30 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
January 10,1895 
- We learn that the Director of the Royal Gardens, Kew, has 
been elected an honorary naember of the New Zealand Institute in 
recognition, amongst other grounds, of the aid he has so cordially 
rendered to botanists in the British Colonies. 
- Soci E NATIONALE ET CeNTEALE E’HOETICULTtTRE DE 
France.— We learn that Mons. D. Bois, one of the assistants in the 
Botanical Department at the Jardin des Plantes, has been elected 
Editing Secretary to the above Society in place of the late Mons. 
Duchartre 
- A Giant Oak. —There exists an Oak at Pilkallen, whose 
dimensions ought to be recorded. At the base it measures yards in 
circumference, while it is between 90 feet and 100 feet in height. The 
age of this huge giant has been estimated at 1000 years, and every 
spring it is covered with a beautiful crown of leaves, so dense that 
neither rain nor snow can find their way through it. Last year, says 
the “ Gartenflora,” two limbs removed from it furnished sufiicient wood 
to construct a mill. For a century past this giant has been close upon 
its present dimensions. From time immemorial the inhabitants of the 
district have always seen a stork’s nest constructed in the thick 
branches. 
- Royal Meteorological Society. —Two meetings of the 
Society will be held at 25, Great George Street, Westminster, on Wed¬ 
nesday, the 16th inst. The first will be an ordinary meeting for the 
election of Fellows and the transaction of ordinary business, and will 
commence at 7.30 p.m. At it the following paper will be read :—“ The 
Gale of December 2l8t-22nd, 1894, over the British Isles,” by Charles 
Harding, F.R.Met.Soc. At 8.15 p.m. the annual general meeting will 
commence, when the report of the Council will be read, the election of 
officers and Council for the ensuing year will take place, and the Presi¬ 
dent (Mr. R. Inwards, F.R.A S.) will deliver an address. 
- Fruiting of an Allamanda. —I am forwarding you a seed- 
pod of an Allamanda, and would be glad to know if it is unusual for 
these plants to fruit, as it is the first one I have ever seen. It was not 
observed until the beginning of September, and was then as large as it 
is now. I have taken about two dozen seeds from the pod, but send you 
one or two.— W. J. Ireland, Scdgioich, Kendal. [It is certainly very 
uncommon for the Allamanda to bear fruit, though no doubt many of 
our readers will be able to cite instances. We trust you will be successful 
in raising some plants from seeds, but we are doubtful, as neither the 
seeds nor the pods were nearly ripe when taken. Perhaps you will let 
us know how you progress ? For the benefit of those readers who have 
not seen the fruit of this plant, we might add that it is about the size of 
a hen’s egg, and thickly covered with stout, somewhat blunt, spines.] 
- Making Ice. — The “ Daily News ” says :—" The Niagara 
Hall Company in York Street, Westminster, are showing how the 
treachery of our winters may be defied. They have opened a skating 
hall, laid with real ice. There are 10„000 square feet of it in a circular 
arena, with Icunges around, and a gallery above for spectators. While 
the temperature of the hall is maintained at a stage that enables the 
EXater to cast aside wraps and skim around bareheaded, the ice is 
always hard and dry and in excellent condition ; and the freezing 
machinery, having served the hall, is capable of providing a surplus 
of pure ice for the market. Eight tons of ice must be made per day 
to keep the rink in perfect state, and the processes of producing cold, or 
rather absorbing heat by the compression of ammonia gas, are not the 
least interesting of the attractions of Niagara Hall in its most recent 
development. 
- Summary op Meteorological Observations at 
Hodsock Priory, Worksop, Notts, in December. — Mean 
temperature of month, 40-8°. Maximum on the 13th, 63'4°; minimum 
on the 1st, 261°. Maximum in the sun on the 20th, 79 3° ; minimum on 
the grass on the 21st, 19 2°. Mean temperature of the air at 9 a.m., 
40 2° ; mean temperature of the soil 1 foot deep, 41-5°. The number of 
nights below 32°, in the shade, eleven ; on the grass, twenty-one. Total 
duration of sunshine in the month, thirty-four hours, or 15 per cent, of 
the possible duration. We had fourteen sunless days. Total rainfall, 
1’39 inch. Rain fell on fifteen days. Average velocity of the wind, 
12 9 miles per hour. Velocity' exceeded 400 miles on ten days; fell 
short of 100 on five days. Approximate averages for December :— 
Mean temperature, 37‘1°; sunshine, thirty-two hours; rainfall, 1 97 in. 
It was the warmest December since 1876. No snow or frost of con¬ 
sequence till the last few days. The gale on the 22nd did much damage 
to timber, buildings and stacks. For eight hours, from 9 A.M. to 
i) p.M., the average velocity of the wind was 60 5 miles per hour.— 
J. Mallender. 
- Death of Mr. William Barron.—W e regret to announce 
the death on the 27th ult. of Mr. William Barron, for many years 
in business as a nurseryman and landscape gardener at Sketty, Swansea^ 
an elder brother of Mr. A. F. Barron of Chiswick. 
- The Winged Phylloxera.— Professor Rathay, in a paper 
read at the Viticultural Congress at Vienna, combats the notion that 
this is destructive to the Grape Vine on the ground that the insect live© 
only four days at the hottest season of the year; another condition being 
that there must be no wind. The flight of the insect is feeble, and 
moreover it deposits unisexual eggs, a fact which militates much against 
its multiplication. 
- Vanilla Cultivation in Mauritius.—A correspondent 
in Mauritius calls attention to the fact that the cultivation of Vanilla, 
which has hitherto been one of the staple products of the island, i& 
rapidly diminishing, and will soon be a thing of the past. The cause 
has been put down to the continued robbery of the Vanilla estates by 
the Indian immigrants ; but the real reason of the discontinuance is the 
increasing competition of the Vanilla grown in Bourbon, which can be 
produced there at a much cheaper rate, owing to the soil being more 
suited for its cultivation. The planters also complain that the fluctua¬ 
tion in prices, says the “ Chemist and Druggist,” per kilo render the 
article a very speculative one. 
- Larne Horticultural Society.—A general meeting of the 
members of this Society was held recently, Mr. Charles Howden, 
Invermore House, presiding. The Hon. Secretary’s report showed that 
there was still left a credit balance in the Society’s favour of 
£11 Is. lOd, The total receipts, including subscriptions for the year, 
amounted to £138 6s. 4d., and the prize list payments and aggregate 
expenditure in connection with the show to £128 48. lid. The thanks 
of the meeting were passed to Mr. D. A. Nelson for the manner in which 
he had discharged the duties of Hon. Secretary for the past year, and 
the report and balance sheet were adopted. The appointment of office¬ 
bearers for the ensuing year was deferred till first meeting in January. 
- Technical Education in Agriculture. — Increased 
facilities for instruction in the science and art of agriculture are 
gradually being given to the Technical Education Committees in various 
parts of the country. We are glad to see it announced that Earl 
Cowper, Chairman of the Hertfordshire County Council, has offered to 
place a farm of nearly 300 acres, with residence and buildings, at the 
disposal of the Council, rent free, for the purpose of providing practical 
instruction in agriculture, on condition that the County Council stock 
the farm and work it. Lord Cowper has also undertaken to erect a 
laboratory and the necessary dormitories. A sub-Committee of practical 
agriculturists has been appointed to consider his Lordship’s offer and 
report to the Council on it. 
- Wakefield Paxton Society.— The Wakefield Paxtonians 
spend pleasant Saturday evenings all the year round, but on the last 
Saturday night in each year their proceedings are unusually interesting 
and enjoyable. At the last meeting in the year 1894 the large room, 
which had been seasonably decorated, was quite filled with professional 
and amateur gardeners, florists, botanists, and naturalists. Alderman 
Milnes presided, and the vice-chair was occupied by Mr. B. Whiteley. 
The proceedings, which occupied about three hours, assumed the form 
of a concert, the vocalists being a good contingent of the members 
of the newly formed Wakefield Harmonic Society. In an interval 
between the first and second parts of the concert Mr. and Mrs. Radcliffe 
entertained the company to supper, and the seasonable generosity was 
greatly appreciated. 
- The Weather Last Month.—D ecember was milder than 
usual, and the first snow of the season did not arrive until the 29th, Fog 
was prevalent until the 10th, and after that date rain was recorded 
daily, with only two exceptions, until the end of the month. The wind 
was in a westerly direction twenty-four days. Total rainfall was 
2'12 inches, which fell on twenty-three days, the greatest daily fall 
being 0 43 inch on 11th. Barometer—highest, 30'41 at 10 p.m. on 27th; 
lowest, 28-900 at 9 A.M. on 22nd. Thermometer—highest in shade, 
52° on 13th ; lowest, 27° on 3l8t. Mean of daily maximum, 44 80°. 
Mean daily minimum, 35’67°. Mean temperature of the month, 40 23° ; 
lowest on grass, 22° on 1st and 9th ; highest in sun, 77° on 29th. Mean 
temperature of the earth at 3 feet in depth, 43-38°. Total sunshine, 
43 hours 5 minutes ; eleven days were sunless. A thrush was heard 
singing on Christmas Day, and many varieties of hardy flowers were in 
bloom, owing to the mild season, the temperature having fallen below 
32° only five times since October 23rd, and the lowest since that date 
being 28°.—W. H. Divers, Belvoir Castle Gardens, Grantham, 
