Auffust 3, 1893. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
99 
that it is somewhat early to complain of its growth. It may be as some 
say of poor habit, but like most new Roses that are likely to be popular, 
it has been so hard worked that every bit of constitution must have been 
taken out of it. Another French Rose of a very different character, 
Gustave Regis, is likely to be a favourite for buttonhole purposes. It 
appears to be a Hybrid Tea, has a long pointed bud, bright yellow in 
•colour, but with very few petals, so that really it might almost when 
expanded be considered a single Rose. It is, however, among our home 
growers that we must apparently now look for sterling novelties, and 
especially to the Newtownards firm, Alexander Dickson & Sons. They 
exhibited three seedlings, and to two of them was the gold medal of the 
H.R.S. awarded, an honour which no firm has ever obtained before. 
One of these, Mrs. Sharman Crawford, is a beautiful bright pink Rose, 
of fine form and build, reminding one a little of Mrs. John Laing, but 
quite distinct from that flower, but appears also to have a vigorous 
constitution. The other was a large full white Rose, suggesting Lady 
Mary Fitzwilliam. There is an immense quantity of stuff in it, and if 
it opens well will be a valuable addition to our white Roses. Another 
gold medal of the N.R.S. was awarded to Mr. Turner’s new climbing 
Japanese Rose, Crimson Rambler. It had already obtained a similar 
honour at Paris, and has been seen so well and so often that there is 
very little doubt that everyone who possesses a garden will be anxious 
to obtain it, and by thus giving the N.R.S.’s highest award to a purely 
garden Rose the Society has shown its sympathy with the current taste, 
and that it is by no means bound to bestow all its favours on the 
exhibition varieties. 
Such, then, is a rapid view of some of the more salient points of the 
show, which, although disappointing in many respects, was the means 
of bringing together a considerable number of fine blooms, showing that 
even the most adverse seasons cannot utterly quench the ardour of the 
Tosarians.—D., Deal, 
BACTERIAL DISEASE IN TOMATOES. 
Apparently Mr. Iggulden (page 79) thinks me inconsistent in my 
remarks on the use of animal manure for Tomatoes, but if he will turn 
again to my note on page 49 he will fail to find that I said its use bad 
been followed by the best results. Had I found it so it would indeed 
be strange for me to advocate the use of chemical manures in preference 
to animal. 
If I could bring myself to believe that the absence of bacterial 
disease is attributable to the use of animal manure it would rise greatly 
in my favour. But having lost one or more plants in each of four 
houses, some fed with animal others with chemical manures, it is very 
apparent that the absence or otherwise of the disease is not due to the 
manure used. My principal objection to animal manure is that it 
renders the plants more liable to the attacks of cladosporium and allied 
fungoid diseases, especially in badly ventilated houses, as some of mine 
are.—C. Lock, Bristol. _ 
As Mr. W. Iggulden expresses his intention of convincing others 
that I have mistaken “ effect for cause,” when he has “ thoroughly 
convinced ” himself, perhaps he will, in the meantime, send a specimen 
of the disease in Cucumbers which he considers to be identical with that 
in Tomatoes submitted by Mr. Lock to the Editor, so that I may have 
an opportunity of satisfying myself of their being synonymous or other¬ 
wise. This is imperative prior to a display of “ cross swords ” for the 
understanding of what it is all about. Mr. Iggulden, however, indulges 
in philippic in his preliminary canter, which is not calculated to 
impress an opponent favourably, and seeking to discredit a prospective 
antagonist is not usually a proof of prowess. Something more than 
appearance ” will, of course, be expected from Mr. Iggulden, for 
unless he gives evidence of his acquaintance with and knowledge of 
bacterial diseases I must decline to step into the arena for the special 
delectation of preconceptionists. But I am quite ready to enter the 
lists with him or anyone undertaking to prove that Mr. Lock’s specimen 
of Tomatoes were not attacked by and destroyed through bacteria. Of 
these I have representations as shown by the microscope, which exhibit 
things as they are, and it is safer to be guided by facts than to strive to 
erect castles on “ appearance.” 
This shall be the test. Mr. Iggulden to send to me (through the 
Editor) specimens of Cucumbers, Melons, or Vegetable Marrows 
collapsing from the disease of which he is “ lEar from being a stranger,” 
and I will subject them to microscopical examination and submit the 
results, both of Mr. Lock’s Tomatoes and Mr. Iggulden’s Cucumbers, to 
the readers of the Journal of Horticulture. This will give Mr. Iggulden 
a chance to display his abilities as a scientist, for in these days some¬ 
thing more is expected than mere guesses at diseases and empirical 
cures.—G. Abbey, 
NOTES IN SEASON. 
Anomatheca cruenta. 
This charming Cape bulbous plant is exceedingly useful for 
flowering at the present time. It is of comparatively easy cultivation, 
requiring similar treatment to the Ixias, to which it is closely allied. 
The plants are of a very dwarf nature, attaining only from 6 to 
12 inches in height. The flowers, which are produced in great pro¬ 
fusion, are of a bright scarlet colour blotched with crimson, and are 
produced continuously over a lengthened period, thereby making them 
indispensable plants where a display of flowers has to be kept up. The 
main flower stem is furnished with numerous flowering br..nchlets, and 
is terminated with a spike of from nine to eleven blooms. 
The plants must not be allowed to suffer through lack of moisture at 
the roots. After the flowering season is over, and when the foliage 
commences turning yellow, the supply of water may be gradually 
curtailed, but it should never be entirely withheld. The bulbs ought to 
be shaken out and repotted about the third week in February, placing 
from nine to eleven bulbs in a 6-inch pot. Good fibry loam and leaf 
soil, with a little sharp sand will form a suitable compost for them. 
Globe Amaranth. 
Gomphrena globosa or the Globe Amaranth is a most beautiful 
annual flower, and is exceedingly useful for the summer decoration of 
the greenhouse and conservatory. It is of a neat and erect branching 
habit, attaining a height of from IJ to 2 feet, each shoot being 
terminated with a compact round head of rich purple flowers. Seeds 
should be sown in March or April in well-drained pans filled with sandy 
soil, and placed in gentle heat. When the seedlings appear assign 
them a light position, and immediately the plants are large enough to 
handle place them singly in small 60-sized pots. Keep the plants well 
down in the pots, so that the cotyledon or seed leaves rest on the soil. 
They should then be grown in a temperature of from 60° by night and 
70° by day, with a rise of from 5° to 10° by sun heat. 
For ordinary decorative purposes 7-inch or 8-inch pots will be 
sufficiently large provided liquid farmyard manure or one of the 
numerous chemical mixtures be applied two or three times a week after 
the pots are well filled with roots. After the flower heads are fully 
developed the plants may be removed to the greenhouse or conservatory, 
where they will keep up a display of flower for a very considerable 
length of time. Like the old Everlasting Flower, Helichrysum bracteatum, 
the blooms require cutting just before they are fully expanded, as they 
then last much longer in perfection.—G eo. Parrant. 
ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
July 25th. 
Scientific Committee. —Present: Dr. H. Mliller (in the chair) ; 
Dr. Russell, Dr. Scott, Rev. W. Wilks, Dr. Bonavia, Rev. G. Henslow 
(Hon. Sec.), and Mr. W, Sykes (visitor). 
Dianthus, sp., ^'c, — Dr. Miiller showed a specimen of a Pink 
from Val d’Annivieres, in the Rhone Valley. It was referred to 
Mr. F. N. Williams for identification, and proved to be Dianthus 
prolifer, L. He also exhibited an “ E lelweiss,” from Mount Cook, New 
Zealand. Though the inflorescence bore much resemblance to the 
European form, the foliage was quite distinct, the leaves being obovate, 
and one-quarter of an inch in length. It was referred to Kew for 
identification. He also exhibited a Peach, apparently attacked by 
fungi. It was also referred to Kew for investigation. 
Fir-leaved Clover. —Dr. Bonavia showed a specimen of this tolerably 
well-known form from garden culture. 
Preserving Fresh Ripe Fruit. —Mr. W. Sykes of Woodleigh, East 
Dulwich, described some methods for preserving fruit in tins and 
otherwise, the air being exhausted from the tins. The following is the 
description of Tomatoes :—” The fruit was quite ripe and perfect; after 
seven days they had not altered, and kept two or three days after being 
exposed to the atmosphere. After fourteen days the fruit showed signs 
of ‘ sweating.’ They kept the same time exposed and ate all right. 
After twenty-one days there was considerable sweating, after thirty 
days more so, after thirty-seven days, still more, the juice draining out 
badly. The fruit throughout never lost its bright brilliant colour.” A 
discussion arose as to the advisability of adopting the plan of exhausting 
the tins of air. Both Dr. Miiller and Dr. Russell were of the opinion 
that this method was unadvisable, inasmuch as the vacuum can never 
be perfect, and it tended to expand the cells, and so by rupturing the 
tissues, “ sweating ” would increase. Another method described was to 
bury the fruit like Potatoes or Mangold :—“Apples buried straight from 
the trees in heaps like Potatoes, surrounded by straw and covered with 
earth a few inches thick, keep well into the following year. Nonpareil, 
a very astringent, bright coloured and bad keeper, loses neither colour 
nor flavour after being buried. Similarly Peas in jars covered over with 
a bladder and buried, were quite ‘fresh’ at Christmas. In these and 
similar cases it appears to be the carbonic acid evolved by respiration of 
the fruit which acts as a preservative by driving away the air from the 
enclosed space. This tends to destroy, or at least hinder, the fermentive 
or putrefactive action of bacteria. Mr. Sykes hopes to communicate 
further results from experiments with this year’s fruit. 
Pelargonium ignescens, $ sterile. — Mr. Henslow exhibited a 
specimen of this plant found in a cottage garden at Zeals, Devon. On 
referring to Sweet’s “ Geraniacese,” it appears to have been raised from 
the seed of P. fulgidum by Sir R. C. Hoare. Another seedling of the 
same species was P. scintillans. Though called “hybrids” the parentage 
is unknown. The word “sterile” refers to the anthers being devoid of 
pollen. P. ignescens (proper), as well as the above, are all figured by 
Sweet, oj). cit., viz., P. ignescens, vol. i.. No. 2 ; P. ign. 0 sterile, i., 55 ; 
P. scint., i., 28 ; and P. fulgidum, i., 69. The date given is 1821. 
Shaky" Ash wood. —Messrs. Holland & Holland of 0.xford Street 
forwarded a remarkable specimen of the peculiarity known as “ shaky 
timber ” among carpenters. On splitting the wood a central portion 
separates from the surrounding layers. It is probably due to some 
seasonal influence when the cambium formed an imperfect and easily 
separable layer. 
