118 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ May, 
make it drier and harder than before. Watering in sunshine often causes the leaves 
to blister, but when rain is falling naturally, the clouds from which it descends 
act as a screen between the earbh and the rays of the sun. This shows that water¬ 
ing, which is a substitute for natural rain, should not be performed when the sun 
is shining. 
When summer rain is falling the air becomes moist, and the sun, while its 
warmth is still acting, does not counteract by its fiery rays the good effects of 
that moisture, but the soil is softened and disposed to the entrance of the genial 
element. Everything then favours the growth of the plant. But this is not so when 
artificial watering takes place. The air is then dry, and the sun draws away, early 
in the morning, the moisture which the watering imparted the evening before. 
The most beneficial watering is that which is applied before rainy weather, be¬ 
cause, in such case, its'good effects are not counteracted by the rays of the sun. 
The best water for using in a garden is that which contains an abundance of 
fertilizing substances, such as that from cesspools, ponds, &c. Eain water is also 
good; when spring or well water alone can be obtained, it should be exposed for 
some time to the sun and air before it is used.— Edward Bennett, Enville. 
GAEDEN GOSSIP. 
HISWICK GAEDEN is not, after all, to be abandoned by the Eoyal 
Horticultural Society. The representations of the Press, and of various 
friends of the Society, have led to a reconsideration of the position of 
affairs, with the result that the Garden is to be reduced, not given up. 
The arboretum, wilderness, and orchard are to be cut off, and about ten acres, including the 
council-room, the large conservatory, the fruit-room, and the various glass-houses, retained 
as an experimental garden. The old orchard necessarily goes, but young trees have been 
secured on dwarf stocks, so that the fruit collection will be kept in an efficient state. A lease 
of the ten acres will be granted for fifty years, at a rental of about £100 a year, through the 
liberality of the Duke of Devonshire, and it is estimated that by these new arrangements 
the Society will be able to reduce its expenditure by £1,000 a year, wfithout lessening its 
utility, for the portion retained will be amply sufficient for all useful pui’poses. 
- ^HE Sulphur Distributor of Messrs. Adams and Grant is one of the most 
simple contrivances for the purpose that can be imagined, yet it appears to be a 
most effectual one. It consists of a little box with two glass sides, 5 in. long by 
3 in. wide, and a little more than 1 in. in depth, into which the sulphim is put. On one side 
there is a small aperture for the sulphur to pass out, and on the opposite another, which is 
fitted on to the nozzle of a common household bellows. By blowing the bellows the sulphur is 
made to issue through the small aperture on the opposite side like fine dust, in a moat 
effectual manner. It is the simplest and best sulphm' distributor we have yet seen. 
- She gardeners of Scotland have recently presented a Testimonial to 
Mr. Methven. It consists of a large and magnificently wrought silver epergne, and 
a massive silver salver, bearing the following inscription :—“ Presented to Mr. 
Thomas Methven, Nimseryman, Edinburgh, March 29, 1870, by a few of his horticultural and 
arboricultural friends, as a token of their esteem for him personally, and of the sense they 
entertain of the many services that he has rendered to cultural science.” 
- She Floreten, or Flower-pot holder, is a very simple and useful con¬ 
trivance, adapted for window or wall-gardening. It consists of two rings of 
