October 4,1894 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
319 
- The Climbing Canadian Wonder Beans.—S eeing that 
the Fruit Committee of the Royal Horticultural Society has voted a 
first-class certificate to Veitch’s Climbing French Bean, and the hatchet 
of discord over its quality or otherwise with another Bean has been 
buried, Mr. Dunkin’s contribution (page 294) to the controversy is out of 
date. When I wrote that I had seen both these Canadian Wonders 
growing side by side, and could see in them no difference, I spoke the 
truth, and have yet to be shown that in this instance I was wrong. 
I am no partisan and do not care to grant certificates for other than 
most satisfactory reasons. I prefer to be honest and impartial in my 
judgment, and wish to proceed slowly and with assurance, rather than 
to make mistakes. We are promised a trial of both sorts at Chiswick 
next year, and till then no more need be said.—A. D. 
- The Germination op Seeds.—A controversy has been going 
on in the daily Press anent the germination of supposed “ Mummy ” 
Wheat and other seeds, and in reference thereto Mr. Percy E. Newberry 
writes :—“ A correspondent in ‘ The Standard ’ refers to a series of experi¬ 
ments made in 1888 with the ‘Mummy’ Wheat discovered by Professor 
Flinders Petrie in the cemetery of Hawara, in Middle Egypt. It may 
interest your readers to know that besides this ‘ Mummy ’ Wheat, I set 
seeds and fruit of no less than thirty other species of plants (including 
the Nelumbium speciosum, the Peach, Almond, Cherry, Castor-oil, Peas, 
Beans, Lentils, Pomegranates, Acacia, Melon, Olive, Date-palm, and 
Poppy) found by Professor Petrie at Hawara. In every instance they 
were set in as favourable situations as possible, but not a single seed 
germinated. In the winter of 1890-1 I myself discovered three Peach 
■tones (probably of Roman date) in a tomb at Beni Hasan, in Upper 
Egypt. Two of these I planted in the corner of an Arab’s garden at 
Abff Gergas, but when I last visited the spot in 1893, the two stones had 
quite rotted away.” 
- American Aloes Flowering. —Referring to two plants 
flowering in the Botanical Gardens, Regent’s Park, Mr. John Mowlem 
Burt, Purbeck House, Swanage, Dorset, writes to the “Times” as 
follows :—“ Some of your readers may, perhaps, be interested to know 
that there are at present two plants in flower here. The flower spike 
began to shoot in the middle of April, and they attained their present 
heights respectively of 16 feet and 17 feet at the beginning of August. 
The blossoms did not burst out until the beginning of September, and 
now show signs of dying away. There are twenty-one bunches of 
blossom on each plant. The Secretary of the Botanic Society says that 
specimens grown in tubs in greenhouses in cool climates have been 
known to live over 100 years without flowering, others grown in warm 
countries often flower at the early age of fifteen ; therefore the plant, 
to a certain extent, may be considered as a good indicator of climate. 
The plants in Regent’s Park are not over fifty years old, and, I believe, 
are kept in greenhouses excepting for about two months in the year. 
Ours are thirty-five years old, and were brought by myself from 
Guernsey with four others when they were quite little plants a few 
inches high. They have always been in large iron tubs in the garden, 
and only temporarily cased round with glass for four months in the 
worst part of the year. We therefore think this says something for the 
climate of Swanage.” 
- Tipula oleracea. —Mr. J. B. Riding, Chingford^ writes ;—In 
this particular district we are literally swarmed with the well-known 
daddy longlegs, a fact that causes me no small amount of alarm. I should 
like to hear, through the pages of the Journal of Horticulture, whether 
any of your entomological readers have noticed its undue prevalence 
this autumn. We are told in moist damp seasons we may expect a 
stronger attack, whilst, when the other extreme condition of affairs 
exists, we should be practically free from its ravages. Yet we must all 
admit last season was exceptionally dry, and consequently we were led 
to suppose we should experience very little trouble the following year 
with the leather jacket grub. This has not turned out to be the case, 
for I never remember seeing the grub in such large numbers, neither 
has it proved so troublesome before. Some crops were nearly destroyed 
by its ravages. If we have such a bad attack after a dry season what 
are we to expect after an ideal autumn for its propagation ? It seems to 
me one of the worst insect pests we have to deal with. No doubt in 
many soils the evil can be obviated to a certain extent by deep digging, 
but in my particular case I cannot indulge in very deep cultivation, for 
the second spit is composed of solid clay. I intend dressing the ground 
with gas lime as soon as the crops are off, but I am afraid I shall not 
eradicate the insects thoroughly by this method, for no doubt the 
surrounding land will be full of them. Perhaps some reader may be 
able to record his experience in successfully dealing with this pest. 
- Are Toma,toes Fruits ?—This question has often been put, 
and from a purely garden aspect been answered in the negative, they 
having so far always been classed as vegetables. The Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society, however, has now taken a new departure, and dis¬ 
tinctly recognised Tomatoes as fruits. In the schedule of tlie Great 
National fruit show at the Crystal Palace were three classes specially 
for Tomatoes. That is full recognition of the status of Tomatoes as 
fruits, for nothing else absolutely outside of recognised fruits has any 
such recognition. The matter opens up a serious question. If the 
R.H.S. thus classify Tomatoes as fruits can they refuse to admit them 
into collections of fruits, or would judges be instructed to disqualify ? 
The question requires an authoritative reply.—A. D. 
- Shirlet and District Gardeners’ and Amateurs’ 
Improvement Association. —An extra special meeting of the above 
Society was held at the Philharmonic Hall, Southampton, on the 
Ist inst. with the view of extending the Society’s operations by holding 
fortnightly meetings during the winter months. Mr. E. Molyneux of 
Swanmore Park Gardens, gave a lecture to a large audience on “ Fruit 
Trees for Walls and Espaliers,” giving valuable hints on the proper 
method of pruning and training, insects, canker, root-pruning, and the 
best varieties to plant in various aspects. There was a fine show of 
hardy fruit exhibited by Mrs. Day (gardener, Mr. J. Jones, 
261 dishes) ; Mr. W. Perkins, J.P., Portswood (gardener, Mr. J. Miles, 
forty-three dishes) ; Colonel W. S. Sinkins, Aldernoor (gardener, Mr. 
J. E. Wilcox, eighteen dishes) ; Mr. A. Barlow, Shirley (gardener, Mr. 
J. Soffee, two dishes Pears); Mr. Austin Smith, Shirley (gardener, Mr. 
H. Wright, three dishes Pears) ; and a fine collection of hardy flowers 
from the nurseries of Mr. B. Ladhams, F.R.H.S. Certificates of merit 
were awarded to Mr. J. Jones, Mr. J. Miles, and Mr. J. Soffee ; and Mr. 
J. E. Wilcox’s exhibit was highly commended. Votes of thanks to the 
lecturer and the exhibitors closed the meeting. 
- Transplanting Evergreens. —Writing to the “Country 
Gentleman” recently, Mr. Meehan said that he prefers to transplant 
most coniferous evergreens in August and September. Of course, 
evaporation from the leaves will be quite as rapid then as at any other 
season, but new root-fibres will form in the warm soil much more 
rapidly then than at .any other time. The soil in the summer resembles 
that in a propagating bed, and trees and shrubs should be treated just as 
cuttings are. They should be shaded, df possible, and the roots must 
be kept moist. The holes for the trees are dug to the proper depth, and 
good earth is put in places where the soil is poor. Fine earth is filled in 
about the roots and pounded to make it solid, but the roots are never 
bruised. When the holes are half filled several buckets of water are 
poured in, until the soil becomes mushy. After the water has soaked 
away more soil is filled in, but the hole is not completely filled. The 
next day th? roots are thoroughly soaked again; on the third day the 
filling of the holes is completed, and no more water will be required. 
The roots will be moist for a week, and by that time new fibres will 
have put forth. When a good ball of earth is retained about the roots 
Mr. Meehan has never found it necessary to shade the trees or to sprinkle 
them, but there is no doubt that shading could be practised with 
advantage where it is practicable, and syringing the foliage a few times 
a day would certainly be a benefit. 
- Devon and Exeter Gardeners’ Association. —The annual 
meeting of the Devon and Exeter Gardeners’ Mutual Improvement 
Society was held at the Exeter Guildhall on the 26th ult. The Mayor 
(Alderman E. J. Domville) presided over a good attendance. The 
report of the Hon. Secretaries (Messrs. A. Hope and T. E. Bartlett) 
showed a favourable record of work, and of the present position of the 
Association as regards funds and membership. There was a balance in 
hand of £28 ITs. 9d., and 104 members on the roll. During last season 
the papers read and discussions thereon had been marked by practical 
acquaintance and plain dealing with the subjects, which from the first 
had been one of the characteristics of, and, indeed, the backbone of their 
Association. The attendance of members throughout the session had 
been most satisfactory. The Spring Flower show in March—the “ new 
departure,” resolved upon in no spirit of rivalry to the exhibitions of 
the Devon and Exeter Horticultural Society—taken as a whole, and 
considered as a first effort, might fairly be claimed to have been a great 
success, and the Committee recommend the holding of a similar display 
next spring. In reference to the summer outing in July, the heartiest 
thanks of the Association were due to the Dowager Countess of Morley, 
Colonel the Hon. C. Seale-Hayne, M.P., and Mr. T. ,B. Bolitho, M.P., 
for their kindness and hospitality on the occasion of the Association’s 
visit to their estates. The Committee desired to record the deep and 
sincere regret felt by all the members at the loss by death of the late 
