518 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
June 13, 1895. 
- Verbascums. —These are glorious this year. A mass of 
Verbascum phoeniceum of many colours is very telling. But the charm 
lies with Ve-baacum pannosum, two superb spikes far excelling 
V. olympicum.—G. B. 
- Verbascum olympicum. —Although not quite so robust in 
growth as Y. Chaixi, this is far more handsome, the woolly, silvery- 
looking foliage, pale and yellow rosette-like blooms forming quite a 
pyramid. Given abundance of space it is a charming hardy plant.—B. 
- Queen Wasps.— These have been more plentiful than usual 
this spring. We have already destroyed upwards of 300, and many have 
escaped. As the young brood will soon be hatching, a sharp look out 
will be kept for their nests, and if the weather is favourable they will 
doubtless be very numerous this summer. It would be interesting to 
know if they are as numerous in other parts of the country.— York¬ 
shire. 
- Koyal Meteorological Society.— At the ordinary meeting 
of the Society, to be held by kind permission of the Council of the 
Surveyors’ Institution, at 12, Great George Street, Westminster, on 
Wednesday, the 19th instant, at 7.30 P.M., the following papers will 
be read :—“ Hourly Variation of Sunshine at Seven Stations in the 
British I»les,” by Mr. E. H. Curtis, F.R.Met.Soc. “ The Frequency, 
Size, and Distribution of Hail at Sea,” by Mr. H. Harries, F.R.Met.Soc. 
- Choisya ternata. —Growing at the foot of a south wall— 
this was on May 16th—smothered with its white Orange-like blossoms, 
two plants growing closely together for the last eight years now cover 
a space 15 feet long by 5 feet high, and annually give an exceptionally 
heavy crop of bloom, which proves the desirability of maturation of the 
previous year’s growth. Plants growing in the open do not, as a rule, 
flower so freely as those on a wall. Abundance of water at the roots 
while growth is being made after flowering is an advantage.—E. M. 
- The Weather Last Month. —May was warm, dry, and 
bright, with the exception of the five days 16th-20th, which were much 
cooler. We had no frost after the 5th. The wind was in a northerly 
direction nineteen days. Total rainfall, equal to 0 74 inch, which fell 
on ten days, the greatest daily fall being 0-32 inch on the 17th. Baro- 
Bttder’s highest reading 30 380 on the 2ad at 1 p.m. ; lowest, 29‘398 on 
the 17th at 9 p.m. Thermometer, highest in the shade 84° on the 30th ; 
lowest, 33° on the 5th. Mean of daily maxima, 64'64° ; mean of daily 
minima, 43 38°. Mean temperature of the month, 54 01°; lowest on the 
grass, 30° on the 5th ; highest in the sun, 144° on the 30th. Mean 
temperature of the earth at 3 feet below the surface, 50 35°. Total sun¬ 
shine, 235 hours 5 minutes. There were four sunless days.— W. H. Divers, 
Belvoir Castle Gardens, Grantham. 
-May Weather at Hodsock Priory, Worksop, Notts.— 
Mean temperature of month, 53 6°. Maximum on the 30th, 80 8°; 
minimum on the 2nd, 32-2°. Maximum in the sun on the 30th, 129° ; 
minimum on the grass on the 2od, 25 4°. Mean temperature of the air 
at 9 A.M., 56’3°, Mean temperature of the soil 1 foot deep, 53 7°. 
Nights below 32°, in the shade 0, on the grass 7. Total duration of 
sunshine, 217 hours, or 45 per cent, of possible duration. Two sunless 
days. Total rainfall, 1'89 inch. Rain fell on seven days. Average 
velocity of the wind, 7T miles per hour. Velocity exceeded 400 miles 
on one day, and fell short of 100 miles on fifteen days. Approximate 
averages for May.—Mean temperature, 51-1; sunshine, 175 hours ; rain¬ 
fall, 2 11 inches. Except for a very cold week, from the 16th to the 
21st, this has been a very bright warm month. The temperature is a 
record for May, and we shall have to go back to 1882 for more sunshine. 
—J. Mallender. 
' ■ Manchester Show. —First-class certificates were awarded to 
Messrs. F. Sander & Co., St. Albans, for Miltonia vexillaria G. D. 
Owen, Dendrobium Johnsonia;, Sobralias Veitchi rosea and hybridum 
Amesim Wilsonia x xantholeuca ; to Messrs. Hugh Low & Co. for 
Cypripedium Gertrude Hollington; to Mr. James Cypher for Laelias 
purpurata Princess May and alba, also Miltonia vexillaria 
pplendens ; to Messrs. B. S. Williams for Pescatorea klabochorum ; 
and to E. Ashworth, Esq, for Cattleya Mossiae John Ashworth. In 
addition to the certificates gold medals were awarded to Messrs. 
H. Low & Co. for Cattleyas ; to Messrs. Jones and Sons, Shrewsbury, 
for bouquets and other floral decorations. Mr. Findlay’s many friends 
will be pleased to hear that he is enjoying better health than was the 
case twelve months ago. He is trying to place the Society on a sound 
basis, a good start being made by the Earl of Derby contributing £100, 
an anonymous donor £100, and other gentlemen various sums.—R. P. R. 
- Southampton Show.—M r. Fuidge writes:—“At this show a 
certificate of merit was awarded respectively to A. Henderson, Esq., of 
Buscot Park (gardener, Mr. W. Meads), for a collection of Melons Hero 
of Lockinge and Sutton’s Scarlet; and to Mr. C. Dymott, Freemantle 
Nursery, Southampton, for a seedling Pelargonium Harry Dymott.” 
- Early Peas. —Mr, J. Russell, The Gardens, Berrington Hall) 
Leominster, states that he sowed 200 pots (3-inch) with Lightning Peafr 
on February 5th, started them in a vinery, transferred them to a 
frame on 28th of the same month, planted them on a south border 
March 16th ; flowering commenced March 20th, and a good dish of 
Peas was gathered May 30th, crop full. The same variety, sown on the- 
same border March 6th, will not be ready till the middle of the present 
month. 
- Dickson’s Ringleader Potato. — The same gardener- 
describes this variety as a good forcer. He began digging on May 26th 
from some that were planted in cold frames without bottom heat on 
March 3rd, having been previously set up in a vinery. Mr. Russell also 
says Dickson’s Golden Gem Lettuce for early work is a perfect model. 
- Hardiness of Scarlet Runner Seeds —There is no doubk 
whatever that seeds of this Runner Bean are not in any way affected by 
frost or rain. In a garden in this neighbourhood the bine was left on 
the stakes last autumn and remained there until April of this year,, 
undergoing 28° frost, the seeds apparently none the worse for their 
exposure. Seven seeds were put into a Cucumber bed ten days ago ; 
five of them have germinated, the plants making strong growth.—E. M. 
- Scarcity of Slugs.—Y our correspondent, Mr. J. Murphy 
(page 475) mentions the absence of slugs, and attributes the cause to the 
severe winter and the heavy snowfall. But there must be some other 
cause for their scarcity, as during the past winter we had our 
share of severe frost and snow, and still slugs are quite as plentiful as- 
usual, being probably somewhat protected by the Box edging with which 
the kitchen gardens are edged. In case your correspondent is afraid 
the slugs are like the snakes, banished from Ireland, a plentiful supply 
may be obtained from— A Yorkshireman. 
- Caragana arborescens. —This Siberian Pea-tree is now in- 
full bloom in the parks of New York, and its bright yellow flowers¬ 
appearing among the light green downy leaves make it really attractive. 
These flowers are often said to resemble those of the Laburnum; but really 
the flowers of the Laburnum, as they appear in long graceful racemes in 
England and other places where the climate suits the tree, are much 
handsomer. The Laburnum, however, does not thrive in this country 
except in a few favoured locations, while the Caragana, by its perfect 
hardiness and its adaptability to all sorts of soils, is a plant that we can 
always depend on. It sometimes reaches the height of 20 feet, and 
assumes a genuine tree shape. It will bloom when it is only 3 or 4 feet 
high, and it has a special value in that it produces flowers of a colour 
which is comparatively rare at this season. These Pea-trees, for there 
are a number of species and varieties in cultivation, belong to the 
Leguminosse, and with the exception of the Red Buds, they are the 
earliest of the family to flower.—(•' Garden and Forest.”) 
- Violas from Hawick. —Mr. John Forbes, a well-known 
florist and advertiser, sends us a box of Violas. Amongst them we note 
as yellows Lord Blcho and Mary Gilbert, both very bright; George 
Corbett, paler, of the Ardwell Gem type. Purple margined yellows— 
Duchess of Fife, fine; Goldfinch, richer; Border Maid, paler. 
Jackanapes is also yellow with glowing crimson top petals. Whites are 
represented by King of Whites and Sylvia, both undoubtedly good,, 
while the delicately tinted Marchioness of Tweeddale is pleasing. The 
Peter Barr varieties, with their Pansy-like centres, are represented by 
Hamlet and Exquisite, also a painted sport and a purple seedling, very 
rich. .Among the purples and lilacs we find J. B. Riding, dark;. 
Fascination, Rosemary, Ariel, Sweet Lavender, and William Neil, 
lighter. Hugh Ainslie is a pretty form of the Countess of Kintore ilk, 
and H. M. Stanley much darker than his adventurous prototype. Thers 
there is the charming little Violetta, and some other dainties, such a& 
Blush Queen, Lyric, and Charming—in different shades of peach. Mrs. 
Primrose is appropriately named, and is smooth and clear; while of 
lavenders we have Bridegroom and a particularly clear and attractive 
seedling. No. 27, but good as it is we scarcely think it twenty-seven 
times better than some of the others. The assortment shows what 
infinite variety there is in these sweet and pleasant flowers, which add 
to their value hardiness, and thus bring their culture within the means 
of all. Mr. J. Forbes had a magnificent collection of these flowers at 
the Manchester Show, 
