September 21, 1893. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
265 
that I had the information from the raiser in every case. Mr. Harris’s 
is really a very good Melon, being an even, well-netted, handsome, 
orange fleshed fruit of very excellent flavour. I have not tasted a better 
one this year, and very few anything like so good. He calls it No. 1. 
In a season of poorly flavoured Melons it is a pleasure to come across a 
variety that possesses really high quality.—W. P. W. 
Events of the Week. —As notified in another paragraph, the 
■Committees of the Royal Horticultural Society will meet at the Drill 
Hall, Westminster, on Tuesday, September 26th. On Wednesday, the 
2.7th inst., a Show of hardy fruit will be opened at the Gardening and 
Forestry Exhibition, Earl’s Court, and will continue the two following 
days. The County of Gloucester Show will also take place on the 
27th and 28th. 
- The Weather in London.— During the past week fine 
weather has for the most part prevailed in the metropolis, although 
several local showers have occurred. Sunday opened fine, but gusty, 
and Monday proved cloudy with appearance of rain. On Tuesday last 
a few showers fell, and Wednesday morning was dull. At the time of 
going to press, however, it is fine, and rain is much wanted. 
-United Horticultural Benefit and Provident Society. 
—The seventh annual dinner of this Society will take place on Tuesday, 
October 10th, at 6 p.m., at the Cannon Street Hotel, E.C., on which 
occasion P. C. M. Veitch, Esq., of Exeter, has kindly consented to 
preside. Tickets, 5s. each, can be obtained from Mr. W. Collins, Secre¬ 
tary, 9, Martindale Road, Balham, S.W. 
- Royal Horticultural Society.—T he next meeting of the 
Royal Horticultural Society will take place at the Drill Hall, James 
Street, Victoria Street, Westminster, on Tuesday, September 26th, when 
prizes are offered for Gladioli. At three o’clock Mr. W. Iggulden of 
Marston Gardens, Frome, will deliver a lecture on the “ Causes of 
Failure in Eucharis Culture.” 
- Death of Mr. Hugh Low. — With great regret we record 
the death of Mr. Hugh Low, of the well known firm of nurserymen at 
Clapton, which took place suddenly on Sunday, September 17th, at his 
residence at Upper Clapton. The deceased gentleman was thirty-two 
years of age, and his untimely death will be regretted by a wide circle 
of friends ; he leaves a widow and two little girls. For some time past 
Mr. Low had been in indifferent health and returned from a visit to 
Cromer last week, but was not taken seriously ill until Saturday, after 
which pneumonia developed rapidly with unfortunate fatal results. 
Mr. Low was in partnership under the style of Messrs. Hugh Low and 
Co., with his two younger brothers, by whom, we understand, the 
business will be carried on. He was a member of the Committee of the 
Royal Gardeners’ Orphan Fund, and a most estimable man. The funeral 
took place at 12.30 P.M. yesterday (Wednesday) at Abney Park Ceme¬ 
tery, Stoke Newington, and the ceremony was attended by many sympa¬ 
thising friends. 
- Destroying Weeds.—O n seeing a paragraph on this subject 
in the last number (page 245) from Meehan’s Monthly,” I was 
reminded of a conversation I recently had with a gardener on the 
eradication of the small Bindweed, whose roots go down, as is well 
known, to an incredible depth. The pest appeared to have quite 
vanished from a formerly infested patch, and I asked how he managed 
it. “ Oh 1 an old gardener told me the secret. He said you must hoe 
them every Wednesday. I did, and they are quite done for.” It was 
good ; and I should like to have known that old gardener, who evidently 
knew as much of human as of weed nature. It is pretty clear that if 
he had said “every week” they would have been hoed, once on a 
Monday perhaps, and then on the Saturday week, and so on, and the 
whole thing would have fallen through sooner or later ; but by naming 
his day he gave a useful little touch of a superstitious charm for an 
ignorant man, and also made sure that it would be done every week. 
Let those of my friends who are troubled with Bindweed, Coltsfoot^ 
and Dandelions, try the “ every Wednesday ” plan for them, and report 
if it does not answer.—W. R. Raillem. 
- There are in the United States thirty-two botanical stations. 
Systematic botany and the physiology of plants are studied more or less 
at all these stations, and at every one of them particular attention is 
given to the maladies of plants and the disease causing fungi. 
- Lilium japonicum VAR. ALEXANDRiE. —We observe in the 
catalogue of Messrs. Wallace & Co., Colchester, that our illustration of 
this new Lilium on page 57, July 20th, has been copied without per¬ 
mission and published without acknowledgement. This is not in accord¬ 
ance with the canons of literary propriety. Moreover, the flower that 
our artist sketched, and which is accurately represented in the Colchester 
catalogue, was not grown by Messrs. Wallace k, Co., but by Messrs. 
Veitch & Sons, Chelsea. 
- Grapes for Wine. —In some parts of Medoc the vintage began 
as soon as the 20th of last month. Such an early date has not been known 
for generations, the usual period being the first half of September, some¬ 
times even the last days of the month. The Girondins all agree in 
saying that the crop this year will be a splendid one in spite of drought. 
It is necessary to say “ will be,” for most of the growers have had to 
suspend the gathering of the Grapes for want of casks, which are so 
scarce that they fetch unusually high prices. 
- Suburban Sparrows. —I should like to confirm all “ Davies 
Duffryn ” (page 214) alleges against these mischievous depredators, 
although he omits from his indictment one of their worst vices—viz., 
pecking, and thereby destroying all ripe or unripe fruit. But the 
difficulty is how to get rid of the pests. Cats seem quite useless, and 
hawks cannot be sufficiently tamed, I fear. Shooting is out of the 
question in a garden ; consequently any inventor who devises a simple 
and inexpensive sparrow trap would very quickly make his fortune.— 
Country Amateur. 
- Perennials in Town Gardens.—A very good word for 
perennials as becoming and profitable inhabitants of town gardens was 
spoken by Mr. Walter Child, F.R.H.S., in a paper delivered before the 
Birmingham Amateur Gardeners’ Association the other day. Mr. Child 
is a very successful exhibitor of these plants, and has contributed sub¬ 
stantially to rescue many worthy perennials by a sedulous selection of 
the best varieties, and by the most suitable cultivation. For a long 
period many of these old-fashioned garden flowers have enjoyed the 
loyal regard of those to whom gardening is a pleasure. 
- Gardening Appointments. — Mr. William Carr has resigned 
the post of head gardener to Viscount Hill, Hawkstone, near Shrewsbury, 
in order to fill a similar position at Yeatoa-Pevevey, the seat of Sir Offley 
Wakeman, Bart., Shrewsbury. Mr. Carr was foreman at Hawkstone 
under the late Mr. William Pratt, whose successor he became in the 
management of the gardens there when that good all-round horticul¬ 
turist left ten and a half years ago to become head gardener to the 
Marquis of Bath, at Longleat. Mr. James Fawkes, for the past two and 
a half years gardener to the Hon. Mrs. Douglas Pennant, Lillingsfcone 
House, Buckingham, and previously foreman with Mr. Hope, Middleton 
Park Gardens, Bicester, has been appointed gardener to the Earl of 
Jersey, Osterley Park, Isleworth, Middlesex. 
- The New Zealand Karmahi Tree.—A correspondent 
writes :—“ So great has been the demand tor Wattle bark that this 
valuable Australian tree is become scarce. But there is a native tree 
which I think might be found no mean rival of the Australian Wattle. 
I refer to the Karmahi, or Kamai, as it is generally called. This tree is 
known to botanists as Wienmannia, and is often called by bushmen 
“ Bastard Birch.” There are two varieties of the tree. One found in 
the North Island and northern portion of South Island, and the other 
peculiar to southern forests. In the great Tautuku Forest, extending 
from the Clutha to the Mataura, the Kamai is one of the most 
abundant trees. It grows to a height of 30 feet to 40 feet, and often 
attains a diameter of 20 inches to 30 inches. It is covered with a 
tolerably thick bark, which contains a considerable amount of tannic 
acid and dye material. The Maoris use the bark to dye flax, and 
produce a fast black or dark brown colour. They bruise the bark and 
boil it along with the flax to be dyed, which is afterwards steeped in 
swamp mud, where the iron held in solution comes in contact with the 
tanning of the bark, and so fixes a black dye. Experiment is all that is 
wanted, I feel sure, to bring the Kamai bark into general use, both at 
the tannery and at the dyeworks. From a series of chemical experi¬ 
ments made myself a few years ago on the barks of our forest trees, I 
proved the Kamai to be one of the richest in tanning material.” 
