JuEe 7,1894. 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
449 
- The Linnean Society. —We understand that the gold medal 
(rf the Linnean Society has this year been awarded to Prof. Haeckel, 
of Jena, for his important contributions to zoological science. 
- Messes. W. & G. Drovee, Fareham, have received a letter 
from H.R.H. Prince Henry of Battenberg allowing the firm to name 
a new Cattleya Mossias Princess Beatrice which Her Royal Highness 
greatly admired in the bouquet presented to her at the Fancy Bazaar, 
Portsmouth. 
- Insect Pests.—T he hot summer of last year, so favourable to 
all insect life, has left us progeny enough in that line to last us for 
generations. Green fly are very plentiful on Roses, Gooseberries, Red, 
and even Black Currants and Plums. Caterpillars very bad on Apples, 
and black fly on Cherries. Many of the Oaks in the woods are nearly 
stripped of their foliage. We have cleaned our Roses with a strong 
solution of Sunlight soap, applied as hot as can be used comfortably. 
—R. I. 
- Death of Mr. M. Hanagan.—I t is with profound sorrow 
that I ask you to announce to the readers of the Journal of Horticulture 
the death of Mr. M. Hanagan of Hooton Hall Gardens, Cheshire, on 
1st inst., in his forty-eighth year, after a long and painful illness extend¬ 
ing over some seven or eight years. The deceased, who had charge of 
the above gardens upwards of twenty years, was a well known fruit 
grower and a successful exhibitor. He leaves a widow and family and 
a large circle of friends to mourn his loss.—E. B. H. 
- Thuja Lobbi aurea. —I have forwarded three plants of 
Thuja Lobbi aurea. It is one of the hardiest Conifers with me, and 
ought to be more extensively grown. It has a better habit than the 
type; I have the impression that it is not generally known, as I rarely 
see it even in nurseries. I have never seen such devastation caused by 
a frost as that on Sunday, the 20th ult., after more than sixty years’ 
experience.—C., West Yorkshire. [The young shrubs, 18 inches high, 
are bright, hardy-looking, and attractive, but the habit appears more 
rigid than the typical Thuja gigantea, popularly known as T. Lobbi.] 
- Trade and Weather in America. — Many years ago the 
Farnham Castle collection of Orchids had a celebrity, and for seventeen 
years or more was under the charge of Mr. J. W. Laurence. On the death 
of Bishop Sumner, and after the sale of the Orchids, Mr. Laurence and 
his family emigrated to the United States, and commenced business as a 
florist near to Harrisburg. Ever since he left England a correspondence 
at intervals takes place betwixt him and myself, and in his last letter, 
of April 16.h, he writes:—“The money panic has been a long tight 
squeeze, and we have been in the pinch—no work going on, and no 
one had any money to spend ; but things are beginning to look up a 
little, and we hope to see good times again before long. We have not 
had a very hard winter, but had a very early break up. March was 
the warmest on record, and buds were swelling fast; but last week we 
had 2 feet of snow, breaking down branches and doing other mischief. 
To-day it has nearly disappeared, and is almost 70° in the shade.”—W. D. 
- Peach and Nectarine Violet Hative.—I noticed recently 
at Maiden Erleigh that Mr. Turton had worked Nectarine Violet Hative 
on to the Peach of that name with much success. Not many Nectarines 
are required, as the Peach is the favourite fruit, and therefore a few 
lower branches sufficed. Still it was interesting to note that the 
Nectarine was putting on colour, whilst the Peach was a long way from 
being ready, would indeed want another six weeks. In the same house 
a large tree of Royal Ascot was carrying a grand crop, probably some 
forty dozens, the fruit swelling and colouring fast. The variety is one 
that has points on the fruit very markedly. Mr. Turton speaks highly 
of Royal Ascot as an early variety. It is of fine quality, always crops 
heavily, and never suffers from bud-dropping when forced, 
- Asparagus.—I have seen no better Asparagus in any garden 
than is at Maiden Erleigh. The rule there is to sow in the drills where 
the plants are to remain, and then thin the seedlings. The rows are some 
30 inches asunder, and the plants 18 to 20 inches apart in the rows. 
A breadth is sown every year, and the old roots are lifted for 
forcing at the fourth year. Thus a fine stock of plants is well maintained. 
I was speci^illy struck with the strength of the two-year-old growths, 
bidding fair to make wonderful stems during the summer. It was easy 
to see that with such growth there would next year be fine stems to 
cut, and those now thrusting up from the third year’s sowing showed as 
fine English-raised as I have ever seen. Of course the ground is well 
prepared by deep trenching and manuring. The system compares 
remarkably with the old plan of^beds standing for many years.—D. 
- Agave Americana. — At a recent meeting of the Royal 
Botanic Society the Secretary stated that two plants of this Agave 
were showing their flower buds in the conservatory. The last time 
one flowered at Regent’s Park was in 1859, and the plant was said to 
be over eighty years old. It produced a flower spike 30 feet high. 
- Rubus nutkanus —Mr. W. H, Divers, Belvoir Castle Gardens, 
Grantham, writes :—“This plant, now in bloom here, is worthy of notice 
on account of its large white flowers, which measure 2^ inches across. 
Like others of this family the flowers are short-lived ; but they open in 
succession for a considerable time, and no one who has once seen it will 
question its beauty. It is growing in a sheltered position.” 
- Aster alpinus. —This is the first of the Michaelmas 
Daisies to open its flowers. This year many of them were expanded 
during the month of May, which is unusually early, July being the 
month of its flowering. The bright purple flowers are very showy, pro¬ 
duced as they are on stout erect stalks but a few inches high. As a 
rockery plant this Starwort is especially valuable. By dividing the 
roots a stock of plants is quickly and easily obtained.—S. 
- The Onion Maggot. —Apropos of the recent controversy in 
the Journal of Horticulture the following extract from an American 
paper may interest your readers. “ We fought a losing battle with this 
enemy for several seasons until kerosene was tried, and we have had 
good crops ever since. Half a pint of kerosine is well mixed with a 
pailful of some dry material, preferably wood ashes, but sand, sawdust, 
or even dry soil will do fairly well, and after the plants are well up 
and the trouble is at hand a sprinkling of this mixture along the rows 
about twice a week during the time the fly does its work will be found 
a sure preventive of the trouble. With us this is from the beginning of 
April to the end of May; after this there is little danger, as the Onions 
are of a good size and not so liable to injury.”—C. 
- Cabbages. —" A. D.,” at page 429, calls attention to Cabbages, 
that it would be better if fewer varieties were in cultivation, I am 
afraid that the weeding out of inferior sorts must begin with seedsmen, 
for so long as names are catalogued someone will buy them. More 
than one grower has been deceived this spring, for what was thought 
a good stock of Ellam’s turned out to be a counterpart of that described 
by your correspondent. I bought seed in the summer of 1892 and 1893 
from a firm of high standing. When talking to them of the inferior 
strain from the 1893 seed beside the fine stock from the seed of the 1892, 
they turned to their books to see where the seed was obtained, and both 
samples were supplied by the same wholesale house in London. Until 
wholesale houses pay strict attention to rigid selection and isolation of 
all stocks for producing seed, I very much doubt but we will have at 
times to put up with being “ shamefully deceived,”—G. M. 
- Plant and Flower Markets. — Whilst London has its 
huge Covent Garden covered market for plants and flowers, it is still 
doubtful whether horticulture, as found in this section of it, benefits 
so much as would be the case were there many glass-roofed plant 
markets about the metropolis. But it seems to be peculiarly in 
provincial towns where such markets are needed. Here in Kingston 
plants and flowers constitute a very strong feature in the Saturday 
markets. But the plants have to be stood in groups here and there in 
the market place, as also have the flowers. They are in summer 
exposed to scorching sunshine, in winter to sharp frosts, at all times 
to sudden storms of wind and rain, and thus suffer so materially that 
whilst the flowers soon flag and wear a stale aspect, the plants also 
lose very much of their beauty and freshness. A few days since I 
was in Newbury on a market day. There again I found plants in 
considerable abundance exposed in the same way in the market place 
and the streets. Very probably I should find a similar condition of 
things generally, and it is impossible to doubt but that the plant and 
flower trade is under such conditions serijusly handicapped. It will 
be long I fear ere municipal bodies will learn to realise the wisdom 
of making better market provision for perishable things, and yet it must 
be evident that whilst now plant markets may be held but once a week, 
yet were there proper glass-covered markets provided the stalls might 
be nearly always occupied ; hence their original furnishing would grow 
into a permanent source of income. When in every direction market 
plant and flower growers are complaining of poor returns and dull sales, 
it is not at all difficult to see that much of the depreciation in value of 
their products arises from the deplorable condition under which they 
finally reach the purchaser, as by that time one-half of their value has 
been lost.—A. D. 
