February 25, 1'91. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
167 
- Blanched Laurel Shoots. —In reply to your query in the 
Journal of February 12th in reference to “ Dorsetshire Correspondent” 
relating to blanched Laurel shoots, I beg to inform “ Dorsetshire 
Correspondent” that it is no uncommon sight here to see perfectly 
white shoots on the common Laurel. About six years ago I propagated 
a few of these blanched shoots, and which are now good sized plants 
but they have lost the beautiful whiteness of the thin cuttings, and are 
now merely mottled and green, and will, I am sure, eventually revert to 
the original type. I enclose three small shoots from one of these plantsi 
showing as the plant increases in age so the colour diminishes.— 
Somersetshire Correspondent. [The leaves sent are partially 
variegated, but not wholly white, as were those previously received.] 
- Death op Mr. Thomas Gilbert. — The Vice-Chairman of 
the Hastings Board of Guardians, Mr. Thomas Gilbert, died at his 
residence, Springfield Nursery, Old London Road, on Sunday, Feb. loth, 
after several weeks’ illness. The deceased, who was greatly respected 
by all classes, came to Hastings over thirty years ago from near 
Maidstone, where he was gardener. For many years he was head 
gardener to the late Mr. McMurdo, at Castledown, and whilst holding 
this position Mr. Gilbert came to the front as one of the leading 
exhibitors and prizetakers at the flower shows in this part of the 
county. On leaving Castledown Mr. Gilbert succeeded the late Mr. H. 
Barham as the proprietor of Springfield Nursery, which business he 
successfully carried on till the time of his death. Since April, 1871, 
Mr. Gilbert has represented All Saints’ Parish as Poor Law Guardian, 
and in this capacity he won the esteem of all his colleagues. 
- WooLTON Gardeners’ Mutual Improvement Society.— 
A meeting of the members of the above useful Society was held at the 
Mechanics’ Institute last Thursday. Mr. Craven, Allerton Priory, occu¬ 
pied the chair. A new departure from previous meetings took place, 
the evening being set apart for impromptu speaking on subjects con¬ 
nected with horticulture. Various subjects were on papers, W'hich 
were folded up. They were then placed in a hat and handed round, 
when each member had to take one, read the title, and give his opinion 
on it. The intention of this arrangement was to induce a greater 
number of members to speak. This object was attained, nearly every 
member assisting in the evening’s business. At the conclusion the 
members reported the arrangements as highly satisfactory, and expressed 
a wish that in future sessions an evening mig’nt be set apart for a similar 
arrangement. 
- The Weather. —If “a’ months of the year curse a fair 
February,” we are in for another unseasonable year. We ha,ve 
had a number of fine days. The ISth was summer-like, clear, and 
mild, but since that it has been foggy and frosty, the temperature on 
the two following mornings being 25° and 22° respectively. The 
15th was very fine, the day temperature was 52°, and the bees made 
their deVnt for the season, gathering pollen from Snowdrops, Crocus, 
and Hellebores, all three coming into bloom simultaneously, while the 
Aconite seems to slumber for a little longer.— Lanarkshire. 
- A Large Tree. —Like other correspondents, I observed the 
statement of a 22 feet saw cutting a 33 feet in diameter tree, and con¬ 
sidered it a printer’s error. But now “A. H.” vindicates the accuracy of 
the statement. Supposing the saw made a cut in width to about 3-16ths 
of an inch, or even a quarter of an inch, where is there room for a 
“strong cord ” or “ wire rope ” to pass through so as to allow the move¬ 
ment necessary for the saw to cut and clear itself of the sawdust ? The 
less “set” a saw has the keener it cuts, and if too much it will not cut at 
all, and when wedges are applied they often do more harm than good. 
When the cut is a deep one a narrow saw should be used, and it 
requires no wedge applied to the serf. All that is necessary is to 
keep the wood from closing where the saw entered. This is my 
experience, and I fail to see how a 22 feet saw with either ropes or 
wire at the ends can be made to cut a diameter of 33 feet ; but I shall 
be glad to be enlightened. 
- The Effect of Frost upon Vegetables. — Vegetables 
have been, with the exception of Savoys, very much spoiled, if not 
actually destroyed. This refers to those in my own garden, for only a 
short distance, on the other side of the smoke as it were, vegetables of 
the same nature are uninjured, while the same thing to a greater degree 
exists in more exposed districts, clearly proving that the frost in pure 
atmosphere is less hurtful than where it is contaminated with smoke. 
At first thought one would be inclined to opine that, soot being bene¬ 
ficial to most of the Brassica family when in a growing state, would 
not be so destructive as it seems to bo during the winter. It is not, 
however, soot alone that is the cause of the mischief, but the compounds 
formed from it that play the havoc with our vegetables, fruit trees, and 
flowers ; and it would not surprise ms to hear that it is from these that 
Orc’uids suffer so greatly. A light awning over and around stoves and 
greenhouses during these fogs might save many of the plants. I would 
raise a light framework 2 or 3 feet above the roof and from the sides of 
the house and cover with tiffany or other material. I should have the 
blinds in G-feet widths, and draw every alternate one first, then the 
other, so that they would overlap a few inches. Two sets of rollers 
would be necessary, the one in and the other out, from a top rail. By 
such an arrangement they could be worked by one man as window- 
blinds are, easily put up or taken down, and not prove expensive.—W. T, 
- IM. Meissonier and His Gardener. — The death of the 
famous French artist reminds me that the following amusing story may 
be worth repeating, and possibly it may be fresh to some gardeners. 
M. Meissonier possessed one of the most beautiful gardens and the most 
recliercVe collections of plants round Paris ; he was, in fact, a thorough¬ 
going enthusiast in all horticultural lore. One of his gardeners 
possessed a special aptitude for naming all kinds of seeds. M. Meissonier 
had often endeavoured to trip him up, but without success. So one 
day, when having several gentlemen assembled at his hospitable 
lunc’neon table, he unfolded to them a plot of how he would at last 
humble his gardener by submitting for his inspection some dried 
herring-roe. Having sent for the man, his employer told him that a 
gentleman had sent him a packet of seed, of which he asked the name, 
habitat, how long it would require to germinate, &c. The gardener 
replied, “ The plant from which the seed was gathered was indigenous 
to the shores of the North Sea, and would require about a fortnig'nt for 
germination, when he would tell him the name thereof.” M. Meissonier 
handed the packet over, and strictly enjoined the gardener not to fail 
to let him know when the young plants were fairly growing. This he 
did about a fortnight afterwards, and at a time when his master had 
several of his fellow conspirators again at his house. “ Now wm shall 
have a lark. Messieurs,” he gleefully announced to them, and sallying 
forth, they followed the gardener to one of the stoves, where in a 
propagating frame about two dozen 3-inch pots were standing close 
together, each with a herring’s head looking out of the centre. The 
hilarity of the great painter’s guests was unbounded, but he himself was 
also equal to the occasion, for he drew a 100 franc note from his pocket 
and handed it to his gardener for the extremely clever manner in which 
he had gone through the ordeal.— K. W., Lincoln, 
- Winter Cucumbers. —The long spell of severe weather with 
which we have been visited has had an unfavourable effect on the pro¬ 
duction of the above, as in addition to the low temperature we had 
weeks of sunless weather. In many establishments a constant supply 
is requested, and indeed expected. In suc’a cases it is not always an 
easy matter to meet the demand. However, providing the necessary 
heating power is at command, suitable varieties selected, and an in¬ 
telligent routine of culture followed, failures may in most instances be 
avoided. I am somewhat inclined to think that failures are occasionally 
’Drought about by allowing the plants to produce their fruit too early, 
or at all events allowing too many to remain on them when in a young 
state, I have found by experience that the more prudent course to 
pursue is to encourage the growth of the plants during late autumn by 
allowing t’ncm to carry no more fruit than is absolutely necessary, and 
thus building up strong robust plants for the depth of winter ; such 
plants, when the pinch comes, being much more likely to produce the 
required supply than others that have been crippled during their infancy 
by a system of overcropping, and their constitutions are then unable 
to withstand the vicissitudes of the wintry season. Even if the plants 
survive, the desired Cucumbers may be few and far between, and poor 
puny things to boot. Planting during the early days of October in 
small hillocks of rough fibry loam, to which is added a liberal supply of 
stic’R ashes and charcoal, and proceeding on the lines indicated, a suppiy 
of Cucumbers is almost a ceriainty. I am no advocate for raw manure 
for winter Cucumbers, preferring a liquid, such as soot vmter, if it is 
thought a stimulant is necessary. A word as to varieties. Having tried 
many, possibly the majority of sorts in commerce, I find Cardiff Castle 
the best. Telegraph was my sheet anchor for many years, and had no 
rival till the advent of Cardiff Castle some few years ago. I have grown 
them side by side for some years. This old-fashioned winter has, how¬ 
ever, proved to my satisfaction that the latter is at least the most 
valuable Cucumber for winter,—W. W. T. 
