JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
May 17, 1891, 
38 i 
- Sweet-scented Azaleas. —Mrs. E. L. H. Willis of Charles¬ 
ton, S.C., in “ Meehan’s Monthly,” notes that all the American species 
of Azaleas, when collected together in bunches, have a more or less 
grateful odour. Keferring to Azaleas generally she remarks that the 
Magnolia Gardens on the Ashley River, about thirty miles from Charleston, 
are visited by thousands of tourists every spring, in March and April, 
and enjoy possibly the many groups and masses of Azaleas in that 
garden more than any other sight presented to them. 
- Species op Plants.—W e are informed by “ Nature ” that 
in a paper read at the Botanical Congress at Genoa last year. 
Prof. Saccardo calculates the number of species of plants at present 
known as 173,700, distributed as follows :—Flowering plants, 105,231 ; 
Ferns, 2819 ; other Vascular Cryptogams, 565; Mosses, 4609; Hepaticae, 
3041 ; Lichens, 5600'; Fungi, 39,003 ; Algm, 12,178. Prof. Saccardo 
thinks it probable that the total number of existing species of Fungi 
may amount to 250,000, and of all other plants to 135,000. 
- Thunderstorms. —At the meeting of the French Meteoro¬ 
logical Society on April 12th, M. Renou, President, made some interest¬ 
ing remarks upon thunderstorms. According to “Nature” he said that 
they occurred in some parts of France every day of the year, and during 
six or seven months in 1892 as many as 328 were counted. He remarked 
that they were more frequent in Europe than in equatorial regions ; at 
Sumatra, for instance, storms occur during the six months of the south¬ 
east monsoon, but thunder is never heard. In France they generally 
traverse a narrow tract from south-west to north-east, but in the hot 
regions of the globe, on the contrary, the storms are nearly stationary. 
They are very exceptional in Peru, occurring only once or twice in a 
century; there was one in January, 1877, but none had occurred 
previously since 1803. 
- The Cuckoo. —Reports of cuckoos being seen and heard long 
before the usual date of the arrival of the bird are made every year. 
Generally the reports cannot be relied upon, but a circumstantial 
account by Dr. A. J. Fleming, in the “ Zoologist ” for April, goes to 
show that he really saw a cuckoo on March 5th of this year. The 
accuracy of his observations, however, says “ Nature,” is questioned in 
the current number of the journal by several naturalists, most of whom 
assert that March cuckoos do not exist. Mr. J. E. Harting remarks :— 
“ From numerous observations made by competent naturalists in 
different localities it appears that the usual time of arrival of the 
cuckoo in this country is between the 20th and 27th April; and the 
average date of its appearance may be said to be on the 23rd of that 
month, St. George’s Day. In no instance, so far as I am aware, has the 
bird been heard or seen by any competent observer before the 6th of 
April. . . . It is surprising how few people are to be trusted, either 
in the matter of eTjes or ears, in regard to the cuckoo. Many do not 
know a cuckoo on the wing from a male sparrow-hawk, and others 
convince themselves that they have heard this bird’s notes when they 
have been listening to a clever imitation by some village bird-nesting 
boy, or to the still more deceptive notes of a cuckoo clock in a neigh¬ 
bouring cottage.” 
- Amygdalus communis and its Varieties. —No hardy 
plants or trees that I am acquainted with add so much to the beauty 
of a shrubbery in the early spring months as do these Amygdaluses. 
Perhaps the most showy and useful of them all is A. grandiflora rosea. 
This variety is a free grower, and is on that account well adapted for 
planting as standards in the background of shrubberies, where their 
long slender shoots, when completely studded with large rose coloured 
flowers, are worthy harbingers of the wealth of pristine beauty which 
follows in quick succession among our flowering trees during the next 
few months. I And long flowering shoots extremely useful for arranging 
in vases, as in addition to their refreshing colours the length of stem 
obtainable helps to break the flatness produced by glasses fllled with 
flowers having only short stems. These Almond flowers last well in a 
cut state, keeping perfectly fresh for from four to six days. I have not 
yet decorated a dinner table entirely with them, but I have a strong 
belief that it would be difficult to imagine an arrangement more suit¬ 
able or beautiful. The common red varieties, A. communis and com¬ 
munis dulcis, as well as pendula, a white flowered kind, all bloom in 
March, but are not so attractive as the variety first named. Then there 
are the numerous double varieties, many of which are extremely showy. 
They embrace almost every shade of crimson and rose and a nearly 
pure white. Those who have no representatives of this family in their 
pleasure grounds should not longer delay themselves from the enjoyment 
of such a splendid species of flowering shrubs.—H. Dunkin. 
- The Weather Last Month.— Mr. W. H. Divers, Belvoir 
Castle Gardens, Grantham, writes:—“April was very changeable, but 
dry on the whole, and not so sunny as March. The wind was in an 
easterly direction seventeen days. Total rainfall was 1'28 inch, which 
fell on eighteen days, the greatest daily fall being 0 27 inch on the 25th, 
Total sunshine, 146 hours 8 minutes. Temperature : lowest in shade, 
32° on 21st ; highest, 73° on 11th; mean daily maximum, 54'70° ; mean 
daily minimum, 4D66°; mean temperature of the month, 4818°. Lowest 
on grass, 24° on 21st. Highest sun heat, 130° on 2nd, 9th, and 10th. 
Mean temperature of the earth at 3 feet deep, 46 40°.” 
-Summary op Meteorological Observations at Hod- 
sock Priory, Worksop, Notts, during April.— Mean temperature 
of month, 48'6°. Maximum on the 11th, 72‘0°; minimum on the 21st, 
28-4°. Maximum in sun on the 11th, 120-2° ; minimum on the grass on 
the 2l8t, 19 0°. Mean temperature of air at 9 A.M., 49°. Mean tem¬ 
perature of soil, 1 foot deep, 48 3°. Nights below 32°, in shade 4°, on 
grass 15°. Total duration of sunshine 119 hours, or 29 per cent, of 
possible duration ; we had five sunless days. Total rainfall 2 45 inches ; 
rain fell on sixteen days. Average velocity of wind 5 9 miles per hour, 
velocity did not exceed 400 miles in one day, fell short of 100 miles on 
twelve days. Approximate averages for April :—Mean temperature, 
45 4 ; sunshine 123 hours ; rainfall 1-65 inch. A warm showery month 
with normal sunshine, and a good deal of easterly wind. Vegetation 
forward, and most fruits very promising.—J. Mallender. 
- Digitalis canariensis. — Mr. W. Watson writes in the 
“ Garden and Forest ” that this “is the garden name for a plant now 
rarely seen, but which was cultivated in England nearly 200 years ago, 
and was figured by Lindley in the first volume of his ‘ Botanical 
Register,’ t. 48. I would advise anyone who wants to make the acquaint¬ 
ance of a striking and beautiful flowering shrub to turn to Lindley’s 
picture of it, and then to write to someone in the Canary Islands for 
plants or seeds. It is cultivated at Kew, and I saw a plant of it last 
year in the Glasnevin Botanic Garden. It forms an upright shrub 
ultimately about C feet high, with stout woody branches bearing only a 
few leaves at the ends, and these are from 6 inches to a foot long, linear 
lanceolate and fleshy. The flowers are borne in crowded terminal erect 
spikes a foot long, fleshy, and coloured bright orange-yellow. It requires 
protection from frost. The proper name for this plant now is Isoplexis 
canariensis.” 
- Forcing French Beans. — “E. M,” writes :—“Those persons 
who hive the opportunity of planting out their Beans in a low span- 
roofed house know well the advantage gained over the method of 
sowing the Beans in pots, or even boxes. In this neighbourhood 
(Bishop’s Waltham) the market growers of Cucumbers plant French 
Beans in the beds with the Cucumbers, and they obtain excellent crops. 
The finest crop of forced French Beans that I have ever seen is growing 
in a low span-roofed Cucumber house at Hazelholt, Bishop’s Waltham, 
The variety is Ne Plus Ultra, generally regarded as one of the best for 
indoor culture. The plants are growing in rows, 10 inches asunder, 
across a narrow bed, and but a few inches between the plants. From 
one plant six and seven dozen Beans had been gathered, as many as 
eight growing on one truss. The pods were very succulent, as might be 
assumed from the nature of the foliage, which was large, but not too 
gross, and of that tone of colour which denotes health. As an example 
of French Bean forcing, Mr. Hunt deserves much credit for the results 
obtained.” 
- Papers at the R.H.S. Meetings. — I should have been 
better pleased if you had pushed your remarks on Tulips (page 364) 
respecting papers or lectures at the Drill Hall to a stronger conclusion. 
Negatively you do complain that the recent Show of Tulips was not 
utilised for the purpose of enabling visitors to the meeting to be made 
more fully acquainted with the properties of Tulips. It was worthy of 
more than a negative complaint, seeing that the promised lecture on 
Orchids had fallen through. But it would be so much more interesting 
and pleasing were there made to be on as many occasions as possible 
greater connection between the actual exhibits and the papers read at 
the meetings. For that reason it is natural for many persons to recall the 
delightful gossipy dissertations on the various things exhibited that 
used to mark the old meetings at South Kensington. Not one, but two 
or three persons miaht well be asked to say a few words about respective 
sections in plants, flowers, or other products, and thus utilise exhibits 
for illustration. How very much more interesting and attractive would 
be such addresses as compared with the often heavy essays now inflicted. 
—A Fellow. 
