246 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ September IS, 1888. 
Events op the Week. —To-day (September 13th), Exhibition of 
Chrysanthemums, Dahlias, &c., at the Royal Aquarium, Westminster 
(second day). Glasgow and West of Scotland Horticultural Society’s 
Autumn Exhibition (second day). Sales of Bulbs at Messrs. Stevens’ 
Rooms next Monday and Wednesday, and at Messrs. Protheroe and 
Morris’s Rooms next Monday and Thursday. 
-A correspondent writes on preserving Mountain Ash 
Berries :—“ Pull when ripe, place them between layers of hay, and 
they will keep plump for a long time. Without any further care we 
had some that kept plump and attractive for a year, and were in good 
preservation when thrown away.” 
- In reference to the judging at the recent Salisbury Show, Mr. 
H. W. Ward, Longford Castle Gardens, writes“ In justice to the 
local gardeners who took part in making the awards at the above ex¬ 
cellent Show, will you kindly allow me to say that the exhibiting 
Judge referred to in the Journal of Horticulture for August 30th, 
page 202, does not reside within the postal district of Salisbury.” 
- The Devonshire Pomological Society. — The fourth 
annual Exhibition of Apples and Pears is announced to be held at 
Exeter on October 25th and 26th, when prizes will be awarded in the 
fifty classes provided in the schedule. The principal object of the 
Society is to attract attention to the recognised best sorts of Apples 
and Pears, and thus conduce to an improvement in the special culture 
of these fruits in the county of Devon and the West of England. The 
Right Hon. Sir T. D. Acland, Bart., is the President, and Mr. Isaac 
Pengelly, Guildhall, Exeter, the Hon. Secretary of the Society. 
- Brief Notes. —Short communications on subjects of interest 
are acceptable for this column, and Mr. Arthur Young obliges with the 
following five “Notes :”— 
- Whinham’s Industry Gooseberry.—T his is a most valuable 
addition to our hardy fruits, as it is very prolific and handsome in 
shape. It is valuable for picking green, or for remaining to become 
ripe. An acre or two would be a good investment. 
- Carnations Mrs. Reynolds Hole and James Fitzpatrick. 
—The former Carnation has proved itself a valuable acquisition, and is 
a favourite with all who see it. The latter (James Fitzpatrick), also 
sent out by Messrs. Dicksons of Chester, is another decided acquisition- 
It is of the same colour as the Tree Carnation Miss JollifEe, but with a 
fringed edge. It is a very free bloomer, and, like Mrs. Reynolds Hole, is 
what is termed a border Carnation. 
- Leycesteria Formosa. —This handsome shrub is now in full 
beauty. A short time since the bushes were covered with drooping 
panicles of flowers, and these are now succeeded by bunches of claret- 
coloured fruit, almost like bunches of Grapes. Some authorities term 
it a half-hardy evergreen, but this is a mistake, for here upon the 
Worcestershire hills it is quite hardy without any protection whatever. 
The soil is a cold limestone clay, and during the winter the weather is 
very severe. 
- Eckford’s Sweet Peas. —Last season we purchased a small 
packet each of Eckford’s new varieties of Sweet Peas. These were 
mixed at the time of sowing, and at the present the row is a sight to 
behold. It is a mass of handsome flowers of various colours. A great 
advance has been made during the past few years in Sweet Peas. At 
first the change was hardly noticeable.'but now it is very apparent. In 
a year or two hence we may expect to find still greater improvement. 
- Melon, the Blenheim Orange. —Are the new Melons 
which are continually cropping up better flavoured than the varieties of 
a few years ago ? I think not. I suspect the old varieties are not kept 
true, and so dwindle away from the original stock. I believe we have 
the true stock of Blenheim Orange, and I do not think there could be 
“ handsomer, better flavoured, better fruiter, or better constitutioned 
Melon. There is no difficulty in keeping the main foliage green and 
healthy to the last, and this means good flavoured fruit, whatever the 
advocates of the “drying off ” system may think. My neighbour, Mr. 
J. Austin of Witley Court, also relies upon the “ Blenheim ” exclusively r 
and rare crops of fine fruit he has. 
- Gardening in India. —We have pleasure in inserting the 
following announcement from Mr. W. Goldring :—“ You may perhaps 
consider the fact worth recording in the Journal that I have been com¬ 
missioned by His Highness the Maharaja Gaekwar of Baroda to go 
out to India to design and lay out some magnificent gardens around his 
palaces at Makarpura and Laxmiviloso at Baroda, and other public 
parks and gardens in His Highness’s dominions. I have engaged to 
spend three winter months (December, January, and February) for the 
next three years in India, so that I sha'l be able to continue my home 
practice, which of course is at a standstill during those months. The 
Gaekwar, whom I have recently interviewed in Switzerland, is greatly 
interested in gardening, and he is desirous of advancing horticulture in 
Baroda in harmony with European ideas.” 
- Potato Cole’s Favourite. —Mr. W. Iggulden writes :—“ On 
lifting the crop of this variety I was agreeably surprised to find a capital 
lot of tubers with only a very few diseased ones among them. The 
haulm died down somewhat prematurely, and I fully expected to find 
the bulk of the crops badly diseased. Instead of this we have a capital 
lot of medium sized tubers as ‘ handsome as paint,’ not one deep eye to 
be seen on them, while the quality is first rate. It is one of the best to 
use in succession to the Ashleafs or other early varieties, and as far as 
we are concerned would be included in a collection for extensive 
culture and limited to six varieties. Our stock came from Messrs. J. 
Yeitch &; Sons, and I have not noticed quotations for it in any other 
catalogue.” 
- A Prolific Plum. —In the Plum-growing districts of Worces¬ 
tershire and neighbouring counties the variety known as Pershore is 
most largely planted, this being found one of the most reliable for 
marketing purposes. It is wonderfully prolific, quite young trees bear¬ 
ing good crops. The fruit is rather small, of a greenish yellow colour, 
and is principally recommended for cooking and making into jam. 
Gisborne’s, a variety somewhat resembling the Pershore, proves to be 
even more profitable than the latter, and is now being largely planted 
in preference to it. I have recently seen rows nearly a mile long of 
Gisborne’s, which, though only planted about four years, were carrying 
remarkably heavy crops of saleable fruit, and intending planters ought 
to make a note of it.—I. 
- Gros Maroc Grape. —Are there not two forms of this hand¬ 
some, though by no means high-class, Grape in cultivation ? One form 
produces short thick bunches with large round berries, but which do 
not colour so readily as in the case of another form that has much 
longer bunches and oval shaped berries. These two forms may some¬ 
times be seen in one house, both being on a similar stock, the grafts, 
however, being obtained from different sources. This noble-looking 
Grape colours perfectly in a cool house, but the quality is improved 
by a little fire heat. Extra fine bunches have been exhibited this season 
in various parts of the country, but none that I saw were perfectly 
finished, and it is doubtful if large bunches have so much weight with the 
judges as those who exhibit them imagine.—W. 
- The Wakefield Paxton Society. —At the last weekly meet¬ 
ing of the members of the above Society Mr. A. Goldthorpe presided, and 
Mr. J. G. Brown occupied the vice-chair. Considering the unfavourable 
state of the weather there was a good attendance. The subject for 
discussion was “ Carnations and Picotees,” and there was a splendid 
show of specimens grown by members of the Society, the exhibitors 
including Mr. Gill, Eastmoor ; Mr. J, Maddock, Lofthouse; and In¬ 
spector Corden, Mr. Maddock’s blooms were much admired for their 
excptional richness of colour. A number of blooms were also shown by 
Mr. G. Armitage of the Morley Paxton Society, who attended and gave 
a lecture on the cultivation of the flower, pointing out the best methods 
of propagation and the treatment by which the most perfect blooms 
could be obtained. Mr. Armitage advocated the old fashioned method 
of layering in preference to cuttings. A good discussion followed the 
lecture, and at the close a vote of thanks was accorded to Mr. Armitage 
and also the exhibitors. 
