Hay 25, 1889. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
009 
out of doors. The section for sundry fruits includes 
Pine Apples, Melons, Strawberries, Raspberries, Goose¬ 
berries, Mulberries, Figs, Chestnuts, "Walnuts, Hazel 
Nuts, Blackberries, fruits of edible Roses, &c. 
The Winter Motli.—At the last meeting of the 
Scientific Committee of the Royal Horticultural Society, 
Mr. Wilson observed that the plan recommended in the 
Agricultural Gazette of October 15th, 1888, of making 
a ring of cart grease and Stockholm tar round the base 
of fruit trees, though very effectual in catching large 
quantities of wingless females, had not prevented them 
from attacking the trees altogether, as the leaves on 
certain trees thus treated were all going at the present 
date. 
■-- 
GARDENERS’ ORPHAN FUND. 
As we go to press (on Wednesday afternoon) the streets 
bordering upon the Wholesale Flower Market in Covent 
Garden, wherein is to be held in the evening a great 
Floral Fete in aid of this Fund, are congested with 
vans laden with the best of everything in season that 
can be produced, and busy hands are rapidly decorating 
the stands for the evening display, which promises to 
exceed in excellence even the truly grand exhibition 
which the market growers made last season. 
As the programme which lias been issued truly states, 
“ The Wholesale Flower Market is perfectly distinct 
from the well-known ‘Central Avenue,’ and may be 
fairly described as the greatest plant and flower 
emporium in the world. Though in the centre of the 
metropolis, it is practically unknown, except to the 
skilled cultivators, who furnish it so richly every morn¬ 
ing, and the busy workers who distribute its floral 
treasures to adorn the mansions of the rich, and brighten 
the homes of the poor, in the chief cities and towns of 
the kingdom. 
“ It is the headquarters of domestic floriculture, and 
represents the magnitude of an industry on which 
thousands depend for subsistence, and by which tens 
of thousands derive pleasure of the most delightful 
kind. There, arranged on nearly 400 stands, are all 
the plants and flowers in season, each bearing the 
stamp of the highest culture, and the whole arranged 
in the most effective manner for appealing to the 
tastes of those who inspect them with a view to buying. 
Every morning at this season the display is such as 
cannot be seen elsewhere, either in private gardens or 
at public exhibitions ; but on the evening of the Floral 
Fete, for the benefit of the orphans of gardeners, it will 
excel both in magnitude and diversified splendour, for 
the expert growers will put forth their full strength 
for the occasion. 
“ The extent of this unique floral spectacle may be 
indicated. It will occupy an area of nearly three- 
quarters of an acre, and present a frontage of flowers, 
tier above tier, extending over a length of seven 
hundred yards, with a thousand square yards of pro¬ 
menade between the beautiful avenues, for visitors. In 
the ordinary routine of this great floral industry, the 
stands are furnished at night, and the market is not 
opened to the public till four o’clock in the morning 
and closed at nine o’clock. It is only by special 
privilege, kindly accorded in the cause of charity, and 
by willing efforts of the numerous cultivators in com¬ 
pleting their arrangements some hours earlier than 
usual, that the public can inspect and enjoy the extra¬ 
ordinary assortment of plants, as they are temptingly 
disposed in readiness for purchasers who often clamour 
for their acquisition before the dawn of day. 
“ ‘What choice to choose for delicacy best : 
Taste after taste upheld with kindliest change.’ 
—Milton.” 
The clerk of the weather promises to be on his best 
behaviour for the occasion, tickets are selling freely, 
and we hope in our next to be able to record a most 
gratifying success. 
-=**««•*——— 
A CHERRY HOUSE. 
At Gunnersbury Park, Acton, is a three-quarter span 
house, devoted to the cultivation of Cherries. A large 
number of varieties are grown, and a great quantity of 
fruit is annually harvested. When in bloom some 
weeks ago, the house was a sight worth seeing. Not¬ 
withstanding the adverse and sunless nature of the 
season last year, the trees do not seem to have suffered 
in the least, for the quantity of bloom was simply 
astonishing, and the number of fruits that have set 
speak to the ability of Mr. J. Roberts as a cultivator. 
Not only have the Cherries set well, but other houses 
are filled with Yines and Figs, the first crop of the 
latter having been nearly all matured and gathered, 
while second crops are coming on rapidly. The Grapes 
in two of the early vineries are now well coloured. 
The Cherries, when we inspected them the other 
week, were about the size of large peas. A consider¬ 
able number of varieties are grown, but we took the 
names of only a few. All are planted out, and those 
along the back wall are trained as single upright 
cordons. Those along the front of the house are 
generally trained to three upright stems, and pruned 
on the spur system. A few plants are grown in bush 
form. 
Amongst early kinds we noted May Duke, Early 
Lyons, Amber Early (otherwise known as Rivers’ 
Early), and some other of the Geans. Bigarreau 
Monstrous Heart is here grown under the name of 
Monstreuse de Mezel. Frogmoro Early was heavily 
laden with fruit. Other sorts we noted at random 
were Emperor Francis, Bigarreau Mammoth, and 
Bigarreau de Mildesheim, the last two being classed by 
pomologists amongst the Red Heart Bigarreau kinds. 
The above is by no means exhaustive of the collection. 
-- 
VARIETIES OF COLUMBINE. 
Purple, blue aud white flowers are so common amongst 
the varieties or forms of the common Columbine 
(Aquilegia vulgaris), that it is difficult to say which is 
the type of the wild plant, for all those three colours, 
in some shade or other, turn up in a wild state, or as 
escapes from cultivation. The flowers of all are ex¬ 
ceedingly beautiful either in the single or double form. 
The latter are the more lasting. "We give an illus¬ 
tration of a bunch of flowers showing both single and 
double varieties, some of the latter being exceedingly 
curious structurally, and quite anomalous for the genus. 
The spur of the petals is one of the most striking and cha¬ 
racteristic features of Aquilegia ; but as our illustration 
shows, in the upper left-hand flower the spur may be 
altogether absent. The doubling seems to consist of 
the development of a large number of sepals, which are 
fiat and coloured. In other double flowers the sepals 
become broad and overlapping one another, while the 
doubling is made up of petals whose spurs remain very 
short, because there is no room for them to elongate. 
This form also may be seen in the illustration. Double 
flowers are somewhat lumpy, and lack the grace of the 
single ones ; but they are both showy and curious, and 
are therefore largely grown on that account. Their 
cultivation is of the easiest in any fairly good garden 
soil, and propagation may be effected by seeds or 
division. 
—-——- 
EXHIBITION SPECIMENS. 
IN the celebrated collection of exhibition specimens 
formed by J. Marriott, Esq., Warwick Green, Coventry, 
are many plants of great merit, rarity and beauty, and 
as will be seen from the dimensions appended of 
only a few, are extraordinary specimens, all of them 
being in the very best condition. Mr. Finch, who is the 
gardener in charge, not only has his hands full but his 
mind as well. Notes were made of a few plants that 
will do duty at the coming exhibition—viz., Cycas Neo- 
Caledonia, with stems 4 ft., and twenty-five splendid 
fronds; this is said to be the finest specimen of its kind 
in Europe. Ixoras still keep to the front as exhibition 
plants ; I. Pilgrimii with forty-seven grand trusses; 
I. Trince of Orange 5 ft. through, and having 174 large 
trusses, some of which measure from 6 ins. to 9 ins. 
across ; Stephanotis floribunda, an immense plant, with 
a circumference of 18 ft., trained balloon shape, and 
well set with hundreds of trusses ; Lapageria rosea, 
an extraordinary piece, 6 ft. in diameter, and well set 
with buds ; L. alba, 4 ft.jin diameter, showing well for 
bloom ; Kentias, several of this most useful decorative 
Palm—viz., K. australis, with seventeen fine fronds, 
10 ft. high ; K. Fosteriana, with nine good fronds ; 
K. Belmoreana, having twelve fronds ; Thrinax elegans, 
a most useful exhibition Palm, with nine grand fronds ; 
Tabernsemontana coronaria flore pleno, a glorious plant, 
5 ft. through, and covered with hundreds of fine white 
flowers. Florists would find this a valuable subject for 
cutting purposes. 
Of Crotons the most prominent are C. Countess, 5 ft. 
in diameter ; C. Warreni, C. Queen Victoria, 8 ft. in 
diameter ; C. mortis, and C. Prince of "Wales. Ron- 
deletia speciosa still holds its own as an exhibition 
subject. One plant noted is 5 ft. high and 5 ft. 
through. Ericas still maintain their high position at 
the spring and summer shows, and there are at present 
many grand specimens emerging into bloom—a sight 
not soon to be forgotten. Several of these are from 
4 ft. to 5 ft. through. This does not by any meahs 
exhaust the number of really fine exhibition specimens, 
but suffice it to say that anyone anxious to see for 
himself will be received with the greatest courtesy. 
Fruit is not grown extensively at Warwick Green. 
However, a flue house of Melons changing colour, and 
giving otf an odour, reminds us that their position will 
soon be on the dinner table. Orchids are extensively 
cultivated in this establishment, which, along with the 
exhibition plants, reflect great credit on the grower.— 
J. McNal. 
-—>X<~-- 
BEES AND FERTILISATION. 
If it is a fact, as asserted on the authority of Mr. Cheshire, 
that bees — or, perhaps, let me say, insects—are 
essential to the fertilisation of Apple and other fruit 
bloom, then I fear we shall come badly off in this 
district. Really there seems to be no bees about the 
bloom of any kind. Here are Apple trees, Horse 
Chestnut trees, Turnips, and Brassica in full bloom. 
The weather is warm and sunny, and yet I do not 
observe a single bee anywhere, nor hardly any other 
insect, except it be a few small flies. The absence of 
the usual pleasant hum of the bees is most noticeable. 
In other seasons I have found them working spring 
flowers of all kinds, the Pulmonaria especially, but 
now not a bee is to be seen. 
If the story as to the essential labour of bees in 
connection with fertilisation of flowers is true, the 
look-out for us here is a bad one indeed. Happily I 
am buoyed up by the belief that all this stuff about 
insects and fertilisation is not gospel, but imaginary 
dogma, constructed to sustain certain theories. What 
I am certain of is that Nature has not done her work 
so imperfectly that it is needful to call in the help of 
bees or other fortuitous aids in the shape of insects, to 
perfect her operations. Why, if flowers were as 
dependent upon insects as the scientist would have us 
to believe, what should we do when, as now, there are 
apparently no insects to fertilise ? I never saw such a 
dearth of insects about the flowers, bees especially, and 
I call attention to the matter because it will be well 
for all intelligent readers to note how far fruit bloom 
may suffer (with all the surroundings so favourable) 
from the lack of bees or other insects. 
We have in Middlesex a county bee-keepers’ asso¬ 
ciation, and doubtless it believes that good work is 
accomplished; but there are far fewer stocks of bees 
now in the locality than was the case ten years ago. 
One of my neighboiu's, a member of the association, 
under the guidance of the experts, finds his bee stocks 
reduced from twenty a few years ago to two now. Of 
course, I do not assume that the association is in fault ; 
really it is the seasons which have to be credited with 
this lamentable failure, because the same falling off in 
bee stocks marks all the district round. Bees seem to 
have been rarely scarcer than now. For that reason 
the theory propounded by Mr. Cheshire will be subjected 
