8 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ January 1,1891. 
representative slionld attend market, and sample his wares just as the 
corn merchant does his. Then the market staff should be so arranged 
that if I one week buy, say, Baxter’s Fearmain, or Bramley’s Seedling, 
and want these kinds again, I should be ab'e readily to get thern. Some 
kind of central agency is needed to accomplish all this. Then our 
philanthropic agencies, our well directed societies and missioners, ought 
to encourage the extended use of fruits as food. Our railway stations 
and places of meeting should have supplies of fresh British fruits in 
season, and even the automatic craze ought to be supplemented by a 
machine, which gives to the person following the directions as to slot 
and index, Plum, Pear, or Apple, as his taste may dictate. In fact, no 
opportunity should be lost for spreading the principles, of which the 
end and aim is wisdom and peace.— Edmund J. Baillie (in The 
Vegctariaii). 
[To the courtesy of the Editor of the Journal named we are indebted 
for the excellent portrait of Mr. Baillie, one of the finest specimens 
of vegetarians in the kingdom ; and his mental powers are equal to his 
physical development, while his knowledge of fruit, gained in the great 
Chester firm of Dicksons, entitles him to be listened to on the subject 
on which he writes and speaks so well. ] 
Events of the Week. —Horticultural engagements are not nume¬ 
rous at this time of year, but several important meetings will be held 
later in January. In the present week we have only the following to 
announce—Meeting of the Quekett Microscopical Club on Friday, 
January 2nd, at 8 r.M., and the National Chrysanthemum Society’s 
midwinter Show, Westminster, Wednesday and Thursday, January 
7th and 8th. 
- The Weatheb still continues extremely coll and winterly. 
The snow has now remained upon the ground for a longer time than 
it has done for some years, and the temperature has been low, but not 
excessively so, in the London district. North and north-easterly winds 
prevail, and it seems likely that more snow is yet to come. Mr. N. H. 
Pownall, Lenton Hall Gardens, Nottingham, writes : “ Our second 
coldest night this storm was on Sunday evening and Monday morning, 
December 21st and 22nd, when we registered 29° of frost.” A London 
paper of Dec. 29th says “ People who want to get away from the 
cold will not travel southwards. They will take a railway ticket to 
Wick, if they can hope to survive the journey. For in that f»r northern 
town we read to-day there has been no snow, ‘ Eoses and ail sorts of 
flowers’ are in bloom in the gardens, and full-grown Strawberries may 
be plucked in the open air.” 
- Severe Weather in the West of England. — On 
November 29th the thermometer at 3 feet from the ground registered 
23° of frost; on December 12th and 13th, 20°; on 15th, 22°. There 
•was very little snow until the 19th, when there was 4 inches, which was 
increased to 10 inches on the 21st. Not a pleasant prospect for Sunday 
morning, with paths to be cleared and trees to be shaken, as many of 
the branches were bent to the ground with more snow on them than 
I have seen for the last twenty years. Strange to say, I have not seen 
a broken branch ; the snow was so light. Several old Cedars are 
carrying a great quantity, which is difficult to reach. The first frost 
damaged some winter Broccoli that was planted early and laid, while 
late planted quarters of the same vaiieties seem all right. Late growths 
of Laurels are browned, but not much hurt.—J. M., Camerton, Bath. 
- Fogs in London. — At a meeting of the Royal Botanic 
Society, Regent’s Park, last week, the Secretary answered various 
questions as to the destructive action of fogs on plants. He said it 
was most felt by those tropical plants in the Society’s houses of which 
the natural habitat was one exposed to sunshine. Plants growing in 
forests or under tree shade did not so directly feel the want of light; 
but then, again, a London or town fog not only shaded the plants, but 
contained smoke, sulphur, and other deleterious agents, which were 
perhaps as deadly to vegetable vitality as absence of light. Soft, 
tender-leaved plants and aquatics, such as the Victoria regia, suffered 
more from fog than any plants he knew. 
- The Cutler Testimonial. —The occasion of the re-election 
of Mr. Cutler for the fiftieth time as Secretary of the Gardeners’ Royal 
Benevolent Institution affords a fitting and appropriate opportunity to 
the gardeners of the United Kingdom to give expression to their 
gratitude to him for the splendid services he has rendered to the poor 
and unfortunate of our craft for the long period of fifty years. The 
prejudice which at one time existed among some gardeners against 
subscribing to this excellent charity has now almost passed away. 
Let me, then, make an earnest appeal to my brother gardeners to show 
their appreciation of our old and faithful servant’s successful services 
by contributing as their means will allow to the testimonial now being 
raised to him by his friends, and which is to be presented to him on the 
occasion of his re-election early this month.— Owen Thomas, The 
Gardens, Chatsworth. 
- Turner Memorial Prizes for 1891.—A meeting of the 
Trustees of the above was held on December 9th, at which the sum of 
£30 was voted for prizes next year, to be distributed as under. It 
having been decided to hold an Exhibition of Carnations and Picotees 
in July next in the Gardens of the Botanic Society, Birmingham, under 
similar conditions as the Northern and Southern Sections of the National 
Society, to take in the Midland growers, the Trustees have voted £10 to 
the prize list. They also give £10 for the purchase of a silver cup, as a 
special extra prize for the collection of fruit at the Edinburgh Inter¬ 
national Exhibition on September 9:h, lOtb, and 11th, which in the 
opinion of the Judges may be deemed most worthy of the award. The 
sum of £10 has also been voted to the Royal Horticultural Society as 
part of the amount for two sets of prizes for naturally grown plants of 
Chrysanthemums at the meeting on November 10th. There was a good 
competition for the prizes offered last season, for which £27 10s. was 
paid as follows :—£10 for Roses at Tibshelf, £10 for Dahlias at Edin¬ 
burgh, and £7 lOs. for seedling Tulips at Manchester. 
- Messrs. J. Weeks & Co., Chelsea, send us good wishes in 
their Horticultural Pocket-book. This, like their wishes and their 
work, is genuine, being strong, neat, and serviceable — just what 
gardeners will like to place in their pockets at the beginning of the 
year, and it will wear to the end and be useful. 
- Turnips. —I mentioned a few weeks ago a Radish-shaped 
Turnip I had received from MM. Vilmorin, t’ne name of which 1 had 
forgotten, but which I did not think was the Vertus mentioned by your 
correspondent “ B.” I have since found that it is called the “ Half 
Long White Forcing,” and is recommended for frames. As 1 mentioned, 
it is extremely early and good, and slow to run to seed.—H. S. Easty. 
- The Forests op Europe.—T he forests of Europe according 
to a recent report of one of the State foresters of Prussia, cover the 
following areas :—Germany, 34,596,000 acres; Russia, 494,228,600 
acres ; Austria-Hungary, 46,951,700 acres ; Sweden, 42,000,000 acres ; 
France, 22,240,000 acres; Spain, 19,769,000 acres; Italy, 9,884,570 
acres ; and England, 2,471,000 acres. 
- The “ Blockhead ” Lettuce. —In giving the name of 
“ Blond Blockhead ” to the L'ittuce alluded to in recent numbers 
of the Journal, Messrs. Vilmorin & Co. wish to state that “ the 
variety so named is a better keeper than any other of their 
Lettuces and that it is rather stubborn (obstinate) in running to 
seed; or, in other words, that the head is very hard, and, alluding 
to a block, they have made ‘ Blockhead,’ which, taken in the strict 
sense of the word, is not a very fortunate term.” [It has the merit of 
being “ distinct ” as applied to a vegetable, and a Lettuce so stupid 
as not to bolt with other runaways will not suffer by the appellation.] 
- Birds and tbe Hard Weather.—A n appeal has been made 
in favour of the birds, decorators being particularly asked to desist from 
cutting much berry-bearing Holly. That the birds are badly in want 
of food is very evident ; but unfortunately for themselves they have 
been most improvident in the matter, the blackbirds being the greatest 
offenders. Long before frosts set in these voracious creatures had 
cleared numerous Thorns and nearly all the Hollies of berries, and they 
and various ot’ner fruit-eating birds are likely to fare badly in conse¬ 
quence. One large Holly 35 feet high, in a conspicuous position where 
I am now writing, escaped being stripped till December 16th, at which 
date it was almost a mass of scarlet, but on that day the birds made a 
dead set at it, and before forty-eight hours had elapsed it was com¬ 
pletely stripped of berries. Included in the flock of birds were many 
