September 8, 1892. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
215 
,- Leight®n Buzzard Flower Show.— For once the Com¬ 
mittee of the Leighton Horticultural Society succeeded in fixing upon 
a fine day for their annual Show, and as a consequence there was a good 
attendance during the afternoon. The Show was above the average, 
splendid exhibits being contributed by Mr. Cypher, Mr. Finch, and 
Mr. Walker of Thame. 
—- A Giant Cactus. — An effort is being made to secure for 
exhibition in the Horticultural Department of the World’s Fair a 
specimen of giant Cactus from the desert region of south-east California. 
This Cactus grows at times to the height of 70 feet. A specimen when 
boxed ready for shipment will weigh 8 tons, and it will require an 
expenditure of something like £500 to deliver it in good condition in 
Chicago. 
Prunus Pissardi Fruiting. —We send you by this post 
fruits of Prunus Pissardi, which we shall be glad if you will notice in 
your widely read paper. We believe it is rare for the fruit to be 
produced in this country.—E. D. Shuttleworth & Co. (Ltd.), Fleet, 
Hants. [As the trees attain the requisite age they bear fruit under 
favourable conditions in this country, the same as the Myrobalan or 
Cherry Plum does, of which Prunus Pissardi is a purple-leaved variety.] 
August Weather in Herts. —The weather during the past 
month has been particularly cool. Only during three days has the ther¬ 
mometer risen above 75° in the shade, and not once has it reached 80°. 
There has also been a fair amount of sunshine, and more than the usual 
amount of rain. Rain fell on eleven days during the past month. The 
maximum in any twenty-four hours was 1*33, registered on the morning 
of the 28th. The minimum in any twenty-four hours was 0-03 on the 8tb. 
The total during the month was 3-40, against 3-58 of 1891.—E. Wallis, 
The Gardens, Hamels Park, Punting ford, Herts. 
- The Weather During August at Ripley, Yorks.—T he 
weather this month was fairly favourable. From the 19th to the 24th 
we had some of the most summer-like weather of the season, but the 
nights during the whole of the month were very cold. The total rainfall 
was 3-21 inches, which fell upon eighteen days, the greatest fall being 
0 94 on the 29th. The mean reading of the barometer for August was 
29 93. Mean maximum temperature, G7'4°; mean minimum temperature, 
43 6 ; mean temperature of the month, 55 - 5°. Highest maximum 
temperature, 78° on the 21st ; lowest minimum temperature, 34° on the 
11th. Up to the present we have not lifted one diseased Potato.— 
J. Tunnington, Ripley Castle Gardens, Yorks. 
The Weather Last Month. —August was very changeable ; 
we had a heavy thunder storm early on the 24th, and gales on the 14th, 
30th, and 31st. The wind was in a westerly direction twenty-three 
days. The barometer was highest (30 29 inches) at 9 A.M. on the 10th ; 
lowest (29 49) at 9 P.M. on the 30th. The total rainfall was 1-52 inch, 
which fell on fourteen days; the greatest daily fall being 037 inch on the 
27th. The highest shade temperature was 81° on the 23rd, the lowest 
35° on the 11th ; the lowest on grass 35° on the 11th. Mean of daily 
maximum readings 70 53°; mean of daily .minimum readings 50 - 96°, 
Mean temperature of the month G0 74°. The garden spring ran 20 gallons 
per minute on the 31st.—W. H. Divers, Ketton Hall Gardens, 
Stamford. 
- Sulphate of Copper for Scab. — Dr. Fisher, one of the 
experimenters at the Hatch Experiment Station, has, says an American 
paper, laid us under a debt of gratitude if his views are well grounded. 
He believes copper sulphate in simple solution to be just as effective in 
destroying injurious fungi as any other preparation of copper. More¬ 
over, it is much less expensive ; the amount required being only 1 lb. to 
GOO or 800 gallons of water, while the Bordeaux mixture requires 4 lbs. 
for 50 gallons of water ; counting the copper sulphate at 4d. a pound, 
this is Is. 44. per barrelful, which amounts to a considerable sum in a 
large orchard. His plan of operation is as follows :—As early in spring 
as weather permits gather and burn all stubble, weeds, grass, and debris, 
thus disposing of a large proportion of the winter spores of the various 
fungi. Then spray all trees, trellises, and Vines, and the surface of the 
ground not burned over with sulphate of copper—1 lb. to 100 gallons. 
This strength is only allowable before the foliage has developed. Just 
before the blossoms open spray all foliage with the solution, 1 lb. to 
800 gallons, adding Paris green 1 lb. to 200 gallons. This should be 
repeated two or three times in the month of June, when the great bulk 
of both insects and fungi appear. Those who try this should do so on 
a small scale and note the results. 
• Hydrangeas and Gladioli. —We (“Garden and Forest”) 
observe in some florists’ windows a repetition of the practice which 
prevailed three or four years ago, of using the large white flower-heads 
of Hydrangea paniculata grandiflora on long stems, in large vases, with 
a few spikes of Gladiolus of some pronounced colour. This makes an 
effective combination, as well as a very durable one, for the Gladiolus 
w ill continue to open its flowers in succession for a long time, and the 
Hydrangea flowers will not only remain without wilting for a fortnight 
in a warm room, but will dry on the Btem and preserve their creamy 
colour throughout the winter. 
- An Enormous Strawberry.—T his fruit was sent to me a 
few weeks since, and deserves to be placed on record in your pages. 
It® circumference was 10 inches, the greatest diameter 2| inches ; the 
weight rather more than 3 ozs. The variety was Laxton’s Competitor, 
a strong-growing kind, but the fruits which I have tasted of it have 
all been deficient in flavour. The above fruit was very flat. It was 
grown by Mr. R. Gilbert, Burghley Gardens, Stamford, and was certainly 
the largest Strawberry I have ever met with.—W. H. Divers, Ketton 
Hall Gardens, Stamford. 
Fuchsia fulgens. —This old plant is seldom cultivated, and 
yet it is well worthy of a place in every large garden. The stems are 
red, the leaves cordate, soft and glabrous, with a red petiole, and 
prominent red veins. The flowers have a bright red calyx, forming a 
long narrow tube ; the petals protrude beyond the divisions of the calyx, 
and are bright scarlet. The racemes are long and pendulous, terminal, 
and many-flowered. Plants grow very quickly when planted out, and 
form bushes 2 to 3 feet high. A bed at Chiswick is looking very well 
at present, but the pale green leaves do not show off the flowers as well 
as darker ones would. This is its only drawback.—C. K. 
Market Tomatoes. —The estimate of what is a good market 
Tomato differs appreciably. Some growers seem to think they cannot 
be too big, whilst salesmen seem to think the reverse. When at Heck- 
field Place, on the 1st, Mr. Maxim, the gardener there, invited me to 
look at a red Cluster Tomato, a few plants of which he has sent for trial 
by Messrs. Sutton & Sons. The fruits were of perfectly round form, 
running at about ten or twelve to the pound, and are borne in great 
clusters. The gardener said, “ The other day Mr.-,” naming a 
well-known London salesman, “ sent me a couple of small Tomatoes, 
saying that those were of the sort he wanted to please his customers, 
who wanted them small and in plenty.” Mr. Maxim regards this new 
variety of Messrs. Sutton to be thus a beau ideal market Tomato.—A. D. 
Romneya Coulteri. —Having been very successful in raising 
and flowering plants from seed of the grand Californian Poppy, 
Romneya Coulteri, we thought perhaps you would like to see a 
spray cut from one of our plants growing in a pot with the shelter 
of a cool greenhouse to protect the flowers from storms, and by this 
post we send you specimens. You must not, however, infer from this 
that greenhouse protection is absolutely necessary, as we have plants 
which have been growing outside during the last three winters, and 
at the present time look remarkably healthy, but we do not think they 
will flower at present, as the season generally in the Birmingham 
district has been cold and sunless.—R. H. Vertegans & Co. [A 
beautiful spray of this magnificent plant, which was illustrated in 
the Journal on February 7th, 1889.] 
- A Gardeners’ Outing. —About forty members of the Win¬ 
chester and District Gardeners’ Mutual Improvement Association took 
part in the first annual outing organised by this Society, which has been 
in existence about thirteen months, and paid a visit to Reading, on the 
date of the Reading Show, on August 31st. The party were met at the 
station by a representative of Messrs. Sutton & Sons, by whom they 
were conducted over the business premises of this well-known firm, in 
the Market Place. On leaving the seed stores brakes were waiting to 
convey the visitors to the trial farm, where many things of interest 
were examined. From there they were conveyed to the nursery, and 
spent an agreeable hour and a half among the various objects of 
interest. Special mention may be made of the Begonias, Gloxinias, 
Cyclamens, and Tomatoes. The party then returned to the Market 
Place, where they were entertained to lunch by Messrs. Sutton & Son. 
The party then divided—some going to the flower show, others visiting 
the biscuit factory, and other places of interest in the town. The party 
returned to Winchester by train early in the evening, after a most 
enjoyable and instructive day. 
