September 17,1891. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
245 
-- Crystal Palace Show. —In your issue of 10th inst. I notice 
you state that the first prize at the Crystal Palace Show for the best 
•dish of Carter’s Blenheim Orange Tomato was won by Mr. J. Slater, 
Lower Sydenham. This is erroneous, as I was awarded first in that 
-class. KiDdly correct in your next edition.— James Fry, Uaydon Hall , 
Eastcote. 
- A New Tropjeolum. — Messrs. Clibran of Altrincham have 
evidently secured a decided acquisition, judging from the specimen now 
before me, and which differs from anything of the kind I have hitherto 
•seen. At first it looks like a bunch of fluffy gamboge yellow Crocuses, 
but the colour is much more brilliant and peculiarly telling. The height 
is about 4 inches, and never exceeds 6. One of the sights of the flower 
garden next year may be a long effective line, or a central bed of a 
•colour never seen in the flower garden before. Then it must be remem¬ 
bered that this will be one of the easiest grown and raised.—W. J. 
Murphy, Clonmel. 
- The flower artist in Japan is described by Mr. Condor in 
-a volume he has just issued at Tokyo as avoiding a grouping of colours 
and transplanting his flower in a vessel specially designed to receive it. 
A solitary spray of flowers in a slender vase, a water plant in a gracefid 
bowl, a creeper climbing the handles of a basket-shaped receptacle, an 
-Orchid growing in a joint of Bamboo, or a cluster of Wistaria depending 
from some quaint hanging vessel—these are some of the forms in -which 
the Japanese flower artist loves to indulge. The arrangement of flowers, 
Mr. Condor says, has always been regarded in Japan as an occupation 
•befitting learned men and literati. “ Ladie9 of the aristocracy have 
practised it, as they have other arts, but it is by no means considered as 
an effeminate accomplishment. Priests, philosophers, and men of rank 
•who have retired from public life have been its most enthusiastic 
followers.” 
- The Heading of Cabbages.—I t has recently been stated, 
as the result of an experiment in one of the United States stations, that 
if Cabbages are slightly tilted over with the plough in the fall, it 
produces a tendency to make them have larger heads. We now learn, 
as an experiment by Prof. L. H. Bailey of Cornell, that if the Cabbages 
are planted shallow and earthed up, the per-centage of large and heavy 
heads is much greater. As a matter of physiological principles these 
two experiments in different directions both accord. It goes to show 
that whatever favours the nutritive power is against their disposition 
to produce hard heads. In Mr. Bailey’s experiment the plants got the 
benefit of abundant moisture and nutrition, when headed up. When 
mot headed, or when not earthed up, or slightly tilted, there is an obstruc¬ 
tion to complete nutrition. Although these experiments seem of a 
somewhat unimportant character, they afford very interesting lessons 
to the study of plant life, from a practical point of view. We think the 
-experiments ought to be repeated in view of these valuable and sugges¬ 
tive lessons.—( Meehan's Monthly for September.) 
- Bournemouth and District Gardeners’ Mutual 
Improvement Association. — The third annual excursion of the 
Association took place on Wednesday, September 9th, to Longford 
•Castle, near Salisbury, the seat of the Right Hon. the Earl of Radnor. 
The party, which included Dr. Hitchcock (President of the Association), 
and Councillor J. A. Tyler, also Mr. J. J. Swaffield, Mr. G. Watts, jun., 
Mr. W. Watts, and Mr. J. Phillips, nurserymen, journeyed by rail to 
Alderbury Junction. A pleasant walk of about a mile brought them to 
the entrance to the park, where they were heartily welcomed by Mr. 
Ward, the head gardener, who, with his two sons, and Mr. Warden, 
gardener at Clarendon Park, conducted the party over the extensive 
-gardens and pleasure grounds. The old castle, portions of which date 
from the sixteenth century, was much admired, and the fine bedding 
display on the terrace gardens received well merited praise. After 
viewing the pleasure grounds, which were in splendid condition, the 
party were next shown the fruit and kitchen garden and glass depart¬ 
ments, and as Mr. Ward was well known to be a successful exhibitor of 
fruit, &c., each department was critically examined and favourably 
commented upon. The party next proceeded to the cricket ground in 
the park. Here, in a tent kindly lent by Lord Radnor, a capital 
luncheon was served, after which hearty votes of thanks were accorded 
to Lord Radnor for his kindness in granting permission to the Association 
to visit his beautiful park and gardens, also to Mr. Ward for the manner 
in which he had received the members. The afternoon was spent in 
cricket and quoits, and after partaking of tea, the return journey was 
commenced about 6.30, Bournemouth being reached after a most enjoy¬ 
able day about nine o’clock.—J. B. S. 
- Rainfall during August in Hampshire. —The month of 
August will long be remembered for the excessive quantity of rain 
which fell in this part of the county. I do not remember any month 
when the quantity, 6'69 inches, was exceeded during the last twelve 
years ; but twelve dry days are recorded for the whole month, the 
last nine days rain fell on each day, in all a total of 3'21 being 
recorded. In spite of the wet state of August we are still 317 inches 
below the total amount recorded for the first eight months of last 
year, which was 22 1 inches, while this year so far but 1S*85 inches 
has been registered. Up to the end of August we have had 156 days 
upon which no rain fell as compared with 151 during the same period 
of 1890. During February of the present year not a single drop of 
rain is registered, and but on three days did rain fall during the same 
month of 1890, which upsets the old saying of “ February fill dyke ” 
very considerably. Swanmore Park being situated on a hill 395 feet 
above sea level accounts for so many dry days, upon many of 
which showers fell in some cases heavily in the valleys around.— 
E. Molyneux. 
- Fruit Congress at Manchester. —Mr. Bruce Findlay sends 
us the following letter he received from the Right Honourable W. E- 
Gladstone “ I will not withhold the expression of my good wishes for 
the fortune and effect of the meeting you are to hold in October, but it 
will, as I hope, have the support of those who are much better entitled 
to speak with authority. For many years, through the activity of the 
Press, the humble advice given by me locally to our cottager's and 
farmers has become an exposition to the country at large which I was 
hardly entitled to deliver, and for which I have naturally enough been 
made the subject of witty animadversion. I have, however, a very 
strong conviction that the work which you have in hand is a great and 
beneficial work—that there is a great commercial void which ought to 
be filled by British skill and labour, and that the extension of what we 
may term the small culture, in all its branches, will produce very con¬ 
siderable moral and social as well as economical benefits.” The Congress 
will be held on October 21st and 22nd. The Earl of Derby is the 
President, and the following subjects will be introduced for chs- 
cussion :_“ The Fruit Growing Movement : Present Day Features and 
Prospects,” by Mr. Baillie of Chester ; “The Condition, Preparation 
and After-Treatment of the Soil for Fruit Culture,” by Mr. Cheal of 
Crawley, Sussex ; “ Fruit Growing for Profit,” by Mr. S. T. Wright of 
Hereford ; “ The Raising, Budding, Grafting, and Pruning of Apple 
Trees for Orchard and Estate Planting,” by Mr. Crump of Madresfield ; 
“ Orchard House Culture,” by Mr. T. F. Rivers of Sawbridgeworth ; 
“The Importance of Early Planting and Shelter in Fruit Culture,” by 
Mr. Edward Luckhurst of Romford. 
_ Floriculture in America. — The United States Census 
Bulletin just issued notes that floriculture in the United States has 
come to be simply the growing of a few things for cut flowers. It has 
found that there are 4659 greenhouse establishments in the United 
States, and that the total number of plants raised is about 125,000,090 ; 
of these 49,000,000 were Roses alone, and the rest were made up of 
plants in the following orderViolets, Chrysanthemums, Lilies, 
Hyacinths, Smilax, Bouvardia, Heliotropes, Pansies, Tulips. These 
together make 90 per cent, of the whole of the plants raised. The other 
10 per cent, were made up of Orchids, Tuberoses, Mignonette, 
Primroses, Camellias, Daffodils, and a few others. Three hundred and 
twelve of these establishments are owned and managed by women. 
The value of the greenhouses, including heating apparatus, is placed at 
38,000,000 dols. For outdoor gardening the demand has been in a great 
measure confined to Geraniums, Coleus, Roses, Pansies, Verbenas, 
Heliotropes, and Carnations. Among all the large classes of florists 
flowers the Fuchsia is the only one noted as being grown in sufficient 
numbers to be worth naming. When it come3 to a matter of profit the 
report says the Roses have been the most profitable, the Carnations 
next. Some few florists,however, speak of the Carnation as being more 
profitable than Roses.—T. B. M. 
_ Notes at Cleveley, Allerton.—T hose beautiful climbers, 
Lapa-erias, are now in full bloom at Cleveley, and are worth going a 
Ion- lourney to see. So often do we see them under conditions quite 
the'opposite, that I cannot refrain from dwelling for a short time on 
their merits and the culture they receive to bring them to such per¬ 
fection, with the hope that some little information may be gleaned by 
the readers of the Journal, who are not quite so fortunate as Mr. 
Cromwell in the cultivation of these plants. The roof of a house some 
30 feet long is now covered with thousands of flowers, some of the 
racemes being from 2 to 3 feet in length, the red and white var.eues 
