396 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ May 19, 1887. 
and the result has been that although there has been a good seed time, 
there has been no vegetation. Rain began to fall about three o’clock 
this afternoon and continued during the evening.” 
- Fruit Farms. —“ They go in for big farms in Australia,” says 
a daily paper. “Two brothers namedjChaffey have just taken a 
holding of 250,000 acres, along the Murray River, for ‘ fruit-growing 
purposes.’ ” 
-It has been estimated that the value of American Apples 
sent to England last year amounted to 3,500,000 dollars, or about 
£700,000 ; of these Canada contributed 451,000 dollars worth. 
- Hardy Flowers.—M r. W. A. Cook sends the following note 
on hardy plants in flower :—“ Many beautiful flowers are now peeping 
through our herbaceous borders, such as the dwarf Phlox setacea 
A 7 ivid, Phlox amoena, Phlox atropurpurea, Aubrietia violacea, Aubrietia 
deltoidea, Anemones of sorts. Anemone pulsatilla has been in flower for 
months, and in about a week we shall have twenty to thirty Saxifragas 
in full bloom ; the beautiful S. Wallacei is most striking. Then we have 
a host of Auriculas, Diadem and Lord Lome being conspicuous. 
Primula rosea has been in flower a considerable time, also Primula 
purpurea, P. platypetala, and others equally good; Polyanthus The 
Bride is a very good variety. We have many good gold-laced varieties 
from seeds. Lunaria biennis (Honesty) makes a grand plant in a cool 
shady border. Of Narcissus, the last are now flowering freely. Tulips of 
all shades are in bloom splendidly, and after such a long winter I have 
never seen them looking better. Myosotis dissitiflora looks very pretty 
round the edges of two large beds of yellow Wallflowers. Silene 
ruberrima and compacta are flowering well. East Lothian Stocks, 
which were planted out about six weeks ago, are sweet. Pansies and 
Violas also are commencing to flower freely. Of shrubs there are some 
already in flower, such as Spiraea Thunbergi, Almond and Peach (double 
flower) are all in full bloom. Cerasus communis, Berberis, Prunus 
Pissardi in full bloom, and the beautiful Service Tree will be out in a 
few days. Pyrus japonica is already in flower.” 
- Dropmore has long been celebrated for its magnificent Coni¬ 
fers and other trees, and closely associated with their history was the 
equally well-known veteran gardener, Philip Frost, whose death we 
have now to announce. Mr. Frost was born on July 10th, 1804, a^ 
Moreton Hampstead, Devonshire, his father being subsequently employed 
by Lord Grenville at Boconnoc, Cornwall, and it was there that Philip 
Frost commenced his career under the forester. In 1822 he proceeded 
to Dropmore Gardens, and after a short service at Ashtead Park, Epsom 
in 1826, he returned to Dropmore, where he remained until 1828. He 
spent some time at Caen Wood, and afterwards at the Chelsea Botanic 
Gardens as foreman, leaving there in 1833 to take charge of Dropmore 
Gardens, where he has remained ever since, living to see Deodars and 
other trees planted by himself attain the height of 60 feet or more. Mi- 
Frost was presented by his friends with a silver cup, value £25, in 1872 ; 
and a small annuity, as some indication of the respect in which he was 
held as a hearty, honest, independent man. He was in his eighty-third 
year at the time of his death. 
- For many years it has been customary to have the flower beds 
near the broad walk in the Royal Gardens, Kew, bare until filled with 
the ordinary summer plants. This season, however, Hardy Bulbs have 
been freely employed with excellent results. Hyacinths, Tulips, Cro¬ 
cuses, &c., have been planted in numbers, and as some taste has been 
exercised in the association of the colours, the effect is very pleasing. 
- Mr. Joseph Mallender sends his monthly Summary of 
Meteorological Observations at Hodsock Priory, Worksop, 
Notts, for April, 1887 :—Mean temperature of month, 43-4°. Maxi¬ 
mum on the 18th, 63'1° ; minimum on the 18th, 24'6°. Maximum in 
sun on the 24th, 119-4°; minimum on the grass on the 17th, 16 4°. 
Mean temperature of air at 9 A.M., 45-1°; mean temperature of soil 
1 foot deep, 44-2°. Nights below 32° in shade, 12 ; on grass, 21. Sun¬ 
shine : total duration in month, 153 hours, or 37 per cent, of possible 
duration. We had one sunless day. Total rainfall in month, 1.01. 
Rain fell on thirteen days. North and easterly winds have been very 
prevalent ; average velocity, 11-3 miles per hour. The velocity exceeded 
400 miles on one day, and did not fall short of 100 on any day. Ap¬ 
proximate averages for April :—Mean temperature, 46'4° ; rainfall, P66 ; 
sunshine (six years), 128'2. April was colder than of the last eleven 
years except 1879, and drier than any except 1881, brighter than any 
of the last six. The nights were especially cold, and the daily range of 
temperature great. Vegetation very backward. Black Currants very 
much damaged by the cold, and Gooseberries slightly cut. Apple, 1 ear. 
Plum, and Cherry bloom very abundant. 
- The Gardeners’ Orphan Fund.— Mr. C. Penny of Sandring¬ 
ham sends us a letter in which he appeals strongly to the gardeners of 
England to give their support to this fund, and to give it promptly, in¬ 
stead of “ waiting to see what others do.” He remarks that “ even a 
subscription of 5s. annually from gardeners generally would enable- 
grants to be made at once, and subscribers would soon see how the 
money was expended and the good it was doing.” Mr. Penny further 
hopes that “ gardeners will canvass for the f uud with a will, and they 
will surprise themselves and others with the good results that will be 
the outcomei of their efforts.” We may add- that nearly 600 persons 
have promised donations and subscriptions, amounting to upwards of 
£560. This sum is certain to be considerably increased when the trade 
generally follow the excellent example of the few early donors who have- 
given their support to the scheme. As a proposal will be made at the 
meeting, to be held next week, to publish a list of subscribers, it is 
hoped that all persons who are willing to support the fund will send in 
the printed forms they may have received, or communicate with Mr- 
Barron, Chiswick, without delay. It is quite expected the Gardeners 
Orphan Fund will be worthy to rank with other valuable institutions in 
the horticultural world, and supplement them in affording help to those- 
of the helpless for which no special provision has hitherto been made- 
Gardeners in various parts of the country and gardeners’ societies can 
share in making the fund as great a success as it deserves to be in the 
manner indicated by Mr. Penny, and district co-operation is desired by 
the central provisional Committee. 
._. Mr. G. J. Symons, in his “ Monthly Meteorological Magazine, r 
for May, gives this note on Reports of Severe Winters and Vege¬ 
tation “ We picked up, a week or two since, from a Paris bookstall, 
the work by M. Baltet (‘ Societe Nationale d’ Agriculture de France. Da 
faction du Froid surles vdgitaux pendant l’hiver, 1879-80.—J.Tremblay, 
Paris, 1882’), and on our return to London we found awaiting us Mr. 
Henslow’s report upon the same subject (-Journal of the Royal Horticul¬ 
tural Society. The First Report. On the effects of the severe frosts on 
vegetation during the winters 1879-80 and 1880-81.’ London, 1887.) 
The coincidence in time was remarkable, considering that nearly eight 
years have elapsed since the frost to which they refer, while the fact of 
both being 8vo., and one occupying 340 pages and the other 338, is a 
curious addition to the parallelism. It will be noticed, however, that 
the French report was published five years before the English one, and 
yet Prof. Henslow does not appear to have seen it. The style of the two- 
books is as dissimilar as possible. M. Baltet’s memoir was submitted for 
examination to M. J. A. Barral, and an excellent epitome is given in M- 
Barral’s report presented in August, 1881. ” 
_ At the Bath and West of England association’s Exhi¬ 
bition to be held at Dorchester, May 30th to June 3rd, the horticultural 
department, as usual, is under the superintendence of the Hon. and 
Rev. J. T. Boscawen. The display of Orchids is expected to be an 
exceptionally good one, a cup (or money) value £10 is offered for the 
best group of Orchids, and £5 for the best specimen Orchid in the Show- 
Prizes of £3 and £2 are also offered for collections of fruit (not less than, 
three exhibitors), £3 and £2 for collection of vegetables, with £2 and 
£1 for the best dishes of thirty Strawberries. The fruit and vegetables- 
can be staged up to 10 o’clock Tuesday morning, and removed on Thurs¬ 
day evening. H.R.H. the Prince of Wales is expected to visit the Exhi¬ 
bition on Thursday. All inquiries should be addressed to the Hon. and 
Rev. J. T. Boscawen, Lamorran, Probus, Cornwall. 
-- Taking the condition of the trees at Chiswick as typical, Fruit 
Prospects are at the present time satisfactory. The Pear blossom is- 
fading and the fruit setting. The handsome pyramids have been very 
beautiful, and one of the late-blooming Pears, Henri Capron, is the 
most beautiful of all, the flowers being very large, and many containing 
six or more petals. It is not easy to imagine any pleasure ground tree 
more beautiful than the 12 feet high pyramid of this Pear. Apple 
blossom is expanding freely and is very fine, perhaps the finer through 
the trees not being densely covered, though it is more than sufficiently 
plentiful for an abundant crop of fruit. The trees worked on the 
different kinds of stocks and grown in a natural mannerjare models in 
their way, those of such floriferous varieties as Stirling (Castle, Cellini, 
