June II, 1891. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
469 
the gardeners and S3edsm9n of the United Kingdom, Mr. B. Molyneux, 
The Gardens, Swanmore Park, Bishops Waltham, and Mr. C. H. Shar- 
man. The Nurseries, Forest Hill, S.W., having kindly promised to 
niar.shall the forces respectively, and to them offers of help may be sent. 
The occasion would appear to be suitable for a gardeners’ holiday, and 
may be worth the attention of the members of mutual improvement 
societies who have not completed arrangements for their annual 
“outing.” The subject will be further referred to. 
-- EtJONYMCrs KADICANS VARIEGATUS is not nearly so often 
treated as a wall plant, yet a mass of it 12 feet high is a fine sight at 
this time of year when the young leaves have a deep golden tint, render¬ 
ing them exceedingly showy in the sunlight. The habit of the plant is 
dense, well fitting it for covering spaces. It is not particular as to 
position, although a southern aspect insures more rapid growth and 
deeper colouring of the leaves. 
—— The Lemon-colohred Broom is a useful waterside plant ; 
its drooping character well fits it for the margins of a lake, especially 
when a rockery close to the water offers a suitable position for it to 
grow in elevated some distance above the water; the reflection then in 
the water is very clear and generally admired. This Broom succeeds in 
almost any soil when once established ; a heavy retentive one suits it 
well. In a peaty mixture the growth in its young stage is more quickly 
made.—S. 
- Fruit Prospects—Mid-Sussex. — The dry weather that 
prevailed up till the middle of May has been favourable, for fruit 
“setting” on our heavy land. The frost on the morning of the 17th 
was not so heavy as in other parts of the country as reported, but it was 
sufficient to cut the Potatoes nearly to the ground. Strawberries just 
beginning to open their first blooms were destroyed, but fortunately the 
greater part of the bloom was well protected by foliage, and is all right. 
Bush fruits will be a full crop, but Gooseberries not protected by leaves 
have dropped from the frost. Apples have had a poor chance, for it has 
been more or less wet every day since they came into bloom. Pears are 
a full crop, and will require thinning freely. 
- The total rainfall at Cuckfield, Sussex, for May 
was 2‘50, being 0 G5 inch above the average. The heaviest fall was 
0 52 inch, on the 17th. Eain fell on nineteen days. The highest 
temperature was 76°, on the 13th ; the lowest 29°, on the 17th. Mean 
maximum 59°, mean minimum 41’1°, mean temperature 50°. Partial 
shade readings a little below the average.—B. I. 
- The Weather in Warwickshire.—A severe thunderstorm 
passed over this district on Thursday afternoon, which did a great 
amount of damage to roads, trees, and property. The street drains were 
in many cases completely blocked up, and the ground floors of houses 
gutted. Garden walks and drives presented a sorry appearance when the 
deluge of rushing water had torn out the gravel, leaving deep channels 
in the sides. The general opinion is that so severe a thunderstorm has 
not visited this neighbourhood for thirty years.—H. Dunkin. 
- Weather at Ripley, Yorkshire, During May, 1891.— 
May was very changeable, and on the whole a cold month. On 12th 
and 13th the weather was lovely. People were as loud in protesting 
about the heat as previously and subsequently they were about the cold. 
From the 17th to the 20th severe frosts were registered, and on the former 
date a heavy snowstorm of upwards of two hours’ duration. Rain fell 
upon eighteen days ; total fall for month, 1'65 inch, of which 0 30 fell 
on 1st. Mean reading of barometer, 29-81. Mean maximum tempera¬ 
ture, 58-5°; mean minimum temperature, 36-9°; mean temperature, 
47-7°. Highest maximum temperature, 76° on 12th, in shade ; lowest 
minimum temperature, 20° on 18th, in shade. At or below 32° on five 
days.—J. Tunnington, ILipley Castle Gardens, Yorkshire. 
-The Weather Last Month.—M ay was remarkable for two 
very hot days, 12th and 13th, also for very cold weather after, with 
snow on 16th, 17th, and 18th ; the last three days of the month were 
warm again. Total rainfall was 2-88 inches, which fell on twenty 
days, the greatest daily fall being 0-53, which came as snow on the 17th. 
Barometer was changeable; highest 30-29 on 12th at 9 A.M., lowest 
29-39 on 18th at 9 A.M. Highest shade temperature 79° on 13tb, lowest 
29° on 19th, lowest on the grass 24° on 19th ; mean temperature of the 
month 49 4°. Wc had only two clear days, and nine bright ditto. All 
vegetation was very backward at end of the month. Elm trees not in 
leaf, and some of the Apples not in flower until the 27th. The garden 
spring ran 10 gallons per minute on the 3lEt.—W. H. Divers, Xetton 
Hall Gardens, Stamford, 
-Report of Weather during May, 1891.— The weatherduring 
the past month has been of an uncongenial nature for horticultural 
purpose. The early part of the month was cold and dry, with the wind 
in the north and easterly quarters. The 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th 
were grand summer days. The 16th was of a very wintry ch.aracter, 
snow and hail falling like a winter’s day, and continuing until the 
evening of the 17th; the sharp frosts both preceding and following 
doing a great amount of damage. Plums which were fully out in 
b’oom suffering very much, but in spite of all I believe w-e have a fair 
crop left. Rain, hail, or snow fell upon seventeen days; maximum 
in any tw'cnty-four hours being 0 81° on the 17th ; minimum, 0 01° on the 
loth. Total for the month, 2-76 inches, agiinst 1-72 of 1890.— 
E. Wallis, The Gardens, Hamel's Park, Buntinyford, Herts. 
- Weather at Liverpool.—T he favourable change in the 
weather upon which I remarked in last week’s issue has not been of long 
duration. We had last week scarcely a day free from heavy rains accom¬ 
panied by strong cutting winds from E. and N.E. On Friday, Saturday, 
and Sunday nights the thermometer was very low indeed, and the 
weather might be compared to October, so cold was it. The only sun- 
.shine of any note for more than a week we are having to-day (Monday). 
Still the wind is N.E., and vegetables do not make very rapid progress. 
Pears have set remarkably well considering the severe weather expe¬ 
rienced whilst in bloom. Strawberries are in full bloom ; Gooseberries 
and Red Currants seem to be a good crop, and a great promise for Rasp¬ 
berries. Apples can scarcely be judged from their being so late to 
bloom, but we ought to have a good crop.—R. P. R, 
- Bullfinches.— Under the head of “Fruit Pests,” copied from 
the Eresham Standard (page 435), I am reported to have advocated 
“killing” bullfinches, instead of catching them in trap cages. As this 
is a misprint both in the E. S. and in the Journal, I may as well correct 
it in the Journal, because it is contrary to what I have so often 
advocated in your Journal on the score of humanity and economy if 
carried out at the proper season in the autumn. It is sometimes neces¬ 
sary to use the gun in the spring, but 1 never use it unless I feel it an 
absolute necessity. 
- Queen Wasps.—L ike other correspondents I notice a large 
number on the wing this spring. This is easily accounted for, as the 
nests last autumn produced a very large quantity of queens. For some 
unexplained cause, .so far as I know, some seasons very few are to be 
found in nests. I have found hundreds some years, and others not a 
single queen except the old mother at the end of the season, when they 
should have been at maturity. I have just secure 1 two nests, each 
about the size of a walnut, and one small comb inside, one Vespa 
vulgaris, and the other Vespa germanica. The former builds from Oak 
wood, and the paper is brittle ; the latter from Willow, Poplar, or Ash, 
and the paper is tougher and slate colour. 
- Black Currant Mite Parasite.—N oticing the paragraph 
on page 448 on the “ interesting discovery,” perhaps I had better inform 
Mr. Wm. Thomson that he is quite wrong in supposing the maggot 
referred to was a caterpillar. I was present when Mr. Gibbon acci¬ 
dentally placed the maggot under his microscope and called my atten¬ 
tion to it, and I examined many infested buds before I could detect 
a grub under my own microscope, although by continual research we 
found many others. They were without legs, and it was difficult to tell 
head from tail, as they were in shape almost exactly the shape of a 
eigar. I have never been able to detect these maggots in any other 
buds from other gardens or plantations, or at a subsequent visit and 
investigation at Mr. Gibbon’s, at which I saw a large number of the 
buds placed in a glass jar, and although there were thousands of the 
phytopti crawling round the inside of the jar we could see no maggot or 
fly inside the jar, as we hoped to do. There ware numerous caterpillars 
crawling round the buds, such as referred to by Mr. Thomson ; but these 
had, no doubt, been picked off the bushes on the buds unnoticed, so we 
did not even care to notice them in connection with the object of our 
researches. 
- Canker Once More.—I have read very carefully the remarks 
on page 424, and also on pages 438-9, and would recommend others to 
do the same and compare the two paragraphs, and perhaps they will 
come to the conclusion that “ we are not at the bottom of this question 
yet.” There is no question on gardening matters that I meet with 
where there appears to be such utter confusion of ideas. When I 
called for the Journal last week I was invited into a friend’s garden, 
and in passing a Pear tree I was asked the cause of the tips dying iu 
the usual way. Looking to the seat of the mischief I had no hesitation 
