130 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
August 9,1894. 
22 million lbs. of Lavender. Seed cultnre is also on an immense scale. 
Chinese Primroses yield 30 to 40 kilogrammes of seed (600 seeds weigh 
only one gramme), and every kilogramme costs from 2,600 to 22,000 
francs. Two years ago seven seeds of a new sort sold for 12 francs, 
which makes 1,028,400 francs per kilogramme. When these costly seeds 
produced a harvest the price, of course, fell. About 2,050,000 kilo¬ 
grammes of cut flowers are exported yearly from Cannes, Nice, and 
Antibes. The perfume factories use 3,332,000 kilogrammes of flowers 
for pomades ; 1,666,000 for scented oils, to the value of from three to 
five million francs ; not reckoning the scented plants distilled for 
essences, which weigh millions of kilogrammes. Bulbs are also an 
important culture. Near Hy^res about five million white Hyacinth 
bulbs are produced yearly, and there are 400,000 Narcissus bulbs, and 
100,000 Lily bulbs per annum.—(“ Daily News ”.) 
MELONS AT WOBURN ABBEY. 
Melons are in excellent condition in the houses at the Woburn 
Abbey Gardens, and that, too, in spite of the difficulties Mr. Calvert, 
the very practieal gardener in charge, has had to contend with. There 
is every likelihood of a large, well planned range of Melon houses being 
construeted soon, but in the meantime the best has to be done with the 
low fiat-roofed places that only are available. Some idea of the unsuit¬ 
ableness of some of the present houses for Melon culture may be 
gathered from the fact that the head room is so limited that the plants 
had to be zig-zagged as many as three times in order to keep them 
within bounds, and the fruits are hanging so low as to nearly touch the 
pots in which the plants are growing. Yet there is a very even lot of 
medium sized to large fruit in various stages of ripening, all of good 
form, beautifully netted, and otherwise promising well. By promising 
well I. mean that there is every likelihood of the fruit proving to be of 
high quality, seeing that the plants are in a fresh, healthy state to the 
last. 
It is worthy of note that Mr. Calvert places high quality before 
everything. This may appear a somewhat superfluous remark, but, I 
ask, how many growers are there who do not attach the greater 
importance to size and appearance, or otherwise how are we to account 
for their line of action? Mr. Calvert avoids overcropping, uses no 
decaying manure for the purpose of affording, first a brisk bottom heat, 
and then unlimited supplies of rich food for the roots to revel in, and is 
very chary of giving manure of any kind. Two, or at the most three, 
supplies of liquid manure is all the long rows of plants in pots on which 
fruit are ripening have received; but there has been no stint of 
water, as witness the clean healthy foliage of all. Mr. Calvert has not 
been at Woburn Abbey many months, and had no time to look up a 
heap of what he rightly considers suitable soil, or strong, somewhat 
clayey loam. Another season all this will be altered, as they do not 
appear so shy of cutting soil at Woburn as at far too many other places 
that could be named. Instead, therefore, of forming ridges of the light 
loamy soil at hand, and which thus exposed would never have sustained 
the plants in a healthy serviceable state, Seakale and other pots of about 
the same size were stood closely together in single rows and the soil 
rammed firmly into these. Only two fruit were allowed to swell on 
each plant, and yet, considering the roof area, this is a heavy crop. 
In the successional houses there is more head room, or sufficient for 
the plants to be trained more straightly up the roof. The same plan of 
growing them in pots packed closely together in a single line is adopted, 
and the plants are surprisingly strong and luxuriant, much cramped as 
they must be at the roots. Mr. Calvert is evidently no believer in the 
theory that Melons must be grown by themselves in a house, as one long 
row of plants are sharing a span-roofed house with Cucumbers. This 
reminds me of the practice of another very successful Melon grower— 
Mr. Pettigrew of Cardiff Castle. At the latter place Melons are to be 
seen growing luxuriantly and producing grand fruit of high-class 
quality in houses primarily devoted to Pine Apples, Crotons, and other 
heat and moisture-loving plants. In this instance, again, the roots are 
confined to narrow brick pits and soil not always quite fresh to a Melon 
crop. Abundance of water is given, and canker, the only enemy 
dreaded, is warded off by means of glazed earthenware collars that 
surround the stems at that vital point—the collar. Mr. Calvert has to 
contend with canker, though considering the great number of plants 
grown, on a small scale, and he partially blames the light soil for this. 
His remedy is to plant rather high, and to keep the collar constantly 
dry. Should canker commence on any of the stems a timely application 
of newly slaked lime soon stops it. It is not considered necessary to 
scrape the wounds, but the lime is well rubbed in. Quicklime is 
undoubtedly the best remedy, while Portland cement answers fairly 
well and should be used if caustic lime cannot be had. Sulphur, soot, 
and such like are of no avail against this much-to-be-dreaded enemy. 
A great variety of Melons are not grown at Woburn, in fact Mr. 
Calvert does not believe in a great variety of anything. Naturally after 
his experience at Gunnersbury, Welbeck, Osberton, and elsewhere, a 
good stock of Hero cf Lockinge is favoured, and he also possesses a good 
scarlet-fleshed form, obtained by crossing the former with that other 
very excellent variety Blenheim Orange. In this seedling the good 
qualities of both parents are evident enough, added to which it is not 
quite so strong growing, and therefore more free setting than is some¬ 
times the case with Blenheim Orange. Eastnor Castle is also grown. 
At its best this comparatively old variety is not surpassed, and that no 
one who ever tasted the grand fruit of it that used to be grown at 
Longleat by Mr. W. Taylor will dispute. Premier and a seedling raised 
from it are prominent at Woburn Abbey, and one of the handsomest 
and finest of all is Triumph. The latter is a scarlet flesh variety, and 
as well as being good to eat is for exhibition purposes one of the 
best.—W. I. 
SCENES OF CHILDHOOD REVISITED. 
After an absence of some thirty years, I found myself on July 24th 
on the platform at Armitage Station, wending my way to Hawkesyard. 
Meeting with goodly company I was told of still existing old friends 
not seen for years. I called on Mr. Cope, now retired from active 
life, a most successful gardener, and who spends his hours amongst his 
Carnations, Chrysanthemums, fruit trees, and his vinery of superbly 
finished Grapes. 
Farther down the village I called to peep at the seat of Mr. Thos. 
Birch, a most charming retreat, with delightful views of the Trent 
valley, and undulating woods in the distanee. I heard Mr. Birch was 
providing a band and throwing open these grounds to the public for a 
gala day. When I look back what these gardens were, I thought how 
Mr. Birch must have enjoyed forming this beautiful place. A chat 
with this venerable lover of his garden would be a treat. A wall of 
Peaches, Nectarines, and Apricots in fine health with a heavy crop, 
some fruit ripe, brought back the old days. How we use to care for 
these trees in the open air. Everything was well done, and the neatest 
of order kept, from the kitchen garden with its pond of sweet white 
Water Lilies, to the extreme secluded walk with its quiet pool, the 
masses of Lady Ferns in variety, and Osmunda regalis dipping in its 
cool waters. 
Leaving these shady retreats I enter the park of Hawkesyard, the 
seat of the late Josiah Spode, Esq., in whose death horticulture lost a 
strong supporter. The well known specimens of plants brought out year 
after year by the able plantsman Mr. Chapman were from this place. 
A short time back they were sold by auction, leaving the plant houses 
now tenantless. I found in the rock garden my first attempt at figure 
carving as fresh as ever. The same clumps of Fern, grown in greatest 
luxuriance, occupy the old spots, every path the same, with the 
octagonal Heath house, and its solid block and sides cut out of the rock 
forming the foundation and stages for the plants, now empty, except 
what gems have already become naturalised. The flower gardens were 
a blaze of colour. All these charms will be no more. We gazed on them 
and took a farewell look, as they are doomed to be turfed over. Thus 
ends one of the best and most interesting gardens for its area in Great 
Britain.— Geo. Bolas. 
LILAC SOUVENIR DE LOUIS SPATH. 
At a meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society, held on May 8th 
in the Drill Hail, Westminster, some beautiful Lilacs were exhibited by 
various growers, and amongst others Messrs. W. Paul & Son and Mr, 
Anthony Waterer had Souvenir de Louis Spath, for which first-class 
certificates were awarded. This is a splendid dark variety, producing 
large trusses of rich purple flowers, which are very fragrant. It is 
undoubtedly one of the darkest coloured Lilacs in cultivation, but is by 
no means dull, the flowers presenting a much brighter appearance than 
may be generally expected. Fig. 20 represents truss of bloom of this 
distinct variety, the engraving having been prepared from a sketch 
made on the above mentioned occasion. 
ONION AND POTATO DISEASES. 
I FEAR my esteemed friend, Mr. Orchard (page 106) has not quite 
caught the spirit of my remarks concerning the Onion maggot and the 
Potato disease. I made no reference to the Onion fungus or mould, 
because after all that last year was in no sense one tithe of the harmful 
nature the maggot was, and we see this year splendid Onion breadths, 
because the maggot has been rendered harmless by adverse weather. 
That the Onion fungus may be found in places even in the highly 
favoured Isle of Wight I can have no doubt, still I have not seen it this 
year so far. All the same, that should have no terrors for anyone, as 
by the use of the Bordeaux mixture, in which has been incorporated 
some treacle to render it adhesive, there need be no difficulty what¬ 
ever in combatting so restricted a trouble as is the Onion fungus. The 
maggot did last year create a scare amonpt growers. The fungus was 
and is a minor trouble. That the drowning out process has proved so 
efficacious with maggot is evidenced by the present condition of our 
Onion breadths. 
As to the Potato disease, is it not the case this year that all early 
Potatoes suffered from late frosts more than any other cause ? and equally 
is it not the case also that the severe weakening of the plants produced 
by the frost seiiously predisposed them to an early attack of the disease ? 
But then I said the Potato disease now has for us no terror, because the 
bulk of our leading late croppers are so far disease resisting that but a 
very trifling proportion suffer from the fungus in any case. If, how- 
