February 14, 1891. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
375 
supplied from a source above, from whence the water 
trickles down the rockwork. By this means the atmo¬ 
sphere of the house is always kept moist, and beautiful 
green patches of Marchantia, Selaginella, Tradescantia, 
and other subjects creep over the moist tufa. Ficus 
repens covers old stumps of Tree Ferns. The fronds of 
Davallia hirta cristata, Pteris argyrea, and Nephro- 
lepis exaltata, varied from 2 ft. to 4 ft. in length, 
giving evidence that their requirements are met. We 
noted also a fine piece of the beautiful Asplenium 
lunulatum pteropus, with its dark green and persistent 
fronds. The outdoor garden is also well attended to 
by Mr. Jones, the gardener. He complains of losses 
amongst Roses and herbaceous plants by the frost; and 
commented (as we did some weeks ago) upon the quantity 
of leaves which have fallen from the Cedars by reason 
of the severity of the recent frost. 
-- >X< --- 
UNITED HORTICULTURAL PRO¬ 
VIDENT AND BENEFIT SOCIETY. 
The annual general meeting of this admirable society 
was held on Monday evening last at the Caledonian 
Hotel, Adelphi, Mr. James H. Veitch presiding. The 
report for the year again enabled the committee to con¬ 
gratulate the members on the flourishing condition of 
the society both numerically and financially. It is 
clear that the advantages of this society are being more 
widely known and appreciated ; seventy-four new 
members have joined during the past year, the greatest 
number obtained over any previous year. The society 
now numbers 378 benefit members, including eight 
elected that evening. The sick list was a rather long one, 
owing in great measure to the prevalence of the influenza 
epidemic early in the year. Some 32 members re¬ 
ceived sick pay, the total amount paid being£64 7s. 2d. 
This amount was covered by deductions of 4s. 6d. 
and 3s. 0|d. from the two classes of members' deposits. 
One death had occurred during the year, that of Mr. 
William Back, of Tottenham, and the amount standing 
to his credit in the books of the society (viz., 
£25 10s. 3id.) had been paid to the widow, in addition 
to which a Singer sewing machine was purchased for 
her (the result of an appeal for assistance from Mrs. 
Back), at a cost of £5 3s. 6 d. This amount was paid 
from the benevolent fund. The balance in favour of 
the benefit fund was £4,222 4s. 9 J., and the members’ 
subscriptions during the past year amounted to over 
£500. The benevolent fund showed an increase of 
£154 8s. 1 \d., ten guineas of this amount being paid 
by the Thames Bank Iron Company as a life member¬ 
ship. The total amount of the fund was £1,561 2s. lid. 
The management fund was also in a very satisfactory 
state. The receipts, including those of the annual 
dinner, amounted to £132 2s. 6Jd., and the expenditure 
to £103 13s. 6d., leaving a balance in favour of the 
fund of £28 9s. Ojd. The treasurer’s account showed 
the total amount of funds invested to be £6,000. The 
annual dinner was again referred to as a success, being 
the means of adding eleven more names to the list of 
honorary members, and Messrs. Rothschild & Sons had 
very generously given a donation of £25 towards the 
management fund. The best thanks of the members 
were due to Messrs. B. S. Williams & Son and Messrs. J. 
Laing & Sons, who very kindly sent plants for decoration 
of the hall ; to Messrs. Cannell & Sons for their 
beautiful Begonia flowers ; also to Mr. J. R. Chard, 
whose new Arcadian style of table decoration was much 
admired by all. 
The chairman moved the adoption of the report and 
balance sheet, and in so doing epitomised the salient 
features of the society’s operations, congratulated the 
members on the admirable rate of progress that was 
now being made in adding to the roll of members, 
compared the advantages the society gave to its 
members as compared with other benefit societies, and 
strongly urged all the young members of the profession 
to become benefit members at once. The motion was 
seconded by the treasurer, Mr. James Hudson, and 
unanimously carried. Messrs. G. W. Cummins, L. 
Castle, W. Foreman and H. Peerless were then elected 
without opposition to be members of the committee, 
and Mr. C. W. Knowles was elected to take the place 
of Mr. J. R. Chard, who retired. Mr. W. Collins, 9, 
Martindale Road, Balham, S.W., was again unani¬ 
mously re-elected secretary, at an increased rate of 
remuneration as fixed by the rules. Hearty votes of 
thanks were accorded to the treasurer, the trustees and 
the committee for the valuable services rendered by 
them to the society during the past year ; and acknow¬ 
ledging a similar compliment paid to the auditors, Mr. 
Gunner pointed out that at the rate the society was 
growing it was imperative that longer time should be 
allowed the auditors to get through their work. The 
suggestion was accepted by the committee, and formal 
notice given that a special meeting would bo held on 
the second Monday in March to alter rule 20, so that 
the annual meeting can be held in March instead of 
February. The Press having been thanked for the 
services it had rendered to the society, a most cordial 
vote of thanks to the chairman brought the business to 
a close. 
-«=->x-<~- 
BIRDS AND BUDS. 
I enclose you unmistakeable proof of the destruction 
the birds are committing amongst our fruit trees—a 
packet of buds picked up to-day. During the severe 
weather few buds were taken, but since the thaw the 
buds being softer, they are going at them most severely. 
I saw the birds at their mischievous work, and noted 
Blue Tits, Chaffinches, Sparrows in quantity, and some 
Bullfinches.— Thomas Becord, The Gardens, The 
Bowmans Lodge, Crayford, Feb. Ath. 
In answer to the query in your issue of 31st ult., the 
enclosed cutting taken from to-day’s Dundee Advertiser 
speaks pretty strongly to the damage done to grain 
crops, and the severe steps (wholesale poisoning) taken 
by some farmers to protect themselves. In this district 
we have not experienced the hard weather which 
prevailed in the south, notwithstanding complaints are 
rife about the destruction of the buds of fruit trees, 
and especially the Gooseberry bushes, through the 
Sparrows. Here we have a superabundance of the 
feathered tribe; your friends’ (Messrs. Laird & 
Sinclair’s) nursery is a great “ howff ” for them. This 
morning, between 7 and 8 o’clock, the Mavis (Thrush) 
was giving us a,lilt ; we can put up with him, but as for 
the Sparrows, rout them out.— David P. Scott, Lome 
Bank, Monifeith, Dundee, Feb. Ath. 
Perhaps you would like to hear something about the 
birds in this locality. They do not usually begin their 
depredations until the buds are about to burst into 
leaf, when they nip them completely out. Bull¬ 
finches and Sparrows are the most destructive here, 
and the Black Currant buds are their favourite food. 
Gooseberries and Red Currants are attacked when they 
canno longer get Black Currantbuds. I know agardener 
in this neighbourhood who had his Black Currant 
bushes completely stripped of their buds by Bullfinches 
last year. The other fruit buds in his garden were 
untouched. 
We are here under the necessity of netting all such 
seeds as Spinach, Turnips, and all the Brassicas. We 
do not care to destroy the bird*, unless as a last 
resource, because we think the evil is more than 
counterbalanced by the good they do in devouring 
insects which attack the bushes late in the season.— 
Wm. A. Leslie, The Gardens, Cormiston Towers, 
Bigaar, N.B. 
I have read your interesting article on the above, and 
might say that during the late severe weather I have 
kept a watchful eye on the birds and buds. Until 
the break up of the weather they did no harm whatever ; 
but since the buds have commenced to swell, I find that 
the Currant and Gooseberry bushes have been attacked, 
but I am glad to say not to any serious extent. I have 
inquired of several friends in this locality, and, like 
myself, they have nothing very serious to complain of. 
The Bullfinch is very scarce here, but the Tomtits 
and house-Sparrows are the chief marauders, and they 
confine their depredations entirely to the bush fruit. 
The Thrush seems to have suffered more than any of 
our other birds during the long spell of winter, and 
judging by the heaps of empty snail shells to be seen 
in every nook and corner, they must have rid us of an 
enormous amount of real enemies.— Wm. Waldron, 
liyll Court Gardens, Exmouth, Devon. 
Bullfinches, Chaffinches, Linnets, etc., are almost 
unknown here, the reason no doubt being our proximity 
to the city. The Sparrow on the other hand consti¬ 
tute a perfect pest. Our Red Currants and Goose¬ 
berries are annually stripped of their buds as soon as 
they shed their leaves ; no matter what the weather is 
or how plentiful food is, these gentry attack them. 
Deutzias are stripped in the same manner if left unpro¬ 
tected. A crop of Gooseberries may be got if, instead 
of pruning, they are slightly thinned, leaving sufficient 
wood to allow for the damage done by the Sparrows. 
The Gooseberry prickles are themselves a slight pro¬ 
tection, but the Currants offering no such obstacles are 
entirely cleaned. I declared war against these vermin 
last summer, and I must have destroyed between 300 
and 400 birds, considering the number of nests pulled 
out, none being allowed to remain that could be reached 
with a ladder. I consider the damage done by Sparrows 
in town gardens greatly exceeds the good they do. 
Thrushes, Blackbirds, etc., I consider gardeners’ friends, 
the damage done by them to ripe truit being easily 
guarded against.— Gardener, Edinburgh. 
©I^mings Jjrtmt iljt U[aijlh 
uH Siinuc. 
A New Food Plant (Puya edulis, sp. nov.).— 
There grows in Brazil, in the province of Rio Doce, a 
Bromeliad, which furnishes in abundance an excellent 
fecula. This alimentary subject accumulates in the 
leaves, which it is necessary to crush in order to obtain 
it in abundance. The plant, which has a stem, attains 
large dimensions. The base of the leaves, which are 
very shiny, measure as much as 2-J ins. across. This 
plant has saved the lives of thousands of Indians during 
the famine which has recently desolated certain 
provinces in Brazil. Wc have not seen the flowers, 
but to judge from the habit, and especially from the 
seeds, it ought to belong to the genus Fuya. —Professor 
Morreii in La Belgique ILorticole. 
TheSweet Orange (Citrus Aurantium).—Habitat, 
East Indies, but naturalized in the West Indie*. 
Season, September to February, but some of the 
trees bear much earlier than September. The Orange 
is almost wild in Dominica. It springs up wherever 
the seeds are thrown, and the latter are often 
carried to odd places by the birds. After the Lime, the 
Orange is the most important of Dominica fruits. The 
list of exports shows that timing the years 1886-87, 
Oranges to the value of £981 6s. Ad. were exported 
from the island, and yet not one of the trees bearing 
this fruit was planted, it may safely be said, with a 
view to the export of the produce. This interesting 
fact is significant, and it is a clear indication of what 
the island is capable of doing. The trees are raised 
from seed, and contrary to what I have often read, I 
find that thej r “breed true.” Dominica seedling 
Oranges, or rather the best kinds of them, cannot be 
surpassed anywhere for lusciousness, sweetness, and 
delicacy of flavour.— Dr. H. A. A ford Nicholls, F.L.S., 
in the Kew Bulletin. 
London Purple and Paris Green on Peaches. 
—Peach trees are very susceptible to injury from 
arsenical sprays. London Purple is much more harm¬ 
ful to them than Paris Green, and it should never be 
used upon them in any manner. Injury is more liable 
to occur upon full-grown foliage and hardened shoots 
than upon young foliage and short shoots. The im¬ 
munity of the young growth is due to its waxy 
covering, lojury late in the season is more apparent 
than early in the year, because of the cessation cf 
growth. Injury from the use of London Purple may 
be permanent and irreparable. The length of time 
which the poison has been mixed appears to exercise 
no influence. It contains much soluble arsenic, which 
is the cause of the injury to Peach foliage. A coarse 
spray appears to be more injurious than a fine one. 
Rain following the application does but appear to 
augment the injury. Paris Green, in a fine spray, at 
the rate of 1 lb. to 300 gallons of water does not injure 
the trees. Probably 1 lb. to 350 gallons is always safe. 
—Bulletin of the Agricultural Experiment Station, 
Cornell University. 
The Papaw Tree. —The fruit is edible, but insipid. 
It is eaten raw in small quantities, but is largely 
consumed in many parts when cooked and flavoured 
with salt, pepper, and sugar. It is also preserved in 
sugar, especially in the West India Islands. The 
unripe fruits are also pickled, boiled, and eaten as a 
vegetable, like Turnips in this county. The juice of 
the tree or an infusion of the fruit has the reputation 
of rendering the toughest meat tender, as it possesses 
the power of separating the muscular fibre. Sir J. D. 
Hooker says the whole tree possesses this remarkable 
property. The exhalations emanating from it have 
the same power, and fresh meat hung in the branches 
are rendered tender in a short time. This practice is 
resorted to in the West Indies. Old hogs and poultry 
fed on the fruits and leaves have extremely tender flesh. 
The juice of the fruit is used by ladies as a cosmetic for 
removing freckles from the face. Its most important 
uses are as a vermifuge and antiseptic. —Science 
Gossip. 
Wheat Rust and Barberry Blight. —Perhaps 
everyone does not know that scientific men have proved 
experimentally what the New England colonists seem 
to have been convinced of nearly a century and a half 
ago—namely, that the Wheat Rust has several distinct 
stages, one of which does not grow at all on the Wheat 
plant, but on the leaves of the Barberry. The 
Legislature of the ancient colonies of Massachusetts 
and Connecticut, as early as 1755, passed stringent 
laws requiring the destruction of that shrub, because 
it had “ been found by experience that the blasting of 
Wheat and other English grain is often occasioned by 
Barberry bushes, to the great loss and damage of the 
inhabitants.”— Bulletin of the Agricultural Experiment 
Station, Cornell University, America. 
