280 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
April 18 , 1894 . 
We are informed that Prof. O. Mattirolo has been appointed 
Extraordinary Professor of Botany and Director of the Botanic Garden 
at the University of Bologna. 
_ DEA.TH OP Mr. Hugh Gower.—W e regret to hear of the 
death at Kingston-on-Thames on Friday, 30th ult., of Mr. Hugh Gower 
in his eighty-second year. For upwards of fifty years Mr. Gower was 
manager to Messrs. T. Jackson & Son. 
_ Queen Wasps. —Mr. K. E. Brain, Eydon Hall, Northampton, 
writes;_“ I killed a queen wasp on the 14th of January last in an 
early vinery, and have succeeded in killing seventeen since. Wasps 
are unusually plentiful in the southern division of this county.” 
_ Mr. Smee’s Fruit. —We are informed that Mr. A. H. Smee 
sent his collection of fruit, for which a medal was awarded at a recent 
meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society, to the Swanley Horticul- 
tural College, The gift is much appreciated there, and the specimens 
are valued for purposes of study, comparison, and identification by the 
students. 
- Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society’s Spring 
Show.— Through a misdirection a report of the spring Show of this 
Society, held at Edinburgh on the 4th and 5th, only reached us on 
Wednesday as our pages were being prepared for press. It appears, 
however, to have been a fine Exhibition, plants, flowers, and fruit 
making an effective display. 
- Ellam’s Dwarf Cabbage. —I herewith send a sample of the 
above-named Cabbage, and I think you will agree with me that it is a 
useful early spring variety. I have seen it spoken highly of in the 
columns of the Journal of Horticxdture, and can testify that it is one 
of the most serviceable Cabbages grown. I made two sowings on 
July 6th and August 6th, 1893, respectively, and commenced to cut 
from the first sowing on March 20th. I had only about two dozen run 
to seed from the first sowing out of about 180 plants. As the weather is 
so uncertain, I think it the best to make two sowings, as the sooner one 
gets them in the more useful they are. With the exception of a week in 
January the weather here most of the winter has been very open, and 
at the present time is quite summerlike.— William Roberts, PeniartTi, 
Merioneth. [The Cabbages sent by our correspondent were excellent 
for the time of year, being of a fair size and very firm.] 
- The Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya.—A ccording to 
a “ Hand-guide” by Mr. Henry Trimen, F.R.S., “These gardens were 
opened in 1821, six years after the final occupation of the Kandyan 
Kingdom by the English. A plan for a proper botanical garden in 
Ceylon was drawn up by Sir Joseph Banks as far back as 1810, the site 
chosen being Slave Island, Colombo, Mr. W. Kerr took charge of this 
establishment in 1812, but he died two years later, and was succeeded 
by Mr. Alexander Moon. It was during Moon’s rule that the gardens 
were moved to the present site at Pdradeniya. Moon was a diligent 
student of the flora of Ceylon, and published a valuable work upon it, 
but after his death, in 1825, a succession of more or less unqualified 
persons were placed in charge. With the appointment in 1844, however, 
of Mr George Gardner, the gardens started on the active, independent, 
and useful existence which they have since maintained. Mr. Gardner 
died in 1849, and was succeeded by Dr. Thwaites, who kept P^rddeniya 
in a high state of efficiency for more than thirty years, and died at 
Kandy in 1382, having never left the island since his arrival. The 
present director has held his position since 1880.” 
- Sparrows and Cherry Blossom.—W e are often accused of 
abusing sparrows unnecessarily and thoughtlessly by the would-be 
friends of these busy little birds, but I should like to hear the defence of 
their present work—ie,, cutting off the Cherry blossom. A few days 
since I spent a good deal of time endeavouring to find out what they 
were really after, but the only conclusion I could come to was they were 
merely amusing themselves. They were certainly not hunting for 
either caterpillars or fly, or, to say the least of it, if such was the case 
they were extremely clumsy in their work. They seemed to me to sit 
on a branch and pluck all the flowers off within reach as speedily as 
possible. Each flower is seized by the calyx and plucked, so the whole 
flower is removed and dropped at once. In all the Cherry orchards in 
this district (Faversham) the ground underneath the early varieties is 
literally covered with the blossom that has been nipped off in the 
manner described. No doubt in a season such as the present, when the 
trees are loaded with flowers, very little harm is done, but in seasons 
when there is a paucity of bloom there is a great amount of damage. 
Some growers assert the sparrows do far more harm in the orchards at 
this period than when the fruit is ripe.— Jas. B. Riding. 
-Hyacinth Show and Royalty.—M essrs. E. H. Krelage 
and Son, Haarlem, inform us that Her Majesty the Queen Regent of 
the Netherlands, accompanied by Her Majesty the Queen Wilhelmina, 
visited their spring Show of Hyacinths on Saturday, April 7th. 
- Richmond Horticultural Society. — The summer Show 
of this Society will be held in the Old Deer Park, Richmond, on Wednes¬ 
day, June 27th. Mr. C. Capel Smith, Belle Vue Lodge, Richmond, is the 
Honorary Secretary, from whom particulars and schedules may be 
obtained. 
- Bergamotte Esperen Pear.—W e had the above from 
pyramid trees in use as late as the 2ad of the present month, and 
the flavour was excellent, probably owing to the hot and bright 
summer. On the other hand Easter Beurr6 from a north wall, as a 
dessert fruit, was useless.—R. M., Neiohury. 
-Lectures on Meteorology in Relation to Hygiene.— 
Under the auspices of the Royal Meteorological Society and the Sanitary 
Institute, the undermentioned lectures will be given in the Parkes 
Museum on Mondays and Thursdays, at 8.30 p.m. April 23rd, “Instru¬ 
ments and Observations, and their Representation,” G. J. Symons, F.R.S. 
April 26th, “ Temperature of Air, Soil, and Water,” Dr. H. R. Mill, 
F.R.S.E. April 30th, “Barometric Conditions and Air Movements,” 
R. H. Scott, M.A., F.R.S. May 3rd, “Moisture : Its Determination and 
Measurement,” W. Marriott, F.R.Met.Soc. May 7th, “Climate in 
Relation to Health, and Geographical Distribution of Disease,” C. Theo¬ 
dore Williams, M.A., M.D., F.R.C.P. May 10th, “ Fogs, Clouds, and 
Sunshine,” F. Gaster, F.R.Met.Soc. The fee to non-members for the 
course is half a guinea. 
- Dundee Horticultural Association. — The monthly 
meeting of this Association was held on Friday evening in last week. 
John Machar, Esq., Vice-President, in the chair. A paper was read by 
Mr. A. W. Wade, Douglas Terrace, Broughty Ferry, on “ The Amaryllis.” 
In opening the subject he gave a history of the introduction of the plant 
into this country, and referred to the vast improvements made in recent 
years by crossing and hybridising. Mr. Wade said, that to grow 
Amaryllises to perfection they must have a rich soil, and careful 
attention given to watering up to flowering time. After blooming, and 
whilst making their growth, the plants require an abundance of mois¬ 
ture ; but when this is completed they should be dried off, and left to 
rest for three or four months. An interesting discussion followed. The 
exhibits consisted of several beautiful Amaryllises, from Messrs, 
J. Veitch & Sons, London.—J. M. C. 
- Wistaria sinensis. —Whenever seen in good condition this 
must, I think, be considered one of the grandest of hardy climbers. 
Unfortunately it is often sadly abused in the matter of pruning and 
training. It is not a suitable climber for planting in positions where wall 
space is limited, but requires plenty of room to ramble at will. In 
training young plants I like to dispose the main branches thinly, about 
18 inches asunder, till two-thirds of the allotted wall space is covered. 
The side shoots are then laid in 9 inches apart till the whole surface is 
evenly covered, a perfect sheet of pendulous flowers is then obtained. 
When any of the side branches become weak or unsatisfactory they are 
cut away, and young shoots laid in during the summer. This plan is 
far more satisfactory than the orthodox one of spurring closely each year 
till the gnarled shoots become weak and unsightly. At the present 
time we have a plant covering an area of 600 square feet, which 
furnishes a feast of floral beauty, once seen, to be long remembered. 
—H. D. 
- Trees in London. —“ A Strand Man ” writes:— “ The trees 
and shrubs in our London squares and other pleasure grounds are apt 
to grow faded and shabby long before the fall of the leaf; but they 
have as a rule the advantage of gladdening the eye with the sight of 
foliage rather earlier than the v'lgetation in the country. At this 
moment anyone who will turn out of the roaring Strand into that 
pleasant little nook, the grave ground of the ancient chapel of the 
historical Palace of the Savoy, will be rewarded with the sight of a 
Poplar in almost full foliage. Its shade in the bright sunshine to¬ 
day appeared to be fully appreciated by the London sparrows, who 
gathered in numbers in its branches, keeping up a great chirping and 
twittering, which, without begging the question whether ‘ birds con¬ 
fabulate or no,’ which Jean Jacques and the poet Cowper have 
familiarised us with, expressed, I should say, either articulately or 
inarticulately, a lively sense of the advantagts of living in town in the 
spring. Of course, it is the shelter of this peaceful retirement which 
encourages the Poplar to clothe itself thus early. Its neighbours, the 
Limes and the Planes, have only just burst their buds.” 
