary of glass, and 
from this time we shall be cutting them twice a week.” 
- We are sorry to have to record the death of Mr. Robert 
Wrench of Messrs. Jacob Wrench & Son, seedsmen, of London 
Bridge, which occurred at Gi'amont Surbiton on the 15th inst 
at the age of seventy. Mr. Wrench was the youngest son of Mr. 
Jacob Wrench, who founded the house, and originally practised 
as a solicitor, but on the death of his nephew, the son of his elder 
brother, Mr. Edward Wrench, he joined the firm. He was for 
upwards of forty years treasurer to the Gardeners' Royal Bene¬ 
volent Institution, in the prosperity of which he always manifested 
the greatest interest. He was for some years a member of the 
Council of the Royal Horticultural Society, and was long on the 
Fruit Committee of that Society. He was for many years a 
member of the Board of Management of Dulwich College, and 
at the time of his death Master of the Drapers’ Company. 
-The following prizes are offered by Messrs. Sutton 
and Sons, Reading, for competition by amateurs and gentlemen’s 
gardeners at the meetings of the Royal Horticultural Society 
during the present year:—March 29th, £3, £2, and £1 for nine 
seedling Cinerarias ; May 22nd and 23rd, similar amounts for the 
same number of Calceolarias, also £2 2s., £1 Is., and 10s. 6d. for 
the best brace of Cucumbers, any variety. June 26tb, prizes of 
similar value to the above named for nine Tuberous Begonias, 
twelve Gloxinias, four dishes of Peas, and six varieties of Lettuce. 
July 3rd, four prizes ranging from £4 to £1 for a collection of 
ten distinct kinds of vegetables, no restriction as to sorts ; also 
three prizes of £3, £2, and £1 for the best Melon ; and on July 24th 
three prizes for Cabbages and six for Potatoes, varying from £4 
to £1. No variety for which a special prize is offered in the 
Society’s schedule may compete for these prizes. The same firm 
also provides prizes to the aggregate amount of £40, in twenty- 
one classes, at the International Potato Show to be held in 
September. 
- Those who take an interest in the home cultivation of 
Oranges will find the Orange house at the Sawbridgeworth 
Nurseries well worth a visit at this season. The trees are laden 
with a profusion of handsome brilliantly coloured fruit, and ex¬ 
hibit a luxuriance of growth which is rarely seen even in the 
Orange plantations of southern Europe, and the foliage is large 
and glossy, having no trace of scale or of the black fungus, which 
are the pests of the Orange tree. It may be worth mentioning 
that Mr. Rivers sponges the leaves and bark with castor oil, which 
is washed off with soft soap and warm water, and this is an 
effectual cure to the pests we have just mentioned. 
- The members of the Sutton Amateur Rose Society 
dined together at the Cafe Royal in Regent Street on the evening 
of Tuesday last; Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., President of the 
Society, in the chair. There was a large muster of the members 
and their friends, and if we may judge by the uniform geniality 
and enthusiastic tone that pervaded the gathering, there need be 
no doubt as to the usefulness and permanency of this young but 
prosperous Society. The proceedings of the evening were enlivened 
by the execution of some charming solo and part songs by the 
members under the direction of Mr. Home. 
- Concerning the importation of Potatoes into 
America, it is stated that during the year 1882 nearly 9,000,000 
bushels of Potatoes paid duty at the various ports of that country, 
their invoiced value being 4,500,000 dols., and the amount of 
duty paid 1,118,476 dols. A large portion of these were landed at 
New York, though Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and New 
Orleans had their share. The Potatoes were sent from New 
Brunswick, Nova Scotia, the Bermudas, and some millions of 
bushels from Europe, mostly from Scotland and Ireland. 
- We learn from the Annual Report of the Royal 
Southampton Horticultural Society for the past year that 
the Summer Show produced a balance of £87 9s. 11 d. in favour 
of the Society, but the Autumn Show resulted in a loss of 4s. Id. 
