230 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
September 6,1894. 
market during the last few years it is impossible to say, but there 
appears no sensible diminution in the mass of Fern life in the country 
aTound Sydney. Considerable numbers of Ferns are obtained from the 
neighbourhood of the Hawkesbury, the Manning, and other northern 
rivers ; and occasionally from the Illawarra and other southern districts. 
Among the favourite kinds of Fern are the Elk-horn and the Stag-horn, 
both of which are found growing, sometimes in large clusters, on the 
trunks of forest trees or the surface of moist rocks. They are easily 
detached, and will grow readily when affixed to a brick wall, a door¬ 
post, or almost anything which affords them a means of suction. The 
Bird-nest Fern is another favourite. It is found growing from a few 
inches to several feet in height, and forms both an attractive addition to 
the garden and an ornament to the verandah. 
The English Maidenhair is the most in request, not only for the 
garden or the bush house, but also for bouquets. It is generally sold in 
pots or wire hanging baskets, the price not exceeding a few pence. 
Indeed, among the Sydney labouring classes Ferns largely take the 
place of the Pelargoniums and other plants in pots which find a place 
on the windowsills of Whitechapel and similar metropolitan working- 
class districts. Among other well-known Ferns are the common 
Adder’s-tongue, Climbing Snake Fern, Parasol Fern, Hare-foot Fern, 
Mountain Bracken, Cat-wing Fern, Fan-shaped Spleenwort, Caraway 
Fern, Bladder Fern, Lady Fern, Blanket Fern, Golden Swamp Fern, 
and others; while of those known only by their botanical names the 
number is legion. To see the Australian Ferns in their fullest beauty, 
they should be sought in the mountain gullies into which the sunlight 
scarcely penetrates, and where they form exquisite pictures far more 
enchanting than any that the most fertile imagination is capable of 
creating.— Johk Plummer, Sydney. 
COLD STORAGE OF FRUIT. 
A SERIES of experiments in the cold storage of fruit were some time 
since conducted by the fruit expert (Mr. A. H. Benson) for the Depart¬ 
ment of Agriculture, New South Wales, at the cold storage rooms 
attached to the Government meat market, at Darling Harbour. Messrs. 
Hudson Bros., lessees, have kindly placed a chamber of 50 tons’ capacity 
ships measurement at the disposal of the Department free of all charge. 
The system of cold storage employed was one in which an even tempera¬ 
ture combined with a constant influx of cold fresh air was maintained, 
and this system, or rather principle, is the only satisfactory one for use 
in the case of fruit, as a merely cold air without the necessary ventila¬ 
tion and influx of fresh air has been proved to be insufficient to keep 
fruit in good condition for any length of time. 
The fruits experimented with consisted of the following varieties— 
viz.. Apples, Pears, Plums, Peaches, Nectarines, Grapes, Mangoes, Pine 
Apples, Tomatoes, and Passion fruit, and were obtained from fruit 
growers in various parts of the Colony. Different materials were tried for 
packing, and the fruit was tested under various conditions, wrapped and 
unwrapped, in light cases and open well-ventilated cases, and in various 
states or degrees of ripeness. The average temperature maintained was 
41-74°, and was very evenly maintained. The extreme limit of varia¬ 
tion ranged from to 51°, and these extremes were only reached on 
two or three occasions. The ventilation was at all times satisfactory. 
The general results of the experiments may be summarised as follows :— 
1. Apples, midseason and late variety of Pears, solid-fleshed Plums, 
and tough-skinned fleshy Grapes may be kept in perfect condition with¬ 
out any appreciable loss for a period of two months, when stored in a 
cold dry fresh air, maintained at an even average temperature of 41° to 
43°, provided that the fruit is carefully gathered, handled, and packed, 
and that all blemished fruit is discarded. Apples will keep equally as 
well if the temperature is raised 10°, but the other fruits require the 
lower temperature. Two months allows for the extreme outside time 
required to place the fruit on the English market. 
2. After being removed from the cold storage, the fruit keeps in good 
condition for a sufficient time to enable it to be disposed of and con¬ 
sumed with only a small per-centage of loss, provided that previous to 
its removal from cold storage the temperature of the store is gradually 
raised to that of the outside air, as any condensation of moisture on the 
fruit, which would tend to create decay, is thereby prevented. 
3. Soft fruit, such as Peaches and Nectarines, may be safely stored 
without deterioration from one to two weeks, according to variety, 
thereby preventing to a certain extent the glutting of the markets with 
these fruits during the height of the season. 
4. The cost of cold storage by the method employed is much less 
than that at present used for the conveyance of fruit to England, and 
the results are much better. At present the three great drawbacks 
Australian fruit growers have to compete with in the export of fruit to 
the English market are ; First, the excessive freight; second, the large 
per-centage of loss arising through the fruit being carried without a 
proper system of ventilauon ; and thirdly, through the bad-keeping 
qualities of the fruit when la ided, which necessitates the fruit being 
disposed of and consumed as rapidly as possible. All these drawbacks 
would be, to a great extent, prevented if the fruit were carried under 
similar conditions to those maintained during the experiments, and a 
cheaper and better carriage would tend to greatly increase our export of 
fruit to England, which, unless such steps are shortly taken, threatens 
to become a thing of the past, as the prices received for our fruit in 
London are entirely prohibitive in the majority of cases. No doubt 
this is not always the fault of the high freight and bad system of carriage 
employed, but is often largely due to the carelessness of the growers or 
shippers themselves in sending worthless and inferior fruits ; and this 
was shown many times in last year’s shipments of Tasmanian Apples. 
The English market wants one class of fruit only—the best, and that 
fruit put on the market in the best condition and most attractive 
manner ; and if growers or shippers try to palm off any inferior grades 
they will get left every time, as the English buyers will not have them, 
except at very low rates. 
The value of these experiments to the New South Wales fruit grower 
is that by this means the Government have practically shown the 
conditions that are necessary to maintain in order to successfully keep 
fruit in cold storage, and also what fruits are most suitable, and what 
care is necessary to be taken with the grading, wrapping, and packing 
of the fruits so as to render them suitable for cold storage, especially as 
adapted to an export trade. It is to an export trade that the fruit 
growers must eventually look if the industry is to take a prominent 
place in colonial industries ; and by showing how the export of fruit 
may be most economically and successfully carried out these experi¬ 
ments are likely to be of great value to the fruit growers and to the 
Colony in general.—(“ Kew Bulletin.”) 
CYCAS REVOLUTA—FERTILE OVULES. 
I SEND for your notice two fertile ovules of the above Cycas. How 
it has resulted is this. About the end of May I met a gentleman in 
Cheadle (T. H. Sykes, Esq.), who owns a number of splendid specimen 
plants. He remarked to me that he had a Cycas revoluta throwing up 
fruit. As I knew the plant, which is a very fine one, I said his plant 
was a male, and that we had the female in the same condition, and 
that if he could let me have some pollen we would see what could 
be done. The same afternoon he came to look at our plant, and at 
the same time brought some pollen in a small box from his male Cycas. 
In that afternoon with a downy feather I had the pollen dusted several 
times, letting the dust fall all over the fruiting crown, and the result 
now, I think you will say, is that fertile ovules are produced. If 
you recollect, many years ago I sent you a fruiting leaf and ovules, 
which you figured, which was from the same plant, but on breaking the 
ovules you found them to be hollow.— Robert MacKellar, The 
Gardens, Abney Hall, Cheshire. 
[We remember the specimen very well that was sent to us in 1880, 
and of which we reproduce the illustration (fig. 34). The present 
specimen is similar in appearance, but only the tip is sent with two ovules. 
On breaking one of these we did not find it “ hollow,” but on the contrary 
the shell closely encompassed a firm nut-like seed, the first that has 
been sent to us as grown in this country. We trust that those which our 
correspondent wisely retained will germinate, and that young plants 
will reward him for his acumen and prompt action which led to their 
production.] 
HORTICULTURAL SHOWS. 
VENTNOR AND UNDERCLIFFE.— August 29th. 
There are but few places in this country possessing more natural 
advantages for landscape adornment than Steephill Castle, near Ventnor, 
Isle of Wight, the charming seat of H. Sewell, Esq. It is situated at 
the western end of Ventnor at the commencement of the far famed 
Undercliffe, on a natural terrace formed at some time from the fallen 
rocks, and protected on the north side by high rugged cliffs, on which 
Thorns, Ivy, and other indigenous shrubs and flowers take root and 
grow, partly clothing the more sombre rocks. From the top of the 
cliffs rise the lofty downs to the height of from 800 to 900 feet above 
the level of the sea, these forming a natural protection to the beautiful 
demesne and its surroundings. The tower of the castle lifts its head 
above the lofty Elms, Ash, Sycamore and Maples with which it abounds, 
and serves as a landmark thiough the length of the undercliff and far 
out on the English Channel, the shore of which is about a quarter of a 
mile away. 
Underneath the more lofty forest trees winding footpaths and 
rugged steps lead from grove to grove and terrace to terrace over the 
undulating pleasure grounds, revealing fresh scenes and choice nooks 
and corners at every turn. The fallen rocks and boulders peep out from 
the well-kept turf slopes and lawns, and give excellent situations for 
some of the choice half-hardy flowering plants and shrubs. The fringes 
of turf abounded with the flowers of Cyclamen hedermfolium of various 
colours, also C. Atkinsi and C. Coum follow on, with the various 
varieties of Daffodils and Narcissi, now resting. To name the many 
choice trees and shrubs would take up too much space. A large Cork 
tree is of especial interest to visitors, and a fine specimen of the Manna 
tree is a very conspicuous object when in bloom. Benthamia fragifera 
is a noble sight with its white flowers in spring, and ripens its large 
Strawberry-like fruits in the autumn. There is a grand Pittosporum, 
a fine-leaved variety ; a very fine Quercus glabra, Podocarpus chiliensis, 
Garrya elliptica, a huge bush ; Pavia macrostachys, Abies Smithiana, 
Colletia bictoniensis, Picea Normanniana, and a Hiccory amongst many 
