458 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
March 21, 1891. 
them, we 
satisfactory, 
our parks, 
noble trees 
most have 
large 
but forgotten. Still these hard Arbiters teach 
us lessons which we may do Avell to regard, 
and so far as is possible utilise against future 
visitations. 
THallen Giants. — Whilst we can in a short 
time obliterate the more trivial effects of 
“ blizzards ” — -the now the accepted term 
for severe snoivstorms—Avith the drifts, the 
temporary floodings, the passing discomforts, 
and other small ills attending 
cannot replace, in any way that is 
those terrible gaps produced in 
ivoods, fields and gardens Avhen 
are laid Ioav. The late storm see 
been particularly destructive to large trees. 
We have doubtless plenty left and did only 
the very aged and feeble, the half decayed and 
dangerous ones only fall before the blast, 
perhaps the deprivation might he endured. 
Unfortunately when Boreas runs riot 
especially in company Avith blinding snow, 
very little distinction is shown, and grand- 
healthy trees come doAA'n as rapidly as do those 
Avhicli have run out their natural terms of life. 
Happily for us the blast does not run every- 
AA-here Avith the same terrible pace. Its most 
destructive power seems limited to restricted 
areas, but in those areas that force is indeed 
fierce and potent. It is painful to find 
grand trees so full of beauty and nobility laid 
low in a night Avithout Avarning and, but for 
the stormy outrage, AA T itliout cause. We may 
plant again, but only those a\-1io are very 
young can hope to see the youth thus trans¬ 
planted to fill the gaps become as Avere the 
trees laid prostrate. 
Trees, like animate objects, may become 
deeply endeared to iis, apart from their beauty 
or A'alue commercially', or in the landscape; 
They are dear from old association, and the 
loss of one seems like the loss of an old and 
dear friend. Still, there are plenty of fine old 
trees left to us. May they long be so ; for a 
land without noble trees Avould indeed be 
Avanting in one of the most beautiful elements 
Nature can create. 
The Kew Gardens Employes. —Mr. Plunket, 
the First Commissioner of M orks, in 
whose department the control of KeAv Gardens 
comes, received last Aveek-a deputation respect¬ 
ing the poor pay receNed by the policemen 
and labourers in these great National Gardens, 
and has promised to take their case into 
favourable consideration. We hope so. It 
Avas difficult to understand why the right 
honourable gentleman should have striven to 
discount the efforts put forth at Richmond in 
aid of the KeAv people by asserting that their 
case had been too strongly put. Still, a high 
Government official is nothing if he is not a 
wet blanket Avhen the claims of the loAvest 
class of employes are concerned. It is so 
different in the case of those who already 
enjoy' high salaries. To add to these is divine. 
To give ever so little more to the poor labourer 
is the reA'erse. Happily for the Ivew labourers 
they found stout friends on both sides of 
politics, and both parties joined heartily in 
taking up AA'hat Avas felt to be undoubtedly a 
thoroughly deserving case. We hope that Mr. 
Plunket AA'ill "see his Avay clear to deal 
liberally Avith these poor men. 
-«*»£<"=■- 
Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent Institution.—We 
have much pleasure in announcing that at the annual 
dinner of this institution, to be held on July 8th next, 
at the Hotel Metropole, Whitehall, the Right Hon. 
Joseph Chamberlain, M.P., who was prevented through 
illness from occupying the position in 1888, has very 
kindly consented to take the chair. 
Royal Bouquetists.—Messrs. Wills & Segar, of South 
Kensington, have had the honour of receiving the Royal 
Warrant dated March 10th, appointing them Florists 
and Bouquetists to Her Royal Highness The Princess of 
Wales. This firm has for many years held the Royal 
Warrants as Florists to Her Majesty The Queen, and 
His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. 
Frozen Apples.—According to is Jardin, one can 
use up frozen cider Apples, by allowing them 
to thaw gently. As soon as they have thawed, they 
should be submitted to pressure. The cider obtained 
Avill be more acid than the normal cider, but less rich 
in sugar, and on that account, in alcohol. In certain 
cases, unfortunately, by the addition of sugar and of 
tannin in view of ameliorating-the residuum, the liquor 
obtained remains so much inferior in quality that it is 
better to utilise it for the making of brandy. 
Clivias at Pinkhill, Midlothian.— A correspondent 
writes I was most agreeably surprised the other 
day when visiting Messrs. R. B. Laird & Sons’ nursery 
at Pinkhill, near Edinburgh, to find in bloom a collec¬ 
tion of ever 100 plants of Clivias — I should say, 
perhaps, the finest collection in Scotland. They were 
certainly a revelation to me. I understand the bulk 
of them are selected seedlings from the Ghent Nur¬ 
series, and they certainly are a very fine lot. Among 
the named sorts I noticed C. Lindenii, Madame Van 
Houtte, and Mdlle. Marie Reimers ; and a number of 
seedlings flowering for the first time show well-marked 
improvements in colour and form. These handsome 
greenhouse and most useful window plants are not 
much cultivated in Scotland, and I was pleased to see 
that the Messrs. Laird have taken them in hand. 
Effect of the Fog-.—At the last meeting of the 
Scientific Committee, Dr. Masters showed panes of 
glass from glass-houses at Gunnersbury and Feltham 
with a dense black deposit due to fog. Mr. Morris 
stated that 18 square yards of glass at Kew produced, 
when scraped, 41 grammes of solid matter. This could 
not be removed by mere drenching with water, and the 
whole cf the glass in the Royal Gardens would require 
scrubbing to cleanse it. Dr. Oliver said that an 
analysis of the deposit showed that 20 per cent, consisted 
of tarry and oily matters. Dr. Masters also showed 
Rose leaves which had fallen off under glass in conse¬ 
quence of the fog. 
Mildew on Vines.—The Council of the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural recently referred to the Scientific Committee a 
letter from Mr. Tait, of Oporto, in which he stated that 
he had discovered a remedy for mildew on Vines, 
which has been successfully used in Portugal, and 
which he was anxious to have tried at Chiswick. 
They wished to know if the Scientific Committee were 
prepared to appoint someone to conduct an investi¬ 
gation. The Committee were of opinion that the main 
constituents of the remedy should be known first, so 
that no investigation should take place unless they 
were new and not previously tried. Dr. Masters said 
that that particular form of mildew did not occur at 
Chiswick, but it could be tried on Tomato3. Professor 
Church pointed out that the composition being 
patented there would be no difficulty in ascertaining 
its constituents, and the committee then resolved to 
communicate with Mr. Tait about the composition, on 
the understanding that if new it would be experimented 
with. 
-- 
G-ARDENERS’ ROYAL BENEVO¬ 
LENT INSTITUTION. 
It will, I feel sure, interest your readers to know that 
at a very full committee of the Gardeners’ Royal 
Benevolent Institution held at 50, Parliament Street, 
S.W., on 5th March, 1891, the following resolutions 
were unanimously adopted : — 
“That this meeting desires to place on record its 
sense of the irreparable loss sustained by the Gardeners’ 
Royal Benevolent Institution in consequence of the 
death of Mr. E. R. Cutler, its secretary during the long 
period of fifty years, and who, by his untiring energy 
and devotion to its best interests from its commence¬ 
ment, succeeded in leaving it in the gratifying position, 
of having an invested capital of £25,000, while at the 
same time pensions amounting to £2,618 are being 
paid annually to 158 pensioners.” 
It was unanimously resolved that the following 
resolution be forwarded to Mrs. Cutler :— 
“That the members of the committee of the 
Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent Institution desire to offer 
to Mrs. Cutler their very warmest sympathy and 
condolences in the lamented death of her husband, a 
loss felt by each member to be that of a valued personal 
friend, and of one whose memory will ever be affection¬ 
ately cherished by all who had the gratification of 
knowing him.” 
A sub-committee was also appointed to consider the 
best steps to at once obtain the services of a new 
secretary, and to carry on the general Avorking of the 
office .—Harry J. Veitch, Treasurer, 50, Parliament 
Street, S. IP. 
SEA KALE. 
One of the lessons to be learnt from the late severe 
winter will be the great value of a good breadth of 
Sea Kale to fall back upon—and no doubt the culture of 
this most useful vegetable will be largely extended. 
"Where there is sufficient space, there is no reason why 
a sufficient supply of Sea Kale should not be grown in 
every garden. The culture is most simple, and there 
are few soils in which it will not thrive. Perhaps the 
most suitable is a deep and comparatively light loam, 
though we have grown excellent samples in one season, 
from cuttings, in a stiff clayey loam. Again, some of 
the finest crowns I have ever seen were grown in 
the rich soil of the market gardens which at one time 
surrounded Fulham ; this soil, from continued deep 
working and liberal applications of manure, was in 
many instances more like a spent hot-bed than any 
thing else. 
As the time is now at hand when cuttings may be 
prepared, or seed sown, a few remarks on the culture 
of Sea Kale may be acceptable to some of the readers of 
The Gardening World. Whether the object be to 
make a plantation Avhere Sea Kale may be forced on the 
ground by means of pots and heating material, or 
whether it is to be lifted and forced in other ways, 
cuttings will be found the most expeditious way of 
securing the desired end. 
Cuttings are made from the thong-like roots which 
are broken off from the main stem when the crop is 
lifted. They may be made at any time during the 
winter, and either tied up in bundles, or laid in single 
rows in some light soil, where they can remain till 
the upper part of the cutting is callused over. The 
cuttings should be about 6 ins. in length, and it is a 
good plan to cut the basal end in an oblique direction 
when the cuttings are being made, because oftentimes 
it is difficult to tell one end from the other till the 
incipient crowns are formed. Cuttings \ in. in diameter 
make good forcing crowns in one season, whilst those 
of smaller dimensions make good cuttings also. 
The ground having been prepared during the winter, 
and cuttings being in readiness, select a fine day early 
in April when the ground is in sufficiently good order, 
and dibble the cuttings in rows 1 ft. apart each way if 
space is limited ; if more room can be given let the 
cuttings be 1 ft. apart in the rows and 18 ins. from row 
to row. It is a good plan to place a few ashes over each 
cutting after planting, as they protect the young crowns 
from late frosts besides keeping the crowns rather drier 
than if covered with soil. Premising that the surface 
will be kept moved and clean from weeds, the next 
most important operation is disbudding, which is too 
often imperfectly done, if not altogether neglected ; 
when the growth is sufficiently advanced to be able to 
select the most suitable crown, all the rest should be 
carefully rubbed or cut off. Cultivation for the rest 
of the season consists in keeping the ground clean, and 
in light soils it is of great assistance if liberal waterings 
can be given, but in heavier soils this is not necessary 
unless it be an exceptionally dry season. 
"When wanted early, the leaves as they begin to decay 
may be twisted off so that the crowns may he thoroughly 
ripened, but unless this is actually necessary we prefer 
letting Nature do this part without any assistance. 
When the foliage is completely dead, the crowns may 
be taken up and trimmed, the thong-like roots being 
packed away in light soil till a convenient time arrives 
when they may be made into cuttings, and the crowns 
laid in to be used as required. A mode of securing 
very late Sea Kale is to leave a few rows in the ground, 
covering them up early in spring with a foot of light 
soil ; treated in this way Sea Kale may be retarded till 
May. A Mushroom house is perhaps the best place 
for forcing Sea Kale, but failing that it can be forced 
successfully in any warm place where the light can be 
excluded. 
Another method of raising the plants is from seed, 
but unless cuttings are not to be obtained it is not to 
be recommended, as by these means it takes two seasons 
to obtain good forcing crowns. When, however, this 
plan has to be adopted, the seed should be sown in rich 
soil the latter end of March or early in April in rows 
1 ft. apart, and as soon as the seedlings are large enough 
thin to 6 ins. or 8 ins. apart. The after treatment 
consists chiefly in keeping the ground clear from weeds. 
When the foliage has died down the plants may be 
lifted at any time. Early the following April, the 
ground having been previously deeply dug, planting 
may be done in the same manner as already recom¬ 
mended for cuttings, but before planting, the top should 
be cut cleanly away, paring off all crown buds ; if this 
is not done the plants invariably run to seed. This 
