Augujt 17, 1S93. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
147 
Events of the Week. —The coming week will not be a par¬ 
ticularly busy one for metropolitan horticulturists. On Friday and 
Saturday, August 18th and 19th, the National Co-operative Festival will 
be held at the Crystal Palace, and on Wednesday and Thursday, August 
23rd and 21:th, there will be an exhibition of flowers and fruit at the 
Gardening and Forestry Exhibition. The Devon and Exeter Horti¬ 
cultural Society’s Show will be held on Friday, August 18th. On 
Vfednesday, August 23rd, the Shrewsbury Floral Fete and the Harpenden 
Horticultural Society’s Show will be held, and on Thursday, August 
24th, is the Basingstoke Show, and on August 24th and 25th the annual 
Show at Weymouth will be held. 
- The Weather in London.—F or several days the weather 
has been oppressively hot, the temperature ranging between 80° and 90°, 
while on several nights it has not fallen below 70°. The heat appears 
to have been more enervating than at any previous time during a 
memorably hot year. 
- A Well-won Honour —The Queen has conferred the honour 
of knighthood upon Dr. Joseph Henry Gilbert, F.R.S., who has been 
associated for more than fifty years with Sir J. B. Lawes in the agri¬ 
cultural experiments conducted at Kothamsted. 
- Gardening Appointments. —Mr. William Dancer succeeds 
Mr. C. Smith as head gardener to Major A. C. Little, Rystan House, 
Tetbury, Gloucestershire. Mr. C. Boatwright, gardener to the late Mr. 
E. Coveil, Beckenham Place, has been appointed gardener to J. L. Buck- 
nell. Esq., Langley Court, Beckenham. 
-Who Planted the Hampton Court Vine?—A statement 
having appeared in the “Standard” that the old Vine at Hampton 
Court was planted in 1763 by Lancelot Brown (otherwise known 
as “ Capability ”), a Hampstead correspondent thus writes :—“ I 
only know that I have always heard my late father say that the 
great Vine at Hampton Court was planted by an ancestor of his 
whose name was Robinson, and who most certainly was at Hampton 
Court, and that George III. presented him on the occasion with a 
snuff-box, which said box my father always treasured, and which 
I have and value. It is tortoiseshell, inlaid with silver, and very pretty. 
Oddly enough, it is only about three weeks since I was speaking to a 
cousin about the great Vine, and I said, ‘ Well, you know an ancestor 
of ours, a Mr. Robinson, planted that Vine, and I have the snuff-box 
that George HI. gave him when he planted it.’ The reply was, ‘Yes, 
I have always understood from my father (he was own cousin to my 
father, and one of his names was Robinson) that such was the case,’ and 
the remark was made that I ought to have the fact engraved on the 
box.” From remarks in another column it will be seen that the grand¬ 
fathers of some half-dozen persons are claimed as the planters of the 
Silwood Vine. We have seen it stated that an ancestor of Mr. Thomas 
Laxton planted the Hampton Court Vine. 
- Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge Gardeners’ Asso¬ 
ciation. —The members of this Society, conducted by Mr. D. Cornwell, 
paid a visit to Messrs. Cannell & Sons, Swanley, on Wednesday, 
Aug. 9th. The company, numbering upwards of sixty, were conducted 
over the nursery, and many remarks of a laudatory character were let 
fall respecting the magnificence of the Begonias, the brightness and 
diversity of colouring displayed amongst the Zonal Pelargoniums, the 
curios in the houses devoted to Cactaceous plants, the large and beauti¬ 
ful collection of the now almost forgotten Verbena, and the varied hues 
seen in the houses of Fuchsias. From thence they went to inspect 
the nurseries of Mr. Phillip Ladds, round which they were very kindly 
conducted by Mr. Ladds, jun. Here delight was largely intermingled 
with astonishment at the magnitude of the operations carried on with 
such striking success. In the afternoon Messrs. Cannells’ Eynsford 
Nurseries and Seed Farms were visited, afterwards journeying to the 
Eynsford Show, which was, very fortunately for them, being held on 
that day. There can be no doubt that a most enjoyable and instructive 
day was spent, and the thanks accorded to Mr. Cannell were hearty and 
sincere, nor were they undeserved, for that gentleman had been inde¬ 
fatigable in his exertions to make things pleasant, and admirably he 
succeeded.—H. W. 
- Fruit Crops in the Midlands.— “ Observer” writes:— 
So far as I can see the fruit crops in the midland counties are fairly 
good, and in some cases much beyond the average. Apples appear to 
be very plentiful, and are selling at nominal prices in local markets. 
Plums are plentiful, and it is with difficulty that small growers can 
dispose of them at remunerative prices, especially the ordinary varieties. 
Pears are not quite so abundant, these apparently having failed to set 
well.” 
- One dry season in the sixties Runner Beans in this neigh¬ 
bourhood were a complete failure, although growing strong from watering 
and mulching. Noticing a row in a cottage garden bearing a very heavy 
crop I asked the cotter how he managed his Beans. “ Water them over¬ 
head, master, in the evening to set them.” I did not water mine over¬ 
head but syringed them, and had plenty of Beans, and I have often since 
then stopped the flowers failing off by simply syringing in the evening. 
I am doing so now and have plenty of Beans.— Jas. Hamilton, 
Byrliley Gardens. 
- Jargonelle Pear. —One of the finest and handsomest trees 
of this excellent early Pear I have seen was in a small cottage garden at 
Chessington, Surrey, very recently. The tree is probably fifty years old, 
very tall, remarkably well proportioned, a perfect natural standard 
pyramid, in the most complete health, and carrying a grand crop ot fine 
fruit. On the upper boughs they hung literally like ropes of Onions. 
Autumn Bergamot, there called the “ Bergamy,” and Beurr6 Capiaumont 
w ere also fruiting wonderfully. The district seems to be specially a 
favourable one for Pears.—A. D. 
- Apple Shepherd’s Seedling.— I found this Apple repre¬ 
sented by large old trees growing in a Surrey village the other day. 
Dr. Hogg, I observe, states in the “Fruit Manual” that it is identical 
with Alfriston. Finding it under the first appellation had led me to 
conclude that it was of local origin ; but of course Alfriston has a 
national reputation. Owing to the height of the trees, and the fact that 
because of the drought the fruits were not of the usual size, it was 
difficult to determine what it was ; but I daresay Dr. Hogg is right, 
especially as the variety is mentioned in the locality in question as a 
good cropper and keeper.—D. 
- Cucumber Peerless. —When I was recently at the Swiss 
Nursery, Farnham, and looked through several houses of Cucumbers of 
various kinds, the fruits hanging for seed in such great quantities I 
thought a photograph of the houses would have been regarded as 
imaginary. The last house Mr. Mortimer took me into was filled with 
Peerless, as sent out by Messrs. Sutton & Sons, although certificated 
under the name of Success. Certainly was the simile, “ thou hast kept 
the good wine until now ” here most applicable. The long fruits were 
of the most perfect form, wonderfully handsome, and I think for length 
and beauty difficult to surpass. It is a variety, however, that, in sp'te 
of the abundance of fruit, seeds most sparingly.—A. D. 
- Agricultural Fertilizers and Feeding Stuffs. —The 
House of Commons Grand Committee on Trade have concluded their 
revision of the Fertilizers and Feeding Stuffs Bill, introduced by the 
Minister for Agriculture (Mr. H. Gardner). Sir J. Gorst presided. It was 
agreed that County Councils should be empowered to appoint officers to 
take on behalf of buyers samples for analysis of the products dealt with 
by the measure. It was resolved that any person fraudulently tampering 
with such samples should be liable to six months’ imprisonment, and 
that the Board of Agriculture itself, as well as other parties mentioned 
in the measure, might prosecute under it. The Bill as amended was 
ordered to be reported. 
- International Exhibition of Fruit Culture. — We 
have been requested to draw the attention of the fruit growers to an 
International Exhibition, to be held by the Russian Society of Fruit 
Culture, under the patronage of the Czar, at St. Petersburg, in the 
autumn of 1894, with the object of showing the present condition of the 
cultivation of fruit and vege ables, of viticulture, of the cultivation of 
various special plants, and the manufacture of their products. The 
Exhibition will comprise the following sections :—1, Fresh fruit ; 
2, fresh vegetables ; 3, dried fruit and vegetables, preserved or treated 
by other processes ; 4, wine, cider, perry, and other fruit beverages ; 
5, Hops and medical herbs; 6, seeds ; 7, fruit trees and bushes; 
8, horticultural implements and appliances, and technicality of pro¬ 
duction ; 9, literary, scientific, and educational accessories, collections, 
plans, &c. Applications for further information should be addressed to 
the offices of the International Exhibition of Fruit Culture, 1891, 
Imperial Agricultural Museum, Fontanka, 10, St. Petersburg. 
