48 
THE FLOEIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[Maech, 
tached to the names of our fruits; no more Presi¬ 
dents, Governors, or titled dignitaries; no more 
Monarchs, Kings, or Princes ; no more Mammoths, 
Giants, or Tom Thumbs; no more Nonesuches, 
Seek-no-furthers, Ne plus ultras. Hog-pens, Sheep- 
noses, Big Bobs, Iron Clads, Legal Tenders, Sucker 
States, or Stump-the-World. Let us have no more 
long, unpronounceable, irrelevant, high-flown, bom- 
bastic names to our fruits, and, if possible, let us 
dispense with the now confused terms of Belle, 
Beurre, Calehasse, Doyenne, Pearmain, Pippin, 
Seedling, Beauty, Favorite, and other like useless 
and improper titles to our fruits. The cases are 
very few where a single word will not form a better 
name for a fruit than two or more. Thus shall we 
establish a standard worthy of imitation by other 
nations, and I suggest that we ask the co-operation 
of all pomological and horticultural societies, in this 
and foreign countrie"", in carrying out this important 
reform. As the first great national Pomological 
Society in origin, the representative of the most 
extensive and promising territory for fruit culture 
of which w'e have any knowledge, it became our 
duty to lead in this good work. Let us continue it, 
and give t > the world a system of nomenclature for 
our fruits wh^ch shall be worthy of the Society and 
the country—a S 3 'slem pure and plain in its diction, 
pertinent and proper in its application, and which 
shall be an example, not only for fruits, but for other 
products of the earth, and save our Society and the 
nation from the disgrace of unmeaning, pretentious, 
and nonsensical names, to the most perfect, useful, 
and beautiful productions of the soil the w'orld has 
ever known.” 
— 515Seiting of the Chou de Bueghley 
OE Cabbage Beoccoli, Mr. Gilbert, the raiser 
of this excellent nevr vegetable, says : —“ Two 
years ago a great cook told me there was only one 
fault with Chou de Burghley—it was rather large ; 
and if I could get them a little larger than Brussels 
Sprouts, and still of the same mild flavour, they 
would be better. On the first opportunity I crossed 
the Chou de Burghley with the Brussels Sprouts, 
and I now send you some of the produce of the 
seeds so obtained.” Our contemporary {Gard. 
Chron., xxi., 532) considers it remarkable that Mr. 
Gilbert should so soon have obtained the thing he 
wanted, the Sprouts received being “perfect little 
Cabbages 3—4 inches long, 2—2^ inches in diameter, 
and when cooked of the same mild delicate flavour 
as Chou de Burghley, and proposes to call the novelty 
Chou de Gilbbkt.” In a subsequent letter Mr. 
Gilbert explains the origin of the new Sprout to be 
from Chou de Burghley fertilised by pollen of the 
Brussels Sprout, both parents being potted up in 
January and set in a cold cherry-house to get them 
into flower early, and of these six flowers only were 
opened up, and produced seed, which was sown in 
March last, and produced sixty plants, which proved 
somewhat varied in character, and would require 
careful selection before passing into the hands of the 
public. Brussels Sprouts are a delicacy even if more 
strongly flavoured than the Chou de Burghley, and 
if the new Chou de Gilbert is better flavoured, and 
proves equally hardy and productive, it will be a 
valuable acquisition. The early and constant supply 
of Brussels Sprouts through autumn and winter, 
which seems to have become a settled thing, is a 
great boon to Londoners. 
— Jn reference to Cinchona Cultuee it is 
stated that the Eepublic of Guatemala has 
arranged with Mr. W. Forsyth, a well-known 
Ceylon planter, to select seed for 5,000,000 cin¬ 
chona trees. Mr. Forsyth has ridden 1,000 miles 
through Central America in search of the best sites. 
He states that the rapid increase in the number of 
uses to which cinchona bark is pu^', not only for the 
manufacture of quinine and as an ingredient in the 
substitute for hops, but also for various commercial 
purposes, has led President Barrios to try this ex¬ 
periment. It may be remembered that the cinchona 
tree was introduced into India in 1879 by Mr. 
Clements Markham, C.B., at the instance of the 
British Government, and the culture was so profit¬ 
able that not only has the original investment of 
£150,000 been repaid, but the trees have been valued at 
£1,000,000. The cinchona tree requires a tropical 
climate and a plentiful rainfall; it could be culti¬ 
vated with great advantage in Mexico, though it 
requires careful supervision; it is hoped that at 
least a portion of the vast amount of soil in Central 
America not now under cultivation may be utilised 
in this way. A planter who has devoted much atten¬ 
tion to the cultivation of both the cinchona and the 
coffee-tree considers that both would grow well on 
the volcanic soil of Mexico at a certain altitude. 
The latest system for getting the cinchona bark to 
the best advantage is by means of suckers ; cutting 
down the parent stem when it has developed strength, 
so as to strip it of the bark, the full nourishment is 
directed into the sucker, which in due time is sacri¬ 
ficed to another sucker. Guatemala and Mexico are 
both expected shortly to engage in cinchona culture 
to a large extent.— Times. 
— 9I1Jefeeeing to the Hemlock Speuce 
Fies, a group of beautiful, effectively striking, 
but too rarely seen Conifers, a correspondent 
of the Woods and Forests observes that the weeping 
Hemlock is the queen of evergreens ; its sprays have 
a permanent beauty that we only see equalled, in a 
fleeting way, by some stray forms of common Hem¬ 
lock. Not less striking in its way is the broad-leaved 
Hemlock, the dark, massive foliage of which contrasts 
finely with the golden Betinospora. 
$n JBemoriam. 
— IDe. John Hutton Balfoue, Emeritus 
Professor of Medicine and Botany in the Uni¬ 
versity of Edinburgh, died at Inverleitb House, 
on February 11, aged 76 years. The late Dr. Balfour, 
who was born in 1808, succeeded Dr. (afterwards Sir 
'William) Hooker in the Chair of Botany in Glasgow 
in 1841. He was the friend and associate of "Wight, 
of Falconer, of Dickson, of Greville, and a host of 
memorable men, most of whom have passed away 
before him, but who were knit together by the 
common bond of sympathy in the shape of a love for 
plants. Their excursions, as a contemporary re¬ 
marks, mid moor and mouniain were fruitful, as a 
glance into many a herbarium testifies, and they 
formed the percursor of that series of herborising 
expeditions undertaken year by year by the Professor 
and his students with such zeal and with such advan¬ 
tage to the pupils. In 1845 the Chair of Botany 
in Edinburgh fell vacant, and Dr. Balfour was ap¬ 
pointed to the office, and to the Begins-keepership 
of the Boyal Botanic Garden. Ably seconded by 
the late Mr. James MacNab and Mr. Sad e-. Dr. 
Balfour brought the Edinburgh garden to a high 
standard of perfection, and especially of practical 
utility, and the new Palm-houses, museums, and 
rockeries bear testimony to his zeal. The Edin¬ 
burgh Botanic Society abo profited largely by his 
example and constant aid. Some few years since, 
from failing health. Dr. Balfour resigned the active 
duties of the Professorship, being nominated Emeritus 
Professor. 
