JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
514 
[ June 21, 1888. 
Scotland fruit trees, especially Apples, were wreathed in bloom. 
At present Rhododendrons are one blaze of colour ; Hawthorns, 
Laburnums, Lilacs, and neglected hedges are covered with flowers. 
Most crops are fairly well forward, but rain is much wanted. 
Farmers on heavy clay lands have some difficulty in getting soil 
pulverised enough for sowing Turnips, and on dry soil the Turnip 
fly has appeared. On gravelly or badly farmed land the hay crop 
will be poor, on heavy or well-manured land fairly good. It is 
almost too late now for rain to help it. Potatoes are looking 
exceedingly well,” 
-- “ L. R. C.” wants to know a little more about nitro¬ 
gen than appeared on page 492 last week :—It often happens 
that crops do fairly well up till flowering or fruiting time, and 
then growth fails. When this happens it is said that the cause is 
the demand made on the plants. This truth half covers a fallacy. 
It is partly because the plants cannot readily find nitrogen enough 
just when the demand for it is greatest. While at certain seasons 
a plentiful supply of this would only cause rank unfruitful 
growths and had much better not be given, its application at 
others would do much to help overworked and under-fed trees. 
Strawberries, Apples, and some other fruits are heavily laden this 
year. For want of a little timely aid not only may smaller crops 
and less fine samples than is desirable be produced, but plants 
and trees be exhausted and rendered unable to repeat this year’s 
gifts. If all heavily laden fruit trees were timely treated to 
nitrogen, along with plentiful supplies of water, in any of the 
forms suggested on the page quoted, it would produce good re¬ 
sults, especially when it is certain that phosphates, potash, mag¬ 
nesia, and lime are also present in plenty. The hot sun, otherwise 
mischievous, will convert these into plant food with a rapidity 
unapproached in dull wet seasons, and 'will not only enable the 
plants to perfect the heaviest crops in the best manner, but will 
store the trees with supplies for future years. 
At a meeting of the Academy of Natural Sciences of 
Philadelphia held recently Mr. Thomas Meehan read a paper ON 
the Relations of Heat to the Sexes of Flowers. He 
referred to the fact, that in monoecious plants female flowers 
would remain at rest under a temperature which was sufficient to 
excite the male flowers to active development. Hence a few 
comparatively warm days in winter or early spring would bring 
the male flowers to maturity, while the female flowers remained 
to advance only under a higher and more constant temperature. 
In this manner the explanation was offered why such trees were 
often barren. The male flowers disappeared before the females 
opened, and hence the latter were unfertilised. He referred 
especially to some branches of Corylus Avellana, the English 
Hazel Nut, which he exhibited before the Section last spring, in 
which the male flowers (catkins) were past maturity, the anthers 
having opened and discharged their pollen, and the catkins 
crumbling under a light touch, but there were no appearances of 
action in the female flower-buds. There were no nuts on this 
tree last season. The present season was one of unusually low 
temperature. There had not been spasmodic warmth enough to 
bring forward the particularly excitable Maple tree blossoms 
The Hazel Nut had not, therefore, had its male blossoms brought 
prematurely forward. He exhibited specimens from the same 
tree as last season, showing the catkins in a young condition of 
development, only half the flowers showing their anthers, while 
the female flower buds had their pretty purple stigmas protruding 
from nearly all of them. 
- A correspondent, “ A. W.,” sends us the following note 
i on Peaches and Grapes at Burghley :—“The crop of Peaches 
and Nectarines out of doors is something marvellous. At any 
favourable season it would have been (fine; but considering the 
character of this spring it is almost incredible to think that these 
trees, so free from m’ldew, aphis, curl, or blister, have passed 
through that ordeal. I thought such trees and such strings of 
fruit were a dream of the past, in the midlands at all events ; 
but here evidently with proper care and attention it is still pos¬ 
sible to get good outdoor crops of Peaches and Nectarines. No 
more excuses will hold good after this. The scrupulous cleanli¬ 
ness of everything under Mr. Gilbert’s care is quite a treat to see. 
He slyly endeavoured to make me believe he was eaten up with 
spider and mildew, but a glance convinced me of the nature of 
his observations. Good culture of everything under his care is 
one of the chief characteristics of the place. His favourite Straw¬ 
berry is Sir Charles Napier, and good it is. The Gros Maroc 
Grape is the most noteworthy Grape he has—splendid 3-lb. 
bunches when ripe, and a heavy crop.” 
-At a meeting of the promoters of the Grand National 
Dahlia Show it was determined to accept the liberal offer which 
had been made by the Crystal Palace Company in reference to 
the Show of 1883 ; and on the occasion of the Autumnal Fruit 
Show of the present year (August 31st and following day), to hold 
an exhibition of Dahlias at the Palace on a scale at least equal to 
that of 1882. The Crystal Palace Company offers to provide, as 
before, a sum of £50 towards the prize fund if the growers and 
admirers of the Dahlia will subscribe a like sum for the same 
object; and as there are certain additional and unavoidable ex¬ 
penses it is imperative that the subscription list should exceed 
this amount. In the Treasurer’s report it is stated that “ Consider¬ 
ing the number of years during which metropolitan Dahlia shows 
had been in abeyance, the effort of 1882 maybe regarded as fairly 
successful, though the subscriptions, aided by the Crystal Palace 
contribution of £50, did not quite cover the amount of prize 
money awarded. The object of the promoters was to secure a 
grand show, and, with this object, prizes amounting to £128 10s. 
were offered, of which sum £117 was awarded. The total amount 
of the fund raised was £123 12s. 6d. —namely, by subscriptions 
£73 12s. 6cl., and by contribution from the Crystal Palace Com¬ 
pany, £50. After paying the various expenses incidental to the 
Show, amounting to £13 13s. 6^., there was found to be a deficit 
of £7 Is., which was divided proportionally between the two 
largest prizetakers, Mr. Turner and Messrs. Keynes, and deducted 
from the amounts paid to them respectively, Mr. Turner losing 
£4 8s. 8 d. and Messrs. Keynes £2 12s. id. Should it be thought 
desirable to carry on the Show another year—and in fact most of 
the growers have expressed a hope that it should be continued 
annually—it is but seemly that in future the funds provided 
should be ample for the purpose, so as to relieve the executive 
officers from the unpleasant task of offering to the winders 
apologies instead of prizes. The growers of Dahlias, both amateur 
and professional, as well as the admirers of the flower who are 
not cultivators, are therefore urged to contribute more generally 
and more liberally to the prize fund in order that the Show may 
be kept up to a high standard of excellence. It is further to be 
hoped that amateurs will more generally take part in the compe¬ 
tition under the several classes provided for them.” 
HERBACEOUS BORDERS IN JUNE. 
Just now herbaceous borders are looking lovely. What a 
wealth of beauty is to he found in a well-arranged collection of 
these simple flowers ! but, unfortunately, well- arranged collections 
are exceptional. Herbaceous borders as a rule are too much 
neglected ; yet, in my estimation, they ought to stand in the very 
front rank of garden adornments. Perhaps the day is not far 
distant when a larger portion of the time devoted to carpet and 
other bedding will he given to this forgotten part of many 
gardens ; and if so I venture to say the result will be satisfactory 
to all concerned. 
The cold backward weather we have experienced throughout the 
month of May has greatly added to the floral wealth of June. 
Border Auriculus have just ceased blooming, Polyanthus are still in 
i 
