1 68 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ August 23, 1888, 
DERBYSHIRE. 
The rainfall for the six months ending June 30th was exceptionally 
low, much under average, especially so to the end of May, at which time 
we only registered 7'95 inches. June increased this to KHO inches, but as 
our average rainfall taking it over a series of years amounts to about 
34 inches, it will be seen the above is a light record. July has in a 
measure compensated us by an exceptionally heavy downpour, 5'39 inches ; 
still the season so- far cannot be called a wet one measured by the 
quantity of rain that has fallen, but will be remembered rather for its 
almost total absence of sunshine and its exceedingly low temperature. 
May was dry and rather bright with cold east winds, which had the 
effect of almost entirely checking the growth of vegetation. June being 
dull and rather damp, although the temperature was still low, was more 
favourable to growth and also to the planting of bedding plants, which 
started away well, and have since succeeded beyond expectation ; not 
only here, but I have observed the same at other gardens, notably the 
Abbey Park, Leicester, where the bedding is‘looking really beautiful. 
Violas no doubt have been the plants par excellence for bedding this 
summer ; they are in grand form, and their great success this year will, 
I have no doubt, give an impetus to their more extended cultivation. 
'They are so easily and so inexpensively grown. 
I suppose the extreme floriferousness of forest trees, flowering shrubs, 
and herbaceous plants, as well as the almost unprecedented profuse 
display of Rhododendron we have had, must be attributed chiefly to the 
agency of the hot and brilliant sunshine of last year in so perfectly 
maturing growth, and also in a measure to the lateness of growth this 
spring, trees and plants thereby escaping the usually destructive spring 
frosts. Where lawns have been regularly mown and well kept they have 
never looked more perfect than this year. Here they have given much 
pleasure to many thousands of Americans and other foreigners who 
never see such beautiful lawns away from England. 
In the kitchen gardens the bad weather has quite upset one’s calcula¬ 
tions as to the time of crops coming in. I am afraid if we remain much 
longer without warm weather (to-day it is colder than Michaelmas) that 
many subjects, such as French and Kidney Beans, will perish from cold 
before they give any yield at all. In the kitchen garden the only item 
of satisfaction one has is the wonderful crops on the bush fruit. I 
certainly never remember heavier crops of Gooseberries, Currants of all 
sorts, Raspberries, and Morello Cherries ; but Strawberries have been 
poor, half the fruit has decayed on the ground.— Owen Thomas, Chats- 
worth Gardens. Chesterfield. 
HUNTINGDONSHIRE. 
The weather and the rainfall during June and July this year has 
been the exact opposite to the corresponding months of last year. 
Those two months in 1887 were hot, with little rain, but this year there 
have been copious downpours with low temperatures. Fruit is late ; 
Strawberries and many Apricots are ripening and decaying. Vegetables 
have been abundant, and likely to be so during the coming autumn 
and winter. Early Potatoes have turned out w r ell and of very good 
quality ; the disease, however, has now made its appearance. The 
showery weather has proved useful for Celery, and getting out good 
breadths of Brussels Sprouts, Savoys, Broccoli, and other winter Greens, 
which are now growing freely. Weeds also grow apace, and will get 
the upper hand of many gardeners where labour is limited. Kidney 
Beans and Vegetable Marrows are plentiful. 
The rains during the last two months have been beneficial to outdoor 
ferneries, and especially to alpine rockery plants. Phlox setacea varieties, 
Alpine Auriculas, Sedums, •Saxifrages, Aubrietias, double and single 
Primroses, and Myosotis, have all grown and flowered well, with many 
other dwarf plants. Border plants have benefited by the June rains. 
Phloxes are flowering well, and one of the best August plants to cut 
from has grown remarkably vigorous—viz., Harpalium rigidum. This 
plant should find a place in every garden where large quantities of cut 
flowers are wanted. Annuals are not much grown here, but such few 
that are, including Collinsia, Coreopsis, Godetia, Mignonette, Zinnias, 
Cornflowers, blue and yellow, Salpiglossis, Asters, Stocks, and a few 
others, have better growth and more flowers than last year. Beds with 
the usual assortment of bedding plants will certainly be better furnished 
with growth than last year.—A. Habding, Orton Hall Gardens, 
Hants. 
KENT. 
In reply to your suggestion in the Journal as to recording the effects 
of the recent wet weather on the crops, I beg to state that here on our 
gravelly soil resting on chalk we have not suffered very much from the 
wet, although we registered 6J inches, the heaviest rainfall for one 
month since October 1882, but the low temperature and absence of sun 
has retarded growth. Potatoes, Broad Beans, and roots generally are 
doing well; Peas have not filled very well ; Beans, both dwarf and 
runners, failed to set the early flowers, but are doing better since the 
warmer weather ; Onions have made plenty of top growth, are bulbing 
fairly well, but will be late harvesting ; white Celery is very pithy, but 
red, on the other hand, is very solid. All fresh planted trees are making 
rapid growth, as also are Conifers, but nearly all the Pine family have 
been infested with the spruce gall aphis (Chermes abietis) not only in 
shrubberies, but also on single specimens. Is this pest prevalent in other 
parts of the country this season ] Perhaps some of the numerous readers 
of the Journal can tell.— Robebt Filkins, Gardener to G. Buchanan , 
Esq., Tower Fields , Keston. 
LINCOLNSHIRE. 
June was a variable month, but I do not register the temperature. 
The total rainfall for June was 1'56 inch. Rain fell on thirteen days. 
July was a very cold wet month. Rain fell on twenty-one days, the 
greatest amount falling on the 2nd, 073 ; 4th, 071 ; 15th, 0’93 ; 17th, 
0-52 ; 22nd, 0.32 ; 27th, 0’35 ; 28th, 0'48 ; 29th, 070. Total rainfall 
for July, 6.09 inches. Almost all kinds of vegetables are backward. Oux 
spring Cabbages came in well and in good time (Ellam’s variety excel¬ 
lent). Broccoli was very late, the March varieties coming in May. 
Cattell’s Eclipse Broccoli was our latest and best this year. Turnip 
Early Milan, first sowing bolted for the first time this spring. Through 
the cold weather our early Peas did not fill before June 27th, Ring¬ 
leader variety, sown out of doors December 15th, 1887. That sown in 
boxes the sparrows destroyed. Early Peas were soon over. Then came 
the pelting rain, the second earlies not moving for eleven days. Abun¬ 
dance of fine Marrow Peas came in with August. I find old Ne Plus 
Ultra still the best all-round Pea. Cos Lettuces bolted nearly as fast as 
they do in a dry summer. Strawberries have been a good crop, Black 
Prince and President being our best croppers this year, Sir Joseph Pax¬ 
ton running a great deal to foliage. I tried Pauline Strawberry this 
year. The first flowers of Black Prince Strawberry opened May 7th-; 
Pauline opened its first flowers May 18th. Black Prince was ripe two 
days before Pauline, June 24th and 26th respectively, planted side by 
side on south border. Pauline is a very strong grower, fruit large, but 
few of them. It will not drive out Black Prince for some time to come. 
I think. What a contrast there is between Tomatoes this year and last. 
At this time last year some of them had broken their stakes with their load 
of fruit. This year we have a few fruits about the size of pigeons’ eggs, 
although the plants are kept to a single stem. The bottom leaves look 
as though they had been burnt; they first curl up, then turn brown and 
fall. Apples and Pears are not half of a crop. Some trees of the same 
variety are carrying full crops, others almost nil. Heavy crop of Red 
and White Currants. Gooseberries good. Raspberries a fine crop, and 
lasting for a long time in bearing. Asparagus very fine. Dwarf Kidney 
Beans came in August 8th. Runners are not gathered yet, but they are 
full of flower and looking well. Potatoes, a heavy crop and very large, 
Veitch’s Ashleaf the best ; the disease has shown itself. Brussels 
Sprouts, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Kales, &c., are looking well. 
In the flower garden Begonias are far before Pelargoniums few 
bedding. The rain suits the Begonias. Wind is their greatest enemy ; it- 
breaks the flowers very much. Poppies are grand. Canterbury Bells 
have made a fine show for a long time. Sweet Williams very good, and 
some of them fine yet. Delphiniums fine. Phlox Drummondi very 
good. Petunias medium in quality. We never had Mignonette so good 
in the borders. Double Clarkias are splendid. Sweet Alyssumhas been 
like a white sheet for weeks. Convolvulus is very showy in the morning. 
Cornflowers (Centaurea Cyanus) have grown taller this year, and not 
quite as much bloom. Godetias are beautiful. Kaulfussia amelloides 
has only done fairly well. Indian Pinks have not done well. Hesem- 
bryanthemum tricolor not satisfactory. Portulacas and Ice Plant 
complete failures. Candytuft has done well. Stocks and Asters fairly 
well. Gaillardias are doing well. Roses have shown plenty of bloom, 
but many have been spoiled. —G. Pickeb, The Gardens, Brandon Hall, 
Lincoln. 
NORTHUMBERLAND. 
Dueing the month of June rain fell on thirteen days. Total during 
the month, 2’59 inches ; mean day temperature, 56i° ; mean night tem¬ 
perature, 44^°. In July rain fell on nineteen days. Total for the month, 
4 - 36 inches ; temperature, mean day, 54J° ; mean night, 47°. Tempera¬ 
ture for June, 1887, mean day, 63° ; mean night, 48°. July, mean day, 
68° ; mean night, 52°. 
With a few exceptions the wind has blown from the points between 
the east and north-west throughout the season. On the 14th of Jun® we 
had a severe hailstorm, wnich riddled all tender leaves, and quPe 
destroyed some of the French Beans, Scarlet Runners, Vegetable Marrows, 
and spoilt Tomatoes on walls, also doing great damage to the Apple crop, 
which had previously flowered to perfection. A quantity of Gooseberries 
fell, but are yielding a crop of good fruit mostly. Bush fruit gene- 
rally are an average crop, Strawberries very poor, Vicomtesse Hericart 
de Thury excepted. In cold seasons this excels all ; it never fails. A few 
planted last year are now yielding fine fruit. Of others Helena Gloede 
is a good late variety. Peas have grown well, but do not fill the pods. 
Potatoes are now a fine crop, but disease has made its appearance in 
several places. Beauty of Hebron is one of the best early, and very 
generally grown. 
In the spring flower garden Wallflowers Belvoir Castle yellow.. 
Veitch’s, dwarf dark and Covent Garden dark, were unique, sown in 
the beginning of May last year, transplanted in July, again planted in 
October. Gold-laced Polyanthuses and others were splendid for spring. 
Of summer bedding Tropaeolum Vesuvius surpasses all Pelargoniums for 
blooming. Of the latter, Henry Jacoby and John Gibbons are the beet. 
A white Snapdragon is one of the best plants in the garden, propagated 
by cuttings in pots in the autumn. Yellow Calceolarias are doing well. 
Papaver umbrosum is good from seed sown in heat in spring. The 
flowers are deep red with a dark blotch, and in the distance appear 
floating in the air 2 feet high. It is the best flowering plant in the 
beds. Iceland Poppies, in three colours, are good. Spiraea Aruncus has 
been splendid.— Geobge Haeeis, Alnwicli Castle Gardens. 
STAFFORDSHIRE. 
This has been a very cold, dull, rainless half year. Most garden 
crops are late in consequence. Vegetable crops were thin and puny, 
but since the rains in July everything has grown enormously. They 
