May t, ISX>. ] 
JOURXAL OF HORTICULTURE AXD COTTAGE GARDEXER. 
881 
j Death op Mb. James Flood. — Many will learn with 
surprise that Mr. James Flood of London died suddenly on Sunday 
last, aged fifty-three. He had for many ye.ars been a frequent 
attendant at hortieultural shows and meetings in the metropolis, 
with some of the principal in the provinces, and hf.d a wide circle of 
friends. He was for a considerable time engaged in the Loyal Botanic 
Society’s Gardens, Regent’s Park, as assistant to Mr. E. Marnock. 
Messes. James Carter & Co. suggest that the following 
record of quick vegetation may be of general interest :—“ On 
April 17th last was sown seed of Cactus Dahlia Juarezi, in three days 
nearly every seed appeared to h.avo grown, and the plants were well 
through the ground; they were ready to be, and were, pricked off on 
April 28th, and yesterday (May 5th) were upwards of 2 inches high.” 
' Royal National Tulip Society. —The usual meeting of 
the growers and exhibitors of the Tulip was held in Manchester on the 
30th of May, and a comparison of the different reports as to the 
progress and promise of the Tulip beds led to the annual Exhibition 
being fixed for Wednesday, May 28th, to take place as usual in the 
Botanical Gardens, Manchester, on the last day of the great Whitsun 
Show. At present Tuiips promise to be early. The Rev. F. D. Horner 
reports that they are very early with him, both out of doors and in the 
Tulip house, and writing on the 2nd of May he states :—“ I have a dozen 
or two blooms standing open to-day. At this rate of speed my blooms 
will not last for the National, or later than the third week in May.” It 
will be seen from the above that the fixture is the fourth week in May. 
The exhibitors at the National Show have been thinned by the death of 
Mr. Alderman Daniel Woolley of Stockport, on Saturday evening last, 
the cause of death being pneumonia. He was a seedsman and druggist 
in the Market Place, and had strong floricultural tastes, but made the 
Tulip his specialty; and when the season suited his flowers he was 
generally successful with them. He will be much missed in the Tulip 
Shows round Stockport. 
-- Outdoor Mushroom Culture.—A striking example of how 
easy it is to grow Mushrooms out of doors is now to be seen in Mr. 
James Hodges’ garden at King’s Heath, Birmingham. Two beds, each 
about 12 feet long and 6 feet wide, were made up out of doors in 
January last, the manure prepared in the usual way, and when made 
firm were not more than 18 inches high, gradually sloping to the north, 
Mr. Hughes always mixes a little open and sandy soil with the manure 
as it assists in regulating the heat more, preventing too great a heat, 
and maintaining it longer. In spawning, good sized lumps of spawn 
are inserted from 9 to 10 inches apart, and the soil is not placed over 
the spawn until the temperature of the manure has become regular, 
and what is required. After that the surface is kept moderately moist. 
The only covering to these beds is a thin layer of long straw and one 
layer of close Russian garden mats. Cutting commenced at the beginning 
of April, and a good supply of large fleshy Mushrooms have already 
been gathered, and judging from what are just now peeping through, 
and the network of mycelium in the beds, a big crop will continue. 
There are also out of doors quite a couple of dozen small cone-shaped 
heaps of manure, spawned and covered with litter, and these are just 
coming into bearing. It is altogether another instance of Mushroom¬ 
growing made easy, and Mr. Hodges obtained in great part the idea of 
how to do so from reading Mr. Wright’s excellent treatise, “Mush¬ 
rooms for the Million.”—D. S. H. 
- Sumach as a Material for Paper Pulp.—A llow me to 
direct attention to the Staghorn Sumach (Rhus typhina), and the 
Smooth Sumach (R. glabra), as pulp-producing shrubs for the manu¬ 
facture of paper. The Sum.ach tree or shrub approaches to the 
herbaceous tribes in the glandular construction of its rind and in its 
pith, and the fibre of its shoots is whiter and lighter than Poplar. As 
it is readily propagated from shoots or sprouts it may be cultivated 
with profit on rugged and rocky grounds. The first year’s shoots shouki 
be cut for pulp-making before they begin to wither, when the leaves 
are full of s.ap, and especially before frost. They should be stripped of 
their leaves, which after being wilted in the sun are spread upon shelves 
or racks to dry in a shaded but airy place for a month, and in damp 
weather longer, before going to market. Sumach sells, after grinding, 
at from 40 dollars to 50 dollars per ton. The rind should be scraped off 
clean from the shoots immediately after stripping them of their leaves, 
and dried in a similar manner, and the shoots should be dried and 
stored away to be sold to the pulp miller. The leaves and the rind of 
the Sumach contain a tanning and dyeing material having the same 
properties as galls, its chief consumption being in cotton dyeing. The 
roots of both of these varieties of Sumach have hitherto been considered 
troublesome in sending up suckers, and the prevalence of common or 
smooth Sum.ach was evidence that the occupant was a poor and thrift¬ 
less farmer. The velvety crimson berries of the smooth Sumach arc 
also used in dyeing. They are astringent and of an agreeable acid taste, 
for which reason they are sometimes used as a substitute for lemon 
juice, for various purposes in domestic economy and medicine, and to 
turn cider into vinegar. The acid is the bi-malate of lime.—A. K. (in 
Toronto Glohe). 
- The Weather Last Month.—A pril was a dry month, but 
with only very few bright days, and severe frosts on 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 
11th, and 12th. Wind was eastward sixteen days. We had lightning 
on the 7th at night. Total rainfall was 0 82 inch, which fell on 
eighteen days, and the greatest amount in twenty-four hours was 
0 15 on the loth. Barometer—highest, 30'38 at 9 A.M., on 1st; lowest, 
29 35 at noon on 25th. Highest shade temperature,. 65° on 30th ; lowest, 
21° on 2nd ; lowest on grass, 20° on 2nd, 5th, and 11th. Trees coming 
into leaf fast after the 20th, when the wind changed to west at 12 noon, 
after a long time in east and north-east. Horse Chestnuts almost in 
full leaf at the end of the month. Swallows arrived on the 30th, 
nightingales on the 24th. The severe frosts during the month have 
cut the early fruit blossoms here very much, especially Peaches and 
Plums on wi>lls. The garden spring ran 23 gallons per minute on 30th. 
—W. H. Divers, Ketton Hall Gardens, Stamford. 
-The Total Rainfall at Cuckfield, Mid-Susse.x, for the 
past month was 2-89 inches, being 1T4 inch above the average. The 
heaviest fall was 075 inch on the 23th. Rain fell on fifteen days. The 
highest shade temperature was 64° on the 13th and 30th, the lowest 
30° on 12th and 13th. Mean maximum 52’2°, mean minimum 37°, mean 
temperature 44'0, partial shade reading 2° above the average. A heavy 
thunderstorm occurred here at noon on April 26th, accompanied with a 
destructive hailstorm, which has done much damage to Pears in bloom 
and to all tender foliage. It came down for half an hour, and laid 
on the eaves of hothouses and in sheltered corners for several hours. 
Result in rain, 0'54 inch. Fortunately it was quite local, not extending 
westward to the parish church, nor to Hayward’s Heath southward. 
Apples look very promising, and not forward enough to be damaged. 
Vegetation about eight days in advance of last year.—R. I. 
-Reading and District Gardeners’ Mutual Improve¬ 
ment Association. —A large and representative meeting of this 
Association was held cn Monday at the British Workman. This was 
the closing meeting of the spring session, and proved a good finish to 
what has been a very successful series of meetings. The President, 
W. 1. Palmer, Esq., J.P., presided, and in the course of his remarks re¬ 
ferred to the Association as a school of gardening of great value to the 
members. The subject for the evening, “The Gloxinia,” was intro¬ 
duced and ably dealt with by Mr. Jas. Martin (Messrs. Sutton & Sons’ 
skilful cultivator). Having referred to the introduction of Gloxinia 
maculata in 1739 from South America, Mr. Martin traced the progress 
made up to the present time, the beautiful varieties now in cultivation 
being worthy of a place in every collection of plants. He clearly 
explained the details of culture requisite to achieve the best results, and 
exhibited several varieties of these lovely flowers, which were notable 
for their large size and rich and varied colours. The display of 
Gloxinias annually produced in Messrs. Sutton & Sons’ nursery at 
Reading is of a high order of merit. Among the exhibits on this 
occasion was a magnificent specimen of Vanda tricolor profusely 
flowered. This was exhibited by Mr. Pound, gardener to G. May, Esq., 
Caversham, who also exhibited some very large Laxton’s Noble Straw¬ 
berries. Two good examples of OJontoglossum Pescatorei were shown by 
Mr. Dockerill, gardener to G. W. Palmer, Esq. Hearty votes of thanks 
to the President and the lecturer brought a very enjoyable evening to a 
close. 
- Exotic Plants in Cornwall. —In a little pamphlet en 
titled “Cornwall as a Winter Resort” (W. Brendon & Sons, George 
Street, Plymouth), the following passage occurs relative to the plants 
which succeed in the open air :—“ The latest and fullest account of the 
exotic plants of the West of Cornwall will, however, be found in a 
paper by Mr. Upchcr, which obtained the meJal of the Falmouth 
Naturalist Society at the Polytechnic Exhibition in September, 1889. 
The localities chiefly cited are Tresco, Scilly—where, judging by its 
patent results, the climate, save for the absence of excessive summer 
heats, may fairly be described as sub-tropical—the neighbourhoods of 
Penzance, Falmouth, and Penryn. Aralias are perfectly hardy, and 
