154 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
August 16, 1894. 
- Gaedening Appointment.—M r. D. M. Russell, for upwards 
of teu years gardener to Mr. Baring, Banstead Wood, has been appointed 
Superintendent of West Ham Park, of which he takes charge on the 
20th inst. 
- Teak Wood.—I t is estimated that 52,236 tong of teak wood 
were cut in lower Burma in one year. The Teak forests of the upper 
part of the province, however, are more extensive and important, and in 
the same year produced not less than 139,500 cubic tons of teak. The 
trade shows no signs of diminution, notwithstanding the many rival 
materialg with which teak wood has now to contend, so varied are the 
purposes for which it is adapted. Teak is used in shipbuilding for decks 
and lower masts, railway carriages, the construction of bridges, for 
furniture and house-building. It is found particularly well suited to 
back the metal plates of ironclads, the resinous matter which it contains 
acting as a preventive against rust. 
-Summary of Meteorological Observations at Hodsock 
Priory, Worksop, Notts, for July. —Mean temperature of month, 
60 7°. Maximum on the 6th, 82 5°; minimum on the 12th, 43'3°. 
Maximum in the sun on the 6th, 135‘8° ; minimum on grass on the 
12th, 34‘9°. Mean temperature of air at 9 A M., 621° ; mean tempera¬ 
ture of soil 1 foot deep, 61'2°. Sunshine—Total duration in month 
175 hours, or 35 per cent, of possible duration ; we had two sunless 
days. Total rainfall, 2*70 inches ; rain fell on nineteen days. Average 
velocity of wind, 6 6 miles per hour. Velocity did not exceed 400 miles 
on any day, and fell short of 100 miles on eleven days. Approximate 
averages for July—Mean temperature, 60'7°; rainfall, 2-42 ; sunshine, 
160 hours. The first few days were fine and warm, then came rather 
more than a fortnight of cool and showery weather, and the last few 
days were fine.—J. Mallender. 
- Prolific Queen Tomato.— Like many others, for some time 
I have interested myself in crossing and selecting Tomatoes, and this 
year I have obtained one plant that has been examined by a large 
number of people, including several gardeners, and they have all pro¬ 
nounced it to be an extraordinary specimen. The growth and foliage is 
robust, not susceptible to disease. The plant is grown in bush form, 
with five 3 feet stems, and on which, after taking off fifteen fruit, there 
are now hanging 122 nearly all ripe. Those gathered averaged four to the 
pound, and were taken from straps that have from eight to twelve each. 
The fruit is deep in shape, of rich ruby colour, some slightly furrowed, 
similar to our selected Maincrop, but in every way is a great improve¬ 
ment on it. I am not quite certain, but expect that it is a cross 
with a prolific yellow variety, and if the name is not already claimed I 
shall call it “ Prolific Queen.”— Joseph Witherspoon, Red Rose 
Vineries, Chester-le-Street . 
- Genista virgata. —A correspondent, writing to the “ Garden 
and Forest,” calls this plant “ a king among Brooms ; one might 
almost call it the grandest of all hardy early summer flowering shrubs. 
It is represented at Kew by many huge bushes 12 feet high and 
through, which have been established many years among the trees as 
well as in several of the shrubberies, and they were all clouds 
of gold for at least four weeks. Some Genistas are good for a few 
years and then require to be grubbed up and started afresh, and 
some are never good for much as garden plants. But G. virgata is 
never unsightly, is quite hardy, is easily multiplied from cuttings, 
transplants well, and when in flower in June it is a gorgeous picture 
of golden-yellow flowers. Strangely enough, it is a rare plant in 
English gardens, although cultivated in the last century and described 
fifty years ago by Dr. Lindley. It is a native of Madeira, and has 
been called Spartium virgatum.” 
— SteophanTSUs Petersianus. — This comparatively new 
plant has lately flowered for the first time in a stove at Kew, and has 
attracted attention on account of its yellow and red octopus-like flowers, 
borne on the ends of short lateral branches which spring from the 
main stem. According to the “Garden and Forest” the plant is a 
climber with ovate-lanceolate leaves, and the flowers are funnel-shaped, 
with a bread-mouthed tube inch long, the apex surrounded by a 
fringe of erect lanceolate scales half an inch long, and the five twisted 
corolla lobes hanging down to a length of 6 inches, suggestive of the 
arms of the octopus or the snakes of Medusa. Strophanthus is a tropical 
genus of about twenty species of trees and shrubs, some of which are 
known to yield a most deadly poison. Several species, namely, S. 
dichotomus, S. Bullenianus, and S. longicaudatus, are known in gardens, 
but they are inferior in floral attractiveness to this new one. The 
Kew plant was raised from seeds received from Delagoa Bay in 1884. 
-A Prolific Cauliflower. — A northern newspaper states 
that Mr. Thomas Bibby, North Terrace, Hexham, has a plant of Veitch’s 
Autumn Giant Cauliflower which was sown in March last year, and 
which has stood outside all the winter. It has had no less than twelve 
flowers on this spring, four of which have been cut measuring about 
4 inches across, leaving eight all good flowers all from the one stem; 
It made no attempt to flower at all last year. 
- Medicinal Plants. —A recent number of the “ British 
Medical Journal” says, “ that a large collection of indigenous medicinal 
plants and drugs, fibres, and cereals has already been made in the 
Imperial Institute from India and the East. Many of the Indian drugs 
have enjoyed a reputation in tropical diseases for the last 2000 years. 
They are, however, employed in the crude state, generally in combina¬ 
tion with metallic and mineral compounds, and do not therefore indicate 
their individual value as medicines. They have, with a few exceptions, 
undergone no chemical analysis or pharmacological experimentation, 
and such researches have not yet been taken up either by Government 
or by private individuals in India, neither are there facilities or expert 
knowledge easily procurable for such researches. To submit them to- 
experts in London for proper investigation would be very costly under 
the circumstances. The establishment of a chemical and pharmacological 
laboratory in connection with the Imperial Institute, under a committee 
of experts, would be a valuable addition. There are few institutions of 
the kind where any original researches can be made in London ; it will 
therefore be a very desirable and useful institution for the promotion of 
science. It may in addition be expected to help towards the discovery 
of important medicines and products of great dietetic and commercial 
value. The benefits which would accrue from the Institution would be 
greatly appreciated both by English and Indian contributors to the 
funds of the Imperial Institute ; and it would tend to bring together 
scientific men from all classes and races of men in the British Empire.” 
EASTON LODGE. 
Dunmow, that quaint old Essex town, is a name well known 
throughout the British Isles, and I doubt not that the unique and 
ancient custom connected with it has been heard of in the distant lands 
of Greater Britain. If so, perhaps at some future time should the 
examples of conjugal felicity unhappily become more rare, some well- 
mated couples from our Empire beyond the seas may be found competing 
for that priceless treasure, the “ Dunmow Flitch.” It is not my 
intention, however, to enlarge upon the picturesque peculiarities of this 
ancient town, with its long curving street, which abounds in primitive 
examples of paving and nondescript styles of architecture, as I have 
abundant materials at hand wherewith to fill my allotted space if I touch 
in the briefest manner upon some of the salient features of the 
surroundings of Easton Lodge, the delightful Essex residence of the 
Earl and Countess of Warwick. 
From Dunmow Station, a journey of two miles and a half, along 
pleasant winding lanes, brings the traveller bound for Easton Lodge to 
the nearest entrance to the park. Near this on each side are picturesque 
cottages and other residences, entwined with creepers of luxurious 
growth, and interspersed with stately trees. Here too the village church 
of Little Easton, with its massive rugged walls, appears conspicuous 
for enduring strength among them all. After entering the park gates a 
sharp descent in the road leads to an irregular hollow, at which point 
long stretches of water extend on either side. Traversing the rising 
ground in front a noble avenue of deciduous trees is reached, and as the 
eye looks upward through the leafy canopy above a sense of the 
insignificance of man seems to be engendered by the giants that tower 
on each side. When the extremity of this avenue is reached the park 
drive sweeps gently round by a line of choice healthy Coniferm and a 
shrubbery bounded by a sunken fence, which serves to keep the extensive 
herd of deer from straying beyond their own domain. As this shrubbery 
is left behind a fine view of the commodious and ornate mansion is 
obtained. This consists of a massive block of comparatively modern 
construction, and an ancient wing, part of which is apparently at right 
angles with the main building. The beautiful proportions of this wing 
with its graceful dome, slender chimneys, and pretty colonnade strike 
the eye at once, as presenting a marked contrast to the more elaborate 
architecture of the newer block, in front of which runs a terrace 
bounded by a handsome stone balustrade. From this point a wide 
expanse of grass is seen in the distance, and a fine view is obtained of 
the magnificently timbered park. Few places can boast of so many 
giant English Oaks. One in particular has a girth of 33 feet near the 
ground line, and several others almost as large. 
