340 
THE GAKDENING WOKLD. 
January 26, 1889. 
The Carnation and Picotee Union. 
We have just received the fourth annual report of this 
association, and are heartily pleased to note its highly 
successful progress. The honorary secretary, at the 
close of his observations on the good flowers of the 
year, says: “Our statistics continue eminently satis¬ 
factory. In the first year 110 members were entered 
upon the roll ; in the second, an addition of 112 
was made ; in the third, 84 ; and in the fourth, 111 ; 
the association having now some seven times the 
number of supporters in excess of that attained by its 
competitors for public favour. Its income in the first 
year from all sources was £70 16s. 6(7. ; in the second, 
£94 17s. 6c7. ; in the third, £125 ISs. ; and in that 
now closing, from subscriptions £142 3s., from the sale 
of the Kilmurry Seedlings £61 11s., total £203 14s. 
In the first year, prizes amounting to £41 6s. 6(7. were 
paid to twenty-two competitors ; in the second, £43 10s. 
to twenty-one competitors ; in the third, £57 ISs. to 
thirty-one competitors ; and in the fourth, £61 15s. to 
thirty-six competitors. In the first year the largest 
amount taken by any one competitor was £5 6s. 6(7. ; in 
the second, £5 19s. 6(7. ; in the third, £6 8s. 6(7. ; and 
in the fourth, £5 9s. 6(7. No worthy exhibit went 
unrewarded, nor did any competitor go away empty- 
handed. This is a record of unequalled progress, and 
such as will afford hearty satisfaction to every lover 
of the Carnation.” 
Chinese Primroses at Farnham Royal. 
Since we last visited Mr. James, at "Woodside, he has 
been extending his glass houses, having added two 
others of 45 ft. in length, very handsome 12 ft. span 
erections, and most perfect of the kind for growing 
florist’s flowers for seed production. He has now a 
total run of 435 ft. of 12 ft. span glass houses of the 
very best of their kind. Chinese Primroses figure 
largely at this time of the year, his plants being 
stout and robust, yet not exceptionally luxuriant; too 
much leafage apparently being regarded as detrimental 
to seed production. As the plants begin blooming 
early, artificial fertilisation begins with the new year, 
and is regularly continued until the last bloom has 
fallen. Fertilisation induces the earlier falling of the 
flowers, and thus a big show of the finest flowers is 
not so easily made after the first blooms have well 
expanded. 
The collection is specially rich in whites of the 
Fern-leaved type ; stout but dwarf leafage, very perfect 
of its kind ; whilst the blooms are wonderfully fine. 
Snowflake on pale green leafage, Purity on semi-dark 
leafage, and White Perfection on very dark foliage, 
are indeed three of the grandest whites in cultivation ; 
all were certificated in 1887. The Woodside strain of 
the now popular Chiswick Eed form is a first-class one, 
the flowers large, stout, and superbly coloured ; indeed, 
for depth of hue and quality, second to none we have 
yet seen. 
Whether due to light at Woodside, or to natural 
depth of hue, the blue Primula there is the richest 
coloured yet offered. A grand semi-double is the 
crimson or blood-red Brightness, which -should make a 
first-rate market variety. Alary James, fine, margined 
lavender ; Braid’s Seedling, rosy lilac, and Advance, 
rosy red, are also very striking varieties, and the 
product of some crosses had yet to open at the time of 
our visit. 
Cinerarias, 
Mr. James will presently have a very fine show of 
Cinerarias at Woodside, as he has some 3,000 plants 
to bloom. About 1,000 of these are propagated plants 
of all his first selections of the past ten years, and a 
grand lot they are, certainly unsurpassable anywhere. 
The plants, too, are well grown and blocked with 
colours. A 12-ft. house, 115 ft. long, quite full of 
these propagated Cinerarias, should show a mass of 
bloom in a few weeks, as when we saw them the other 
day, many of the earlier ones were then in bloom ; 
the seedling plants, though strong, are later. The 
biggest show will probably be towards the end of 
March, for in the excellent houses at Woodside, all 
filled with top pipes for drying the air, the plants 
grow rapidly and flowers come on apace. 
With such a wealth of fine kinds certificated from 
time to time, and never put into commerce, it does 
Beem disappointing to find that visitors may see, but 
so far only get what richness of form and colour the 
flowers show by means of seed. AYe are hopeful that 
Air. James will ere long determine to place a dozen or 
so of the very best kinds into commerce, and thus 
enable lovers of the Cineraria to enjoy that splendid 
quality of flowers which is the special characteristic of 
the Woodside strain. 
Calceolarias are coming on in large quantities, and 
will make a brilliant show in Alay. These, again, 
seem to be unbeatable, for the Woodside strain seems 
to be never excelled. Cyclamens are also really good, 
but blooming rather late. Air. James is working to 
secure the finest and best strains, and his Giganteum 
compactum and fine crimsons are first-class. Without 
doubt the air and pure light of Farnham Pioyal helps 
to the development of the best qualities in flowers. 
-- 
SIBERIAN CRABS. 
There are two species of Apple trees, the fruit of which 
is designated Siberian Crabs. Both are natives of 
Siberia, but the name is, perhaps, most appropriately 
applied to Pyrus prunifolia, which was introduced in 
1758. The specific name, literally translated, means 
Plum-leaved ; but the foliage may more accurately be 
compared to that of the Cherry, which is, for the 
matter of that, a Primus, although it cannot be 
described as a Plum. The fruit is small, globose, and 
yellowish, but more or less suffused with red on the 
exposed side. It is very harsh and austere when ripe, 
but becomes more palatable when kept till in a state of 
incipient decay, like the Aledlar. The fruit is sur¬ 
mounted by a persistent calyx, and this is one of the 
strongest characters by which it may be distinguished 
from that of Pyrus baccata, also spoken of as a Siberian 
Crab. 
The specific name refers to its berry-like character ; 
but the fruit may not inaptly be compared to a Cherry, 
both with regard to size, colour, and the absence of the 
calyx, which falls away while the fruit is still young. 
The great difference between it and a Cherry lies in 
the fact that the scar left by the falling calyx in the 
latter is at the base of the fruit, whereas in Pyrus 
baccata the scar is at the apex of the fruit. 
P. baccata is a native of Siberia and Dahuria, and 
was introduced in 1784. It forms a spreading broad¬ 
headed tree when afforded plenty of space to develop 
itself, and grows from 10 ft. to 20 ft. in height, 
bearing an extraordinary quantity of fruit almost 
regularly every year, whatever the nature of our 
summer—the past one being no exception, as the trees 
bore most abundantly, and being unattacked by birds 
the red fruits hung till well into winter. If collected 
when ripe, and stored under favourable conditions, 
they will keep plump and unshrivelled, retaining their 
red colour for several months, and even now are very 
pretty and more palatable than when they first assume 
their bright red hue.— J. 
--— — -- 
ANTHRACITE. 
Diversity of opinion exists on every subject, and the 
merits of Anthracite seem to be no exception to the 
rule. In a recent issue of a contemporary a paragraph 
relative to this coal contains a sentence which runs 
thus : “A fire made up in the morning with this coal 
does not require touching till night.” I have no desire 
to raise an argument against the use of Anthracite, but 
I confess that on reading that statement 1 was at first 
constrained to question its accuracy, because the size of 
the furnace, form of boiler, temperature, and state of 
the weather are points on which the writer remained 
silent, and I naturally concluded that he intended this 
system of stoking to be universally adopted, irrespective 
of all these qualifications. But someone remarked that 
there are several spurious kinds of Anthracite palmed 
off on the public as horticultural Anthracite, and which 
only lead to disappointment, if not disaster. If such is 
the case the diversity of opinion is no doubt attributable 
to the doings of these unscrupulous vendors. 
This method of stoking may be adapted to large 
establishments, in which the best quality of Anthracite 
is used, and the furnaces have a capacity to receive one 
or two barrow-loads of fuel at once, but in small 
establishments where the furnaces are incapable of 
receiving more than one or two shovelfuls of fuel of the 
same quality that we burned, it would be worse than 
useless ; indeed, if the draught of our furnace had not 
been very good, we should have found the fuel worthless 
too. True, a fire made up in the morning may remain 
untouched all day, and be found bright in the evening ; 
indeed, I believe a reasonably sized fire made up in 
an ordinary furnace on Alonday morning may remain 
untouched all the week, and be found alight on 
Saturday night, but I am not prepared to say that a 
brisk heat would be maintained in the pipes all that 
length of time. I learn from the tone of some corre¬ 
spondents’ communications that one fire a-day is not 
sufficient to suit their purposes. “We burned Anthracite 
for a considerable time, but found it of very slow 
combustion indeed, and if the weather was the least 
unsettled, it was impossible for us to maintain ordinary 
stove temperature on one fire a-day. I have no desire 
to under-estimate the lasting and heat-giving properties 
of Anthracite, but if anyone were to assert that one 
fire a-day of the stuff that we burned is sufficient to 
maintain an ordinary stove temperature during all 
weathers, I should be prone to believe that its heat¬ 
giving properties were overrated. 
Some consumers of this coal have an objection to 
raking or disturbing the fire in any way. I may 
remark that we certainly never had occasion to rake it 
together ; it seemed self-possessed of that propensity, 
but we found that frequent stirring up and scattering 
about in the furnace was absolutely necessary to 
maintain the requisite temperature, because when it 
■was well burned through, and had remained untouched 
for about two hours, a soft crust formed all over it. 
This crust being of a dark colour on the outside, 
led me to believe that nearly all the heat was kept 
within, and that it was necessary to break it in order 
to let the heat ascend to the roof of the furnace, or 
play more freely all round the saddle boiler. Indeed, 
my experience with the stuff leads me to believe that 
it is better adapted to the horizontal tubular than to 
the saddle boiler, because when the crust remained 
unbroken, I am certain that a great part of the heat 
descended through the fire-bars into the ash-pit, and 
this is my reason for believing that it is more apt to 
burn the fire-bars than ordinary coal or coke. 
I may remark that a good many consumers have 
decided in favour of the Anthracite offered by Air. 
Essery, which I understand is supplied in large blocks. 
The stuff that we burned was not supplied in blocks, 
but in sacks like ordinary coal, and sometimes there 
was a considerable quantity of dust, which was of very 
slow combustion indeed ; in fact, in places where the 
draught is bad, it would prove worthless. Such is my 
experience with Anthracite, and my opinion will 
probably remain unchanged until experience of a 
different quality changes it for me.— J. Peebles. 
-- 
CRANBERRIES. 
The true Cranberries are produced by two species of 
Oxycoccus, namely, the common or Marsh Cranberry 
(O. palustris), and the large-fruited or American 
Cranberry (O. macroearpa). In some parts of Britain 
the name is applied by the country people, but 
erroneously, to the Cowberry (Yaecinium Yitis-Idiea), 
the fruit of which is of the same bright red colour, and 
edible, although not so large. By some authorities 
the genus Oxycoccus is sunk in Yaecinium, but is 
sufficiently distinct botanically to be kept separate. 
The generic name refers to the acidity of the berries, 
which, although rather strong, is very agreeable to the 
palate of most people in the form of tarts and preserves. 
The word Cranberry is said to be derived from their 
being much eaten by crane3, but according to some old 
British botanists, because the flower stalk and the 
unopened bud resemble the head and bent neck of a 
crane. Other English names applied to the plant are 
Alossberries, Aloorberries, Fenberries, Alarshworts, and 
Cornberries. 
Our native species, O. palustris, is a native of the 
north temperate hemisphere, including Europe, Siberia, 
and North America, and prefers boggy or wet places in 
turfy mountainous districts. The slender trailing 
stems are covered with small, ovate, evergreen leaves, 
and the berries, something between pear-shaped and 
globular, ripen in September, when they become 
crimsoD, or are more or less spotted, and remain in 
this condition throughout the winter if left ungathered. 
In some districts in the Highlands of Scotland Cran¬ 
berry gathering is an important event amongst the 
peasantry. 
The lessee of the glen in the Forest of Glentanar 
annually throws the hills open to the Marquis of 
Huntley’s tenants for two days in the year to allow 
them to gather Cranberries. As early as daybreak the 
hillsides get covered with hundreds of people collecting 
Cranberries, which they carry home in great quantities 
for the purpose of preserving, testifying to the fruitful 
nature of this little shrub in what would otherwise be 
unfruitful wastes. This is but a solitary instance of 
what occurs in several other districts in the Highlands. 
Before the fens of Lincolnshire were drained, the 
