6 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ July 2,1891 - 
Woods, which include a large variety oE forest trees, notably some fine 
Beeches, and where the Butcher’s Broom is abundant. Across Wood- 
ham Walter Common, covered with Oak scrub and the home of the 
Lily of the Valley, the Sundew, Buckbean, Wood Pimpernel, many 
Ferns, and other interesting plants, such as the Depttord Pink and 
Golden Saxifrage. From a sandy knoll just outside the Common, 
once the home of the badger, an address was delivered, “Botany 
in its Relations to Geology,” by Dr. J. E. Taylor, F.L.S., F.G.S., 
Editor of “ Science Gossip.” 
- Superintendent of London Parks —At a recent meeting 
of the London County Council a recommendation of the General Pur¬ 
poses Committee was considered to the effect that a salary of £700 
should be offered for a Superintendent of Parks and Open Spaces. This 
■was discussed at some length, but ultimately rejected by 41 votes against 
40 for the proposal. 
- Floral Decorations at Wimborne House. —On the occa¬ 
sion of Lord and Lady Wimborne’s great dinner party and ball at 
Wimborne House, Arlington Street, on Wednesday, June 24th, the floral 
decorations were extremely tasteful yet simple. Upon the tables were 
large central and smaller surrounding stands filled with spikes of Gladiolus 
Colvilli. Sweet Peas, and Cattleya flowers, with Asparagus plumosus and 
Pteris fronds as the foliage, while upon the cloth were wreath of Sweet Peas 
and sprays of Myrsiphyllum, In the other rooms, the corridors, and 
conservatory were massive vases of handsome Paeonies, with some cut 
Carnation flowers ; but the great feature was a beautiful bank of Carna¬ 
tion Souvenir de la Malmaison, arranged upon a broad mantleshelf in 
front of a mirror, and margined with Ferns. The well-grown plants, 
their fine glaucous foliage and substantial flowers, were there seen to 
great advantage in their true characters. The gardener at Canford 
Manor, Mr. T. H. Crasp, has been as successful in the culture of these 
p'ants as he was in the extensive tree-lifting experiments carried out 
during last autumn and winter. 
- Pruning Gooseberry and Currant Trees. —I know 
many gardeners do not practise pruning Gooseberry and Currant trees 
at this time of the year, but I took the hint from the Journal several 
years ago, and have regularly followed it ever since. It has only one 
drawback that I know—it has to be done at a busy season, when every¬ 
thing else needs attention. Against this its advantages are—all the 
sip can flow into the fruit, and the remaining young growths for 
fruiting next year are exposed to more sun and air ; also the fruit is 
better ripened and more eisily gathered. Last, but not least, it is a 
much more pleasant operation in the summer than in the winter. 
All the young growths should be thinned to their proper distance, the 
under-growths and those throwing up from the centre of the tree should 
be taken clean away, and only the pruning needed in the winter will be 
to cut away some of the old wood on which the fruits are hanging 
thickly now, and consequently cannot be removed. I hope my Goose¬ 
berries and Currants will be all pruned by the time this is in print. I 
used to practise pruning Pear and Plum trees at this season, but now I 
am under the impression it is a mistake to do so before August. I thin 
the young growths by breaking them off clean where they are too thick, 
leaving the rest until they have stopped growing in August.— Alma. 
- Scarcity of Early Strawberries. —It is not often early 
Strawberries have been so scarce hereabouts as they have this season. 
At one time there was every prospect of the crops being both early and 
exceptionally heavy, but the frosts at Whitsuntide spoilt nearly all the 
bloom expanded or only slightly so, and it is entirely due to this unfor¬ 
tunate occurrence that the fruit has been, and up to the present time 
(June 25th) still is, so scarce. On June 22nd they were offered in 
comparatively small quantities at Is. 4d. per lb. at Bristol, and in 
smaller towns they are selling readily at 4d. less, small and large fruit 
all going together. Our few hundred plants of Noble on a raised south 
border were well set with fruit when the frosts came, and these escaped ; 
consequently, we were able to gather nearly 80 lbs. of fruit before we 
heard of anyone else having any ripe in the open. Even those who 
were disposed to find fault with the quality of Noble last season are 
now obliged to admit they were unwise in not planting it, and for one 
more season, at any rate, it will be the most extensively grown early 
variety in these parts. Nearly all the early blooms on the plants of 
other varieties in the open were destroyed by frosts, so that there will 
be but few very fine or moderately early dishes gathered from these this 
season, and I shall have to depend upon small fruit of Noble to keep up 
the supply.—W. I., Frome. 
- Hoya Carnosa is a capital plant for covering the back wall 
of a lean-to late vinery. The shade provided by the Vines, the heat 
and moist atmosphere necessary for Grape culture, appear to just suit- 
this Hoya. Many persons hardly know what to grow to render walls of 
fruit houses ornamental, and especially vineries, where they are not 
only differently constructed, but are more densely shaded than Peach 
houses for instance. Planted in rough peat, leaves, and sand, and given 
abundance of water when in full growth, this Hoya will make shoots - 
from 6 feet to almost double that length in one season when once estab¬ 
lished. Trained on wires close to the wall the trusses of bloom which 
are freely produced during the early part of June show to the best 
advantage, as owing to their pendent habit they require to be seen from 
below. One plant will perfume a whole house when closed in the 
evening, so powerful is the fragrance of the flowers. The less the blooms - 
are cut the better for the next season’s crop, as from the same base the 
flower trusses spring for next year. The low temperature to which late 
vineries are often subjected after the Grapes are cut does not interfere 
with the success of Hoya carnosa as long as frost is excluded from 
the foliage. The low temperature and thorough rest which the Vines - 
receive in winter benefit the Hoya. 
- White Aquilegias of the Munstead Giant type make a grand' 
display in the herbaceous borders, where the flowers are well sur¬ 
rounded with greenery, which sets these Columbines off to the best 
advantage. I lately saw a splendid double variety which deserves to - 
be considerably increased, so well did it look in the position named. It 
was not one of those compact close petalled sorts which are too neat 
to catch the popular taste, but one with enough petals to warrant its 
being classed as a double sort. The foliage of Aquilegias is in itself 
pretty, so many tints pervade the naturally glaucous hue of the leaves 
to render them attractive; besides this, the leaves last fresh a long¬ 
time after being cut and placed in water.—M. 
RICHMOND (SURREY) SHOW. 
The Exhibition of the above Society, held last week (June 24th) in- 
the Old Deer Park, was in some respects superior to those which have 
preceded it, but in others, due mainly to the season, it was far below the 
usual standard. The entries were said to be more numerous than before, 
and the central one of the three marquees had been increased in length 
by 40 feet to accommodate the additional exhibits. One tent was - 
devoted to floral decorations and Roses, the large one to specimen plants- 
and groups, while a third contained the fruit, vegetables, and cottagers’ 
productions. The quality was good throughout with the exception of 
the Roses, which constituted the weak portion of the Show, although 
last year it was the strongest. The season was so late that it was at one 
time feared no exhibic would be obtained in these classes at the date 
fixed. Happily the result was better than anticipated, and though the 
blooms were wanting in size and substance they were fresh and mostly 
bright in colours. The stove and greenhouse plants were much better 
than usual, and some fine specimens came from Pewsey, the Heaths 
in particular being very notable. Of the groups, which always form an 
attraction at Richmond, Mr. W. Brown, jun, again contributed the 
most tasteful arrangement, and he bids fair to rival his father’s best 
efforts in decorative skill. There were also non-competing exhibits in 
numbers and of much interest, and altogether the Committee and officers 
had every reason to be satisfied with the display. During the afternoon 
the Duchess of Teck and her daughter visited the Exhibition, when there 
was a large attendance of visitors. A tent was also devoted to Roses - 
and other cut flowers to be sold for the benefit of the Gardeners’ Orphan 
Fund, and we shall expect to hear that the returns were substantial. 
We can only briefly refer to the chief classes, in which the principal 
winners were as follows. Taking the tents in the order they were 
visited, amongst the Roses Mr. H. May, Bedale, took the lead with 
thirty-six bl ooms, and in the twenty-four blooms class Messrs. D. Prior 
and Sons, Colchester gained a similar position also with Tea Roses. The 
leading amateur exhibitors were Mr. C. Warwick, gardener to J. P. 
Kitchen, Esq., Manor House, Hampton ; R. E. West, Esq., Reigate j. 
Mr. W. Croker, gardener to W. Regester, Esq., Lawn Lodge, Isleworth ; 
and Mr. John Parsons, gardener to T. Twining, Esq., Twickenham. 
A central tab’e, the whole length of this tent, was occupied with stands - 
of flowers, baskets, bouquets, and other floral ornaments, many 
showing great taste, and the competition was keen. Mr. T. Butcher,. 
Norwood ; Miss C. Cole, Feltham ; Miss M. Mouflet, Castle House, 
Isleworth ; Miss L. Wigan, Cromwell House, Mortlake ; Mrs. W. Lang, 
Richmond ; and Miss E. C. Clarke, Twickenham. Messrs. Perkins and 
Sons, Coventry, were, as usual, first with a bouquet. 
In the next tent the groups arranged for effect were placed round the - 
sides, the specimen plants in the centre. Besides the premier group- 
from Mr. A. Brown, jun., Marsbgate, Richmond, already referred to, 
Mr. H. E. Fordham of Twickenham, Mr. H. James of Norwood, Mr. 
J. Currey of Salisbury, exhibited distinct and handsome collections of 
plants well arranged. The six stove and greenhouse plants from 
Mr. J. F. Mould, Pewsey, Wilts, for which he was placed first, included 
three admirable Heaths, a Bougainvillea glabra, Dracopbyllum graciley 
and Statice profusa, all fresh and well grown. Pelargoniums, Tuberous 
