August 7, IS90. J 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER . 
115 
- Proposed Memorial of the late Mr. B. S. Williams, 
—Interest in the proposed memorial of the late Mr. Benjamin Samuel 
illiams, of the Victoria and Paradise Nurseries, has acquired force 
since our reference to the subject a fortnight since, and the desire to 
participate in it appears to have greatly extended. A meeting of 
horticulturists is announced to be held in the Hotel Windsor, West¬ 
minster, on Tuesday next, August 12th, at 2 p.m., when probably 
decisive steps will be taken to give form and purpose to the proposal. 
A circular has been published, from which we learn that “ it is proposed 
to establish a ‘ \\ illiams’ Memorial Fund,’ to provide at horticultural 
exhibitions money prizes and certificates for the encouragement of the 
cultivation of stove and greenhouse plants and Orchids, these prizes 
and certificates to be competed for in the usual way.” It is added that 
To carry out the proposal a Committee is in course of formation, to 
include representatives of all horticultural interests associated with or 
related to the special sphere of activities of our late friend, who was 
especially distinguished as an importer, cultivator, and raiser of tender 
exotic plants, to which the proposed Memorial prizes would especially 
a PPly- The Committee will collect subscriptions, advise on procedure, 
and in all convenient ways promote the completion, with all reasonable 
speed, of a fund sufficient for the purposes indicated.” It is desired 
that communications on the subject be addressed to H. J. Veitch, Esq., 
541, King’s Road, Chelsea, S.W. ; or Shirley Hibberd, Esq., Kew, near 
London. 
Death of Mr, Patrick Barry, —This eminent horticul¬ 
turist, a member of the firm of Ellwanger & Barry, died [at his 
home in Rochester, N.Y., on the 22nd of June, at the age of 74. Mr. 
Barry was the son of a farmer, and was born near Belfast, Ireland, in 
1S1G. lie was liberally educated, and at the age of eighteen w T as a 
teacher in the National Schools. In 1836 he resigned his position and 
came to the Pnited States, where he was soon engaged as a clerk by 
W. R. Prince, of Flushing, Long Island, a prominent firm in the 
nursery business. There he laid the foundation of his after success. 
In 1840 he went to Rochester, and the firm which existed fifty years in 
ever increasing vigour and fame was then formed. Mr. Barry wrote 
largely for agricultural and horticultural periodicals. He was the 
editor of the Horticulturist after the death of A. J. Downing, and 
during the period when that journal was owned by James Vick, and 
published in Rochester. This was in 1852, and for several years 
subsequent, until the publication office was transferred to Philadelphia. 
He was at one time the horticultural editor of the Genesee Farmer. 
In 1852 he published “ The Fruit Garden,” a standard work on the 
raising and management of fruit trees, and fruit-growing in all its 
various branches. A second edition, revised and enlarged, bringing the 
work up to the present time, was published in 1885. His greatest w r ork, 
however, was the “ Catalogue of the American Pomological Society,” 
which is the accepted guide of American fruit-growers, and is high 
authority with fruit culturists the world oyer. Mr. Barry for more 
than thiity years was President of the Western New York Horticul¬ 
tural Society. He was President of the Western New York Agri¬ 
cultural Society and a member of the controlling Board of the New 
Pork State Agricultural Experiment Station.—( American Agricul¬ 
turist.') 
ike Disease in California. —The British Vice-Consul 
at Los Angeles, in California, in his last report, has some observations on 
the V ine and Orange pests in .that region. The Vine disease now seriously 
menaces the existence of the viticultural industry in the vicinity of 
Los Angeles. At first it attacked chiefly the “mission” Vines ; now, 
other varieties of red Vines are dying, and the white varieties are also 
suffering. The disease first appeared in its present dangerous form in 
the southern part of California, and destroyed many vineyards. Prof. 
Dowlen, an expert employed by the Viticultural Commission to ascer¬ 
tain its cause, and, if possible, discover a remedy, inclines to the 
opinion that it is due to a fungus. On the other hand, Mr. Wheeler, 
Chief Executive Officer of the Viticultural Commission, reports that he 
is fully convinced that the fungus found on the dead Vines is not the 
prime cause of their decadence, and that it attacks them only when 
they have been weakened by other causes. As to the Icerya, or “ white 
scale,” which has ravaged the Orange groves, the Vice-Consul says 
that a year ago many of the principal Orange growers in the vicinity 
of Los Angeles had abandoned their efforts to exterminate this pest, 
concluding that their trees must die. Fortunately, it was learned that 
an Australian parasite, the Vedolia cardinalis, had exterminated the 
white scale in Australia. A colony of the bugs was imported, and 
placed on the trees in an orchard in Los Angeles ; they multiplied so 
rapidly that in a few months the scale was entirely exterminated in the? 
district ; many trees, which a year ago were nearly dead, have revived 
and borne half a crop this season.—( Nature .) 
- The Birmingham Gardeners’ Improvement Society.— 
We have received a descriptive report of a visit of the members of this- 
Society to Reading ten days ago, too late for insertion, and all we can 
say is that .the 120 members appear to have been delighted with the- 
pleasant reception accorded them by Messrs. Sutton & Sons for inspect¬ 
ing their establishment and trial grounds. 
- Fruit Ripening Early.— With us hardy fruit is ripening 
earlier, or by about a fortnight earlier than last season, and a few days- 
in advance of the average time of commencing to gather. This must be 
largely due to the fact of the trees on walls generally being in flower 
at an exceptionally early date, many of the Pear3 being in flower by the- 
first week in April, as it is very certain the weather this season has been 
anything but favourable to early ripening. We commenced gathering 
Early Moorpark from a south wall on July 25th, and the other varieties 
are following very closely. Plum De Montfort (a superior early dessert 
variety) was fit to gather July 24th, Rivers’ Prolific and Morocco being 
ripe about the same time. Oullins Golden, Victoria, and Dry’s Seedling 
will be ripe by the end of the first week in August, and the Green Gace 
is swe ling fast. The earliest Pear, Doyenne d’Etb, was fit to eat 
July 24th, and to all appearances both Jargonelle and Williams’ Bon 
Chretien will not be long in ripening. Beauty of Bath is our earliest 
Apple, and we gathered a few fruit of this July 30th ; the principal 
portion of the crop (a good one by-the-by) will be available for dessert 
purposes during the first fortnight in August. Irish Peach is changing 
colour and will soon be ripe, while Devonshire Quarrenden will not be 
far behind.—W. Iggulden, Somerset. 
APPLES—STOCK INFLUENCES. 
It is not often that such a marked difference is apparent in the CraD 
and Paradise stocks as in the present season. We presume the surface¬ 
rooting Paradise Apple trees have not felt the effect of a wet winter so 
much as the deeper rooting Crab Apple, and probably from the same 
cause. The trees upon the Paradise were better ripened, but in appearance 
this ripeness is equal in both cases, as a much larger number of the 
maidens have started from the terminal shoot than usual, but when it 
comes to fruit the Paradise trees have it all their own way, although in 
many cases the trees on the Crab blossomed as freely as the others, but the 
fruits nearly all fell. In the nursery only Lord Grosvenor, Golden Spire, 
Grenadier, and its cousin Gold Medal and Keswick Codlin carry fruit,, 
while nearly 200 varieties are bearing upon the Paradise stock. In 
special instances this is most marked ; 500 Worcester Pearmains on Crab 
stocks are fruitless, but 500 on the Paradise, only 9 yards away, are full 
of fruit, though fully 75 per cent, were cut back to form pyramids ; 5000 
Lord Suffields on the Crab have no fruit, while 500 on the Paradise are 
heavily cropped ; and in the maidens the following are pictures of fer¬ 
tility—though here again 80 per cent, were cut back (and the best fruiting 
wood removed) —Peter the Great, Stirling Castle, Bismarck, Baumann’s 
Reinette, Devonshire Quarrenden, Duchess of Oldenburg, Grenadier, 
King of the Pippins, Manks Codlin, Seton House, Pomona, Cox’s Orange. 
Duchess of Gloucester, Gascoyne’s Scarlet, and Sturmer Pippin. Those 
and many others have set a fine crop. Where orchards are not required 
for grazing purposes evidently trees on the Paradise on the plantation 
style will be the trees of the future, and will soon repay for initial 
outlay. 
The Apple crop has been most disappointing and the fruit has 
dropped prematurely, so that the hoped for crop will not be realised in 
this part of Kent. As usual there are happy exceptions, but on the other 
hand the trees are very vigorous, and there is much less damage by the 
caterpillar “ genus ” than for some years. It is hoped the trees will 
fully recover this season. Irish Peach were making 14s., and Duchess 
of Oldenburg Apples 12s. a bushel this week. Is it possible that 
Paradise trees have resisted the great frost of March 3rd better than the 
others?— George Bunyard, Maidstone. 
CANKER. 
Canker of Apple and other trees and plants arises from weak¬ 
ness, consequently inability to elaborate the matter that is essential 
to healthful development and continued fruitfulness. Whether 
the tree's energy be broken down by an unnatural rapidity of 
growth in its early stages, by a disproportionate growth of branches 
over the roots, or by the disorganisation consequent upon the roots 
being in an ungenial soil, they render the tree incapable of ex¬ 
tracting nourishment to develop sufficient foliage, it being a 
characteristic of many a cankered tree that it has a deficiency of 
leaves. Excessive luxuriance also induces canker, the supply of 
sap is disproportioned to the elaborating functions of the leaves. 
