February 21,1895. 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
161 
Weather in London, — At the time of going to press the 
weather is considerably milder and shows signs of relaxation, as the 
thermometer in the southern suburbs this morning reads 30°. As the 
result of the rising temperature there is a marked improvement in the 
condition of the Thames. The ice floes have visibly diminished in both 
size and number, the stream during flow tide being now practically free. 
The gulls which have recently hovered over the river in quest of food 
are greatly reduced in numbers, showing signs that they can now feed 
elsewhere. Notwithstanding the tendency to thaw recent borings of 
ice on the Serpentine in Hyde Park showed a thickness of inches, 
while that of the Long Water was from 8 to 10 inches, the Bound Pond 
Of to 9|, and St. James’ Park 8| to 9 inches, 
- The Weather in the North.—W inter shows little sign of 
relaxing. Again in the middle of last week our Highland lines have 
been blocked by snow. The frost has been rather less severe than in 
the previous week, ranging from 8° to 18° on Tuesday morning. From 
Saturday till Monday slight thawing took place for an hour or two each 
day, but from little else than sun heat. Tuesday morning was very cold 
with a thick frosty haze.—B. D., S. Perthshire, 
- The Kew Guild.—T he annual general meeting of this 
Association will be held in the Garden Library at Kew on Thursday 
evening, February 28th, at eight o’clock. Members who are unable 
to attend are requested to send any contributions for the Journal, to 
be published in May, or any suggestions they may desire to make with 
respect to the Guild, to the Secretary, Mr. J, Aikman, Whitestile Koad, 
Brentford. 
- A Note of Warning. —A timely caution comes from Messrs. 
Sutton of Reading, pointing out that as soon as the present prolonged 
frost breaks there will be a natural desire on the part of most gardeners 
to catch up the delayed outdoor work ; but, as Messrs. Sutton say, in the 
matter of sowing it is better to be a fortnight behind the usual time 
than a week ahead. There is more wisdom in patient waiting for 
suitable conditions of soil and temperature than in undue haste, and 
the important essentials of light and warmth of soil should be considered 
rather than any fixed week of the month for sowing. Unfortunately 
it takes more than a few fine spring days to warm the ground, and 
when germination is accompanied by too low a temperature the 
seedlings and ultimate plants necessarily lack vigour. 
-English Arboricultural Society. — At present the 
English Arboricultural Society is more or less limited to the North of 
England. There is every prospect, however, of its extension southwards 
in the future, both on account of the attention now being given to 
forestry, and because the Society is making efforts to increase its 
membership by going further afield. The Transactions of the Society 
(vol. iii., part iv.) should materially assist towards this end, for the 
instructive papers contained therein appeal to all foresters. The 
information which Prof. Somerville has brought together and published 
forms a valuable summary of the present position of knowledge in 
regard to the Larch disease, and shows the various conditions and 
cultural methods which hold out some prospect of securing comparative 
immunity from attack. 
- Storing Seed Potatoes. —Truly “ A, D.” (page 143) is an 
ingenious as well as a bold man. Has he no fear of wife or housemaid 
before his eyes ? Boxes under the bed 1 After such audacity I shall 
expect to hear he has appropriated the space under the dining table. 
One friend and neighbour—a great Potato man—has his early sets 
in shallow boxes, and arranges them in the cart-horse stable above the 
standings. I am not sure whether he does not utilise his cow houses 
for the same purpose. He farms between 5 and 600 acres, so needs a 
good deal of storage room even for “ earlies.” As to the main stock 
of Potatoes, if the “ pie ” is really well made— i.e., 7 feet across at the 
base, and yielding three-quarters of a ton to a yard (all sorts), lavishly 
covered with straw, well packed, and closely earjhed, surely they 
cannot take much harm. Of course, the “ pie ” must be made with 
its ends north and south, and care must be taken not to open it 
during the sunny hours of a frosty day. " Pie ’’-making is a gift, 
•bat it is a gift that can be acquired and cultivated.— The Missus. 
- Rust in Carnations.—F or this purpose dissolve 1 lb. of 
sulphate of copper in two quarts of ammonia in a 2-gallon jar. VVhen 
dissolved add another quart of ammonia and stir well. [The liquid can 
be kept in this form for some time and used as needed.] Add a pint of 
this solution to a barrel of water and spray the plants every two 
weeks, taking care to commence prior to the attacks of the fungus. 
-The Use op Gas Tar.—I n greenhouses this is a dangerous 
article to use, at least in the hands of the large majority of people, 
and should never be employed as a coating for the pipes. In 
the first place it gives off for a time noxious fumes when heat is let 
in which are certain to cause very severe damage to the plants ; and 
in the second place, it does not maintain a good black colour. Lamp¬ 
black, mixed with linseed oil and turpentine, made into the consistency 
of an ordinary paint—rather err on the side of being too thin than 
otherwise—is about the best thing to use. 
- Flowers prom the Riviera. —In fresh cut flowers from 
the Riveria there is now a brisk trade. The principal forwarding 
agency is at Calais, where the perfumes of spring flowers are strangely 
associated with surroundings of frost and snow. The consignments 
average 500 packages, containing Violets, Narcissus, Jonquils, Anemones, 
and Roses. They leave the Riviera every afternoon, reach Calais next 
evening, and are in Covent Garden the next morning in time for 
market. Many of the consignments go direct to Manchester and 
Liverpool, and even across the Irish Sea. 
- Ink for Zinc Labels. —On page 133 appears a recom¬ 
mendation to use sulphate of copper and chloride of calcium. I do 
not know what the merits or demerits of this particular mixture may 
be, but I think it is necessary to suggest caution. Sulphate of copper 
I consider useless for the purpose. I recommend a solution of bichloride 
of platinum, 16 grains to the ounce of distilled water. This is much 
more expensive than sulphate of copper, but it is infinitely more satis¬ 
factory, and I can vouch for perfect legibility after an exposure of 
nearly fifteen years. For this recipe I was indebted, and still am 
indebted, to Mr. P. N. Fraser of Edinburgh.— R. Irwin Lynch. 
-Visitors to Kew Gardens during 1894.—The number of 
visitors was less by about 450,000 than those who entered the Gardens 
in 1893. This falling off is due to the marked difference in the summer 
of the two years. The “ Kew Bulletin ” shows the total does not differ 
materially from that of 1891, or depart widely from the average of the 
past ten years, which is 1,416,887. The attendance at Kew for a year 
now oscillates about a figure nearly approaching a million and a half. 
The total number of visitors to the Royal Gardens during 1894 was 
1,377,588 ; the lowest number admitted in any one month was 18,184 in 
January, and the highest was 229,161 in May, the latter number closely 
followed by 218,514 in March and 211,192 in August. 
_ German East African Vanilla— The first sample con¬ 
signment of Vanilla cultivated in German East Africa (Kitopeni 
plantation) has recently been received in Hamburg, and was, says the 
“ Chemist and Druggist,” very favourably commented on, both in 
regard to natural quality and to preparation. The pods, it is true, are 
not equal to the best Mauritius Vanilla, but the shipment was of 
thoroughly marketable quality, the pods being from 6| to 10 inches 
in length, and well crystalised. The great drought of the last season 
has been very injurious to the development of the fruit, but shade trees 
have now been planted and irrigation works started, and it is expected 
that next year the output will be much in excess of the present. The 
present season’s crop, however, which amounts to about 10,000 pods, is 
expected to cover the cost of production. 
_January Weather at Hodsock Priory, Worksop, 
Notts.— Mean temperature of the month, 31'0°. Maximum on the 
2nd, 42-6°; minimum on the 12th, 8-8°. Maximum in the sun on the 
30th, 90-1° ; minimum on the grass on the 29th, — 0 6°. Mean tempera¬ 
ture of the air at 9 A M., 30'4°. Mean temperature of the soil 1 foot deep, 
35-1°. Nights below 32°, in the shade twenty-two, on the grass twenty- 
nine. Total duration of sunshine in the month, forty-six hours, or 19 per 
cent, of possible duration. There were thirteen sunless days. Total rain¬ 
fall in the month, 3-54 inches. Rain fell on twenty-four days. Approxi¬ 
mate averages for January—Mean temperature, 37-1° ; sunshine, thirty- 
five hours; rainfall, 169 inch. The coldest January since 1881, the 
wettest for at least twenty years. Most of the downfall was snow, but 
a good deal of rain fell between the 18Lh and 20th, though the thaw wa.s 
never complete and the frost soon returned. We are passing through 
Arctic weather just now. On Friday morning the 8th inst. the 
thermometer on the snow registered 9" below zero.—J. Mallender. 
