314 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ October 6, 1893- 
- Fine Tomatoes. —I am sending you a box containing some 
clusters of Tomatoes (Perfection), and shall be glad of your opinion of 
the same. I gave a note of the culture as carried out here when sending 
you some individual specimens (vide page 294, October 2ad, 1890), and 
there it will be seen that the root space for our plants is very limited. I 
think the clusters now sent, and of which we could gather many, show 
the value of artificially assisting fertilisation.— Thomas Crosswell, 
Homewood, Eden Park, Becltenliam. [The cluster referred to by our 
correspondent was very fine, eight highly coloured fruits of perfect 
form weighing 4 lbs. 4 ozs. On the previous occasion referred to Mr. 
Crosswell sent us some of the finest Tomatoes we have ever seen, the 
largest fruit in that case weighing 19 ozs."] 
- The Wakefield Paxton Society.—T here was an unusually 
good attendance at the ordinary weekly meeting of the members of the 
Wakefield Paxton Society on Saturday evening. Lieutenant H. S. 
Goodyear occupied the chair, and Mr. G, Gill officiated as Vice-Chair¬ 
man. The essayist was Mr. George Parkin, a well-known photographer, 
naturalist, and botanist, and one of the oldest, most active, and useful 
members of the Society. His subject was “ Autumn Foliage,” and there 
was a large and beautiful collection of foliage from plants, shrubs, 
trees, together with a good display of wild fruits and berries. Mr. 
Parkin read a most interesting paper, which clearly showed that when 
taking his country rambles he is a close observer of Nature. A 
discussion was opened by Mr. W. L. Skinner of the Silcoates 
Nurseries, who was one of the principal exhibitors of specimens. Several 
of the other members took part in the discussion, including Mr. Mear 
of the Woolley Park Gardens, who has obtained an appointment on a 
fruit farm in Australia. 
- The Oldest Trees in the World. —This subject has again 
cropped up, and is being discussed in “ Notes and Queries.” The 
following list of ages known to have been reached by patriarchs of the 
respective kinds is given by Mr. J. Collinson:—“Elm, 300 years; Ivy, 
336 years; Maple, 516 years; Larch, 576 years; Orange, 630 years; 
Cypress, 800 years ; Olive, 800 years ; Walnut, 900 years ; Oriental 
Plane, 1000 years; Lime, 1100 years; Spruce, 1200 years ; Oak, 1500 
years ; Cedar, 2000 years ; Yew, 3200 years. The way in which the 
ages of these trees have been ascertained leaves no doubt of its correct¬ 
ness. In some few cases the data has been furnished by historical 
records and by traditions, but the botanical archseulogists have a 
resource independent of either, and when carefully used infallible. Of 
all the forms of Nature trees alone disclose their ages candidly and 
freely. In the stems of trees which have branches and leaves with 
netted veins—in all exogens, as the botanist would say—the increase 
takes place by means of an annual deposit of wood, spread in an even 
layer upon the surface of the preceding one.” 
- The Jasmine Harvest. — Writing from Grasse, a corre¬ 
spondent of a daily contemporary says :—“ The Jasmine harvest here 
is in full swing. Grasse is permeated by an overwhelming perfume 
of flowers. In the factories they are working day and night to 
extract the valuable essence of the flowers as quickly as possible. 
There are three ways of doing this. The first and coarsest method, 
which is used for Lavender, Thyme, Peppermint, and Geranium, is by 
boiling down the flowers. The second, which is used for Eoses, 
Heliotrope, Lilac, and ordinary Violets, is the old plan of distillation. 
And the third, which is reserved for Parma Violets, Jasmine, Tuberoses, 
and such expensive essences, is the so-called cold method, the slowest 
and therefore the dearest, but the most effective of all. For this last 
the flowers, which are first carefully weighed, are heaped upon a table 
round which are seated about twenty girls, each with a frame before 
her, like a good sized window pane. The glass of this frame is, so to 
speak, buttered on both sides with a mixture of veal fat and a little 
oil. On the glass the girl strews as many flowers as will lightly cover 
it, and covers them with another glass similarly treated. Then comes 
another layer of flowers and another glass, till there are ten glasses 
in a heap. The next day the flowers, which are by that time quite 
faded and have given out all their scent into the grease above them, 
are removed, and fresh flowers are strewn in their place. This pro¬ 
ceeding is repeated eight or ten times. The perfumed grease is then 
put into large, closed, copper vats, with an equal quantity of spirit. 
In the vats are wheels which are turned by machinery. The rapid 
revolutions of the wheels beats out of the grease most of the perfume 
it has soaked in ; the grease sinks to the bottom, and is used to make 
soap, pomade, &c., and the spirit which contains the true essence of 
the flowers is bottled, and fetches the highest prices given for scent.” 
- Plumbago Larpent^e.—W hat the Gentians are to the 
embellishment of the rockery in the spring this Plumbago is in tha 
autumn in the matter of colour. It is flowering finely in spite of the 
dry season we have experienced. No hardy plant that I know gives 
the same tint of colouring at this time of the year without it be- 
Lithospermum prostratum, and that is not now in bloom, its season 
having passed. This Plumbago is an easy plant to grow. Any ordinary 
garden soil seems to suit it, but a freer growth is secured by the addition 
of a small amount of manure.—E. M. 
- Woods and Trees in Scotland.—T he Board of Agriculture 
desire to direct attention to the increased facilities for the planting of 
woods and trees in Scotland afforded by the Improvement of Land 
(Scotland) Act, 1893, which received the Royal assent on August 24th 
last. Hitherto owners of land in Scotland have been able, with the 
sanction of the Board of Agriculture, to charge their estates for the 
planting of woods and trees only in cases where the planting is for the 
purpose of providing shelter. By the Act in question this limitation 
has been removed, and applications may now be made to the Board for 
sanction to charge estates, under the provisions of the Improvement 
of Land Act, 1864, with the cost of planting whether for shelter or 
otherwise. 
- Aralia Sieboldi. —Mr, J. G. Pettenger, Strawberry Dale 
Nursery, Harrogate, writes :—“ It is not uncommon to find this beautiful 
plant grown in the stove or intermediate house, thus subjecting it to 
attacks of insects or disease, which very soon stops all growth. This 
plant thrives splendidly in a cold frame, partially shaded from direct 
sun. The plants are raised in heat in April or May, and after the first 
potting in 60’s are placed in a cold frame. They are in due time shifted 
into 5-inch pots, in which they make beautiful plants totally different to 
any that can be grown in heat. In the winter a house from which frost 
is just excluded suits them admirably. If signs of thrips appear the 
leaves are sponged with softsoap and warm water. Aralia Sieboldi 
enjoys liberal supplies of water in well drained pots. The most suitable 
soil is good sandy loam.” 
- Chinese Bean Oil. —More oil is extracted from the bean than 
from any one of the other oil-yielding plants of China. The two kinds 
of bean treated for oil are small in size and oval in shape, one having 
a whitish yellow epidermis and interior, the other being green 
throughout. They are probably sub-varieties of the Soja bean. The 
process of extraction in Formosa is described by Mr. Hosie in a recent 
report on that island. The beans yield about 10 per cent, weight of oil, 
and the cakes when removed from the press weigh some 64 lbs. and are 
worth about 2s. 9d. each. They constitute a very valuable manure, and 
are carefully macerated before being applied to the soil. The com¬ 
mercial value of this industry is shown by the fact that 60,000 tons of 
bean cakes were exported from Chefoo during 1890, and Newchang sent 
over 150,000 tons in the same year. The oil is used both for cooking and 
lighting purposes. 
- Formosan Tea. —The cultivation of the Tea, known in trade 
as Formosa Oolongs, is referred to by Mr. Hosie in his late report on that 
island. The Tea > ^ant was imported from the Fuhkien province, and 
proved a great success. Since its introduction the cultivation has spread 
rapidly, with the clearing of the hillsides in Northern Formosa. When 
a slope has been cleared of jungle a crop, such as Sweet Potatoes, is 
planted, and in the following year young Tea plants are set out in rows 
2 feet or 3 feet apart, with a like distance between each plant. In this 
virgin soil no manure is required, and all the cultivator has to do is to 
keep the ground clear of weeds and undergrowth. In three years from 
the date of planting out the shrubs have attained their maximum height 
of 2 feet to 3 feet, and the time has arrived for picking the leaves. This 
operation, which is carried out by women and girls for the most part, 
takes place in the end of April or beginning of May, in July, and in 
September, for three crops are harvested during the season. The Tea 
manufactured in Formosa is generally, but erroneously, classed as a 
green Tea. It is in reality a black Tea, prepared without the usual 
fermentation, but it possesses a decided flavour of the green variety. 
The leaf is “ fired ” when green, and this, taken with the flavour, may 
account for the popular belief. But between the exposure in the open 
air and the firing the edges of the leaves are rendered quite soft by 
being thrown against Bamboos in a revolving machine — a process 
unknown elsewhere in China. It is said that if the leaves, after being 
picked and exposed for a short time, were placed in the firing pans they 
would split up—the Tea leaf is thick and brittle—and lose all semblance 
to the whole leaf which is so much desired. 
