June J, 1893. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
415 
—— Mr. John T. Ebbtjtt informs ug he has left Winslade 
Gardens. A gardener of his experience ought not to be very long out of 
a situation. 
•-Teop^OLUM Mrs. Clibra.n.—T his useful dwarf Tropaeolum 
is rapidly growing in popularity, and it is no surprise to hear that the 
demand is great. It is very dwarf and a most profuse bloomer, bearing 
rich orange-yellow flowers. Many uses to which it could be put will 
suggest themselves. 
- The Midland Counties Pansy Society.—W e are asked to 
call attention to the forthcoming Exhibition of the Society at the 
dentral Hall, Birmingham, on Thursday, June 9th, and that entries be 
sent in as soon as possible. Schedules on application to the Hon. Sec., 
W. Dean, Dolphin Road, Sparkhill, Birmingham. 
- Mr. J. F. Barter, the well-known Mushroom grower and 
spawn maker, desires us to state that he has removed from Lancefield 
Street, Harrow Road, to Napier Road, Sudbury, Middlesex. Mr. 
Barter’s experience, as recorded in “ Mushrooms for the Million,” gave a 
'great impetus to the cultivation of the esteemed esculent, and larger 
premises for conducting hig business became imperative. He grows 
upwards of ten tons of Mushrooms annually, and has now provision for 
making and drying spawn bricks all the year round. 
- Weather in the North. —With the sufficient, not excessive) 
rain that has fallen since the 12th May, and the more genial weather^ 
the aspect of the country has greatly changed. Trees and hedges are 
green, pastures progressing rapidly, the Oak and Ash are breaking 
into leaf. Farmers have got Turnips sown, in many cases 
these are well braised. Cold easterly and ncrth-easterly winds have 
prevailed a good deal, and high westerly winds at the end of last week. 
Perhaps the finest day we have yet had this spring was the 27th ult. 
—B. D., S. Perthshire. 
- Noxious Weeds. —A correspondent, “ G. McD.,” desires to know 
if there is an Act under which those are compelled to pay compensa¬ 
tion who allow Tussilago, Dandelions, Thistles, and other noxious 
weeds to grow and seed indiscriminately, so that by every breeze that 
blows their neighbours’ land is polluted by them. He has a faint 
recollection of reading, somewhere about twenty years ago, of some 
farmer receiving damages from a railway company because they 
allowed Thistles to seed on their banks, which polluted the farmer’s 
ground. Our correspondent will be obliged for information on the 
subject, and he also wishes to know if any such Act applies to 
Scotland. 
- Erfurt Cauliflowers and Watercress. — The Cauli¬ 
flowers for which Erfurt is famous are grown, says a writer in the 
American Cultivator,” on a low-lying strip of land some miles in 
length, and intersected by warm springs which never freeze, even in this 
vigorous climate. The ground is cut into beds 100 yards long by 20 wide, 
and the water flows around each in ditches about 9 feet wide. The 
beds themselves are raised 2 or 3 feet above the level of the ditches, and 
the plants are watered with a bowl about the size of an ordinary hand- 
cup fitted to the end of a pole 10 feet long, with which the water is 
taken from the ditches by hand and poured on or around the plants. 
This involves considerable labour during the hot summer months, but 
the plants flourish under such treatment, and bring a very remunerative 
crop. Watercress is grown in the ditches successfully, because the 
water is kept at an even temperature all the year round. Erfurt 
is one of the few places in Germany where Watercress can be grown in 
quantity. 
-Influencing Fragrance in Flowers.—E xperiments by the 
late Herr Regel, says a recent article in the “ Popular Science Monthly,” 
with reference to the influence of external factors on the odours of 
plants, show that the most important is the indirect influence of light on 
the formation of etheric oils and their evaporation. Heat and light 
intensify the fragrance of strongly fragrant flowers, which in daikness 
is lessened without quite disappearing. When the whole plant was 
darkened those buds only which before were fairly well developed 
yielded fragrant flowers ; the others were scentless. If, however, only 
the flowers were darkened, all were fragrant. Other plants open their 
flowers and are fragrant only by night. When these plants were kept 
continuously in the dark they lost their scent as they lost their starch. 
When brought into the light again both starch and fragrance returned. 
Besides ligot, respiration has a decided influence on the fragrance. In 
general, the opening of flowers coincides with their fragrance, but there 
is no necessary connection between these phenomena. 
- Poisoned by Nightshade.—M rs. Rutter, a lady who resided 
at Cambridge, has died there from poison. She used in cooking a root 
of what she believed to be Horseradish, but which was afterwards found 
to be Nightshade, and having eaten some of it at dinner, was seized with 
an illness which proved fatal. Her children, who shared the food, are 
seriously ill. 
- British Plants. —It was with much interest that I read the 
paper by Mr. Pettigrew entitled *' Half an Hour Amongst British Plants.” 
It is quite true that young gardeners do not study the subject so 
much as is desirable, and I would suggest they should set apart one 
or more nights a week to gaining knowledge on botany. Head 
gardeners might, and I think ought to give encouragement to that 
end, but I think very few of them do so,—A. K, 
- Bedding Violas. —A correspondent (“L. J.”) desires to know 
the names of the “ best yellow, best white, and best blue Viola, also the 
best time to sow the seed for having good plants for bedding in April 1 ” 
We think with so many bests in the case our best plan will be to ask 
some of our flower gardening friends to send the best information they 
can on the subject. We raise our plants from cuttings, and find True 
Blue, Countess of Hopetoun (white), and Ardwell Gem (primrose 
yellow) useful, though there may be better for the purpose. 
- World’s Fair Notes. — Owing to the recent increase of 
Great Britain’s World’s Fair appropriation to £60,000, British exhi¬ 
bitors will not be charged for space, as was at first determined. 
W. H. H. Llewellyn, Executive Commissioner for New Mexico, has 
been in Chicago securing space in the various buildings for exhibits 
from the Territories. “ We expect to show people who visit the 
World’s Fair,” he said, “that New Mexico can raise something besides 
Cactus and Sagebrush. One exhibit will be 100 Water Melons, the 
minimum weight of each of which will be 100 lbs. We shall have 
specially fine displays in the Agricultural and Horticultural Department, 
also in the Mines Department,” 
- Lilacs. —On page 395 of the Journal I notice that “ E. M,,” in 
his article on Lilacs, says that “ Charles X. is a deep purple Lilac. This 
variety is decidedly the best of all.” In my opinion there is no “ best 
of all Lilacs.” When different colours are mixed in a large bunch they 
make a grand bouquet, but are sadly neglected in many gardens. If 
gardeners generally had a better acquaintance with, and would use a 
little common sense in the management of hardy shrubs, many gardens 
would look very different to the ragged appearance they now have. I 
enclose two flowers of Lilacs, will you kindly say if I have them 
correctly named 1 —J, Carter. [The names appear to be reversed, the 
dark variety under the name of Grandiflora being Charles X., and the 
lighter one might be termed Grandiflora.] 
- Foxgloves as Perennials—C omplaint is often made of 
Foxgloves and some other herbaceous plants which are sometimes sold 
as perennials, that they die away after flowering and are really biennial 
plants. “ Meehan’s Monthly ” calls attention to the fact that they can 
be made true perennials if they are prevented from going to seed. It is 
the production of seed which exhausts the vital powers of the plant. If 
the stalks of Foxgloves and other plants are only cut off as soon as the 
flowers fade and before the seeds are formed, there will be no difficulty 
in having them live for a number of years. Those who wish to increase 
perennial plants rapidly do not let them flower at all. Where seed is 
needed, one or more plants can be allowed to produce and ripen it. 
- Raindrops. — The usual monthly meeting of the Royal 
Meteorological Society was held on Wednesday evening, the 18th ultimo, 
at the Institution of Civil Engineers, 25, Great George Street, S.W., 
Dr. C. Theodore Williams, M.A., President, in the chair. Mr. B. E. C. 
Chambers, Mr. R. Law, F.C.S., Dr. W. A. Sturge, and Dr. E. Symes 
Thompson were elected Fellows of the Society. Five honorary members 
were also elected—viz.. Mens. A. D’Abbadie, Dr. W. H. von Bezold, Dr. 
R. Billwiller, Mons. N. Ekholm, and Prof. P. Tacchini. Amongst other 
papers, one on “Raindrops” was read by Mr. E. J. Lowe, F.R.S., 
F.R.Met.Soc. The author has made over 300 sketches of raindrops, and 
has gathered some interesting facts respecting their variation in size, form, 
and distribution. Sheets of slate in book form, which could be instantly 
closed, were employed. These were ruled in inch squares, and after 
exposure the drops were copied on sheets of paper ruled like the slates. 
Some drops produce a wet circular spot, whilst others, falling with 
greater force, have splashes around the drops. The same-sized drop 
varies considerably in the amount of water it contains. The size of the 
