June 25, 1892. 
675 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
The yield of this fruit is about 5,000 quintals, and of 
this quantity 1,000 quintals are consumed in the 
fresh state at Damascus, the remainder being used 
or making dried Apricots (Noukou), which form one 
of the principal articles of export from Damascus. 
This fruit is gathered from the tree when it is com¬ 
pletely matured, generally about the 15th June. It 
is then exposed for three days to the sun on planks, 
covered with a layer of long straw, care being taken 
to keep the Apricots apart, so that they may not 
touch one another. The third day, each Apricot is 
gently pressed between the palms of the hands, and 
again exposed to the rays of the sun, and this opera¬ 
tion is repeated until the fruit, perfectly dry, assumes 
the shape of a flattened disc- This usually takes 
place in about six or eight days, and the Apricot loses 
about 70 per cent, of its weight. The price of the 
dried Apricot varies between 30 centimes and 1 franc 
the kilogramme at the time of drying ; but at other 
times, and particularly in the month of Ramazan, 
when there is a large consumption of the article, the 
price is doubled. A small quantity of these dried 
Apricots is used in the manufacture of preserves. 
The remainder is exported to Egypt, Smyrna, and 
Constantinople, to a value of about /3,20o. The 
Klabi, which is a very inferior quality of Apricot, is 
a small, dry, red fruit, and is the only one in which 
the kernel is bitter. It is exclusively used in the 
preparation of Apricot paste. 
Apricot paste, known as Kamar El Dine, is, 
together with dried Apricots, one of the principal 
exports from Damascus. The fruit, when gathered, 
is crushed in a kind oi large iron-wire sieve, and the 
thick juice which results from this operation is 
collected in earthen vats, and then spread on planks 
covered with a layer of oil, where it is allowed to 
remain two days exposed to the air. At the expira¬ 
tion of this time, the paste is removed and turned. 
On the fourth day the paste is again removed, and it 
then has the appearance of a band of leather, very 
thin, and of a reddish-brown colour, about a yard 
and a half long and half a yard wide. This is the 
finest quality of paste. The same operation is 
repeated once or twice to obtain a second and third 
quality, each time a little water being added to the 
residuum of the former operation. The bands of 
paste are then folded so as to form bundles of about 
five pounds weight, which are sold according to 
quality—from 35 to 55 francs the quintal. In the 
same way as dried Apricots, Apricot paste is exported 
to Egypt, Arabia, Aleppo, Constantinople, and also 
to Belgium. The value of the export amounts 
annually to about £14,000. As regards the kernels 
of the Apricots, part of these is consumed at 
Damascus in the manufacture of oil, and the re¬ 
mainder is shipped to France, Germany, Italy, and 
Austria, the value of this export trade being estimated 
at /8,ooo. The value of the yield of Apricots in 
Damascus, after allowing for expenses, is estimated 
at /28,ooo. These figures, says M. Guillois, are 
sufficient to show the importance of Apricot culture 
in the immediate environs of Damascus, and in his 
opinion they might be doubled, if an improved system 
of culture and irrigation were adopted .—Society of 
A rts Journal. 
-- 
SCOTTISH NOTES. 
Scottish Pansy Show. 
The Scottish Pansy Society, which has been in 
existence nearly fifty years, held its annual exhibition 
in Edinburgh on the 17th inst , and although the 
season has not been a particularly propitious one 
for this old-fashioned favourite the display was quite 
up to the average, and there was a good attendance 
of visitors. Mr. A. Borrowman, gardener, Beeslack, 
Penicuick, secured the largest number of prizes, and 
Mr. A. Irvine, Tighnabruaich, Kyles of Bute, was 
well to the front among trade growers. The follow¬ 
ing is the prize list:— 
Nurserymen.— Twenty-four show Pansies, dis¬ 
similar, Mr. A. Irvine, Tighnabruaich. Twenty-four 
fancy Pansies, dissimilar, Mr. Campbell, Blantyre. 
Six seedling show Pansies, dissimilar, Mr. A. Irvine. 
Twenty-four bunches bedding Violas, distinct, 1, 
Messrs. Dicksons & Co., Pilrig ; 2, Mr. John Forbes, 
Hawick. 
Practical Gardeners only. — Eighteen show 
Pansies, dissimilar, Mr. A. Borrowman, Beeslack. 
Twelve show Pansies, dissimilar, Mr. A. Borrowman. 
Six show Pansies, dissimilar, Dr. Stewart, Lenzie. 
Eighteen fancy Pansies, dissimilar, Mr. A. Hay, Lin¬ 
lithgow. Twelve fancy Pansies, dissimilar, Mr. 
A. Borrowman. Six fancy Pansies, dissimilar, Mr. 
A. Hay. Twelve bunches bedding Violas, distinct, 
1, Mr. A Baxter, Daldowie; 2, Mr. A. Hay. 
Amateurs. —Eighteen show Pansies, dissimilar, 
Mr. David Strachan, Penicuick. Twelve show Pan¬ 
sies, dissimilar, Mr. John M’Kenzie, Gargunnock. 
Six show Pansies, dissimilar, Mr. Walter Buchanan. 
Eighteen fancy Pansies, dissimilar, Mr. W. Prater, 
Linlithgow. Twelve fancy Pansies, dissimilar, Mr. 
W. Prater. Six fancy Pansies, dissimilar, Mr. T. 
Grossart. Six bunches bedding Violas, distinct, Mr. 
W. Frater. 
Gardeners and Amateurs. -Twelve fancy Pansies, 
six varieties, two blooms each, Mr. W. Frater. Six 
show and six fancy Pansies, dissimilar, Mr. Stewart, 
Campsie. Six blooms fancy Pansies, distinct varie¬ 
ties, of 1892, Mr. W. Frater. Twelve fancy Pansies, 
dissimilar, Mr. A. Hay, Linlithgow. Twelve show 
Pansies, dissimilar, Mr. A. Borrowman. Six bunches 
Violas, distinct varieties, ten blooms in each, Mr. 
Stewart, Campsie. Twelve fancy Pansies (named), 
Mr. A. Borrowman. Twelve fancy Pansies, of 1891 
and 1892, six varieties, Mr. W. Frater. 
Open to all. —Twenty-four new fancy Pansies, 
dissimilar,seedlings or varieties, owned by competitor, 
put into commerce by him in 1892, Mr. A. Irvine. 
Twelve new show Pansies, seedlings or varieties, 
sent out by the competitor in 1892, Mr. A. Irvine. 
Nine show and nine fancy Pansies, dissimilar, Mr. A. 
Borrowman. Six seedling Violas, in bunches of 
three blooms each, Mrs. Baxter, Daldowie. Six 
bunches bedding Violas, with not more than nine 
blooms in each, Mr. A. Hay. Three seedling show 
Pansies, dissimilar, and three seedling fancy, dissimi¬ 
lar, Mr. W. Frater. Six seedling fancy Pansies, dis¬ 
similar, Mr. A. Irvine. Three blooms seedling fancy 
Pansy, Mrs. Freeland, Mr. A. Borrowman. Best 
Show flower in the hall, Alexander Black, Mr. 
Borrowman. Best seedling fancy flower, Dr. 
Bostock, Mr. Campbell, Blantyre. Best fancy flower, 
Mr. Hay, Linlithgow. Best show seedling, P. Simp¬ 
son, Mr. A. Irvine. Best yellow ground show seed¬ 
ling, P. Simpson, Mr. A. Irvine. Best white ground 
show seedling, Mr. A. Irvine. Best white self-show 
seedling, James Ritchie, Denny. Best dark self-show 
seedling, Mr. A. Irvine. Best yellow self-show seed¬ 
ling, Mr. A. Irvine. Best primrose self-show seed¬ 
ling, Mr. A. Irvine. 
Ladies’ Prizes (open to lady members of the 
society only).—Best arranged table glass of bedding 
Violas, 1, Miss A. Currie, Blairgowrie; 2, Miss Ruby 
Laird, Pinkhill. Six most tasteful small glasses bed¬ 
ding Violas, 1, Miss A. Currie ; 2, Miss Joy Smith, 
Rosebery Crescent. Arranged basket of bedding 
Violas, 1, Miss Currie ; 2, Miss Black, Liberton 
Mains. Arranged basket of fancy Pansies, 1, Miss 
Ruby Laird ; 2, Miss Joy Smith. 
The President’s Prize. —To the competitor who 
takes the greatest number of prizes—barometer— 
Mr. A. Borrowman. 
ABOUT CLOVENFORDS. 
Being in the neighbourhood of Galashiels lately, I 
did, as all lovers of horticulture should do under 
similar circumstances, paid a visit to the famous 
Tweed vineyard at Clovenfords, and was surprised, 
knowing the age of the vines and something of the 
treatment, to find them again carrying such splendid 
crops. The vines planted 22 years ago are in a sur¬ 
prisingly vigorous condition, w'hich can only be ac¬ 
counted for by the specially valuable character of 
the manurial stimulant applied to them. There 
must be something in the Messrs. Thomson’s Vine 
and Plant Manure, and a great deal too, to keep 
vines in such a productive condition as these have 
always been, for it must be said that for a long time 
now the borders have not known a dressing of any¬ 
thing else. 
Gloxinia Alfred Outram. 
This is the finest erect-flowering Gloxinia I have 
ever seen, and perhaps also the plant of it at Cloven¬ 
fords was one of the finest too. It is in a 7-in. pot, 
and has borne upwards of 130 blooms. It is of neat 
compact habit, and the flowers are large, of great 
substance, and intensely brilliant lake in colour, the 
segments margined with white, and the throat suf¬ 
fused with purple. A good thing even for the most 
select collections. 
Plants for Room Decoration. 
Let me say a word or two on this subject, as I found 
two plante used at Clovenfords that pleased me 
much. They are Cissus antarcticus and Asparagus 
tenuissimus, fine half specimens of which have 
adorned the rooms of Mr. William Thomson, 
Junior's House, Craigview, for some months past, 
and seemed to thoroughly enjoy the loving attention 
paid to them by Mrs. Thomson. 
Caterpillars. 
The quickset hedges about Clovenfords had a most 
peculiar appearance, and seeking for the cause I 
found them literally swarming with green cater¬ 
pillars, which promised lo soon demolish every 
particle of green, and give the hedges a most un¬ 
sightly appearance. — Rusticus. 
_ 
® Iqaitiiiijs fttum IPurlir 
of ©deuce. 
Mildew on Peaches. —According to the Ameri¬ 
can Journal of Mycology those Peach trees •/hich 
are destitute of glands on the leaves are almost the 
only ones which get attacked by the mildew known 
as Sphserotheca pannosa, and which forms a close 
felt of a powdery appearance, white at first but after¬ 
wards becoming of a dirty grey. The statement of 
the above journal is that “ trees with gland-bearing 
leaves were free from mildew, and mildewed trees 
bore leaves destitute of glands." Of 150 trees noted 
there was only one exception to the above rule, and 
it was a tree slightly affected with mildew, while the 
glands were but poorly developed. The obvious 
conclusions are that those varieties of Peaches which 
have glands on the leaves are better able to resist 
mildew than those without. It would be an interest¬ 
ing and important point for the cultivators in this 
country to determine whether the varieties of Peaches 
known to be particularly liable to mildew were 
destitute of glands or not. It is well known that 
trees that have once become mildewed are liable to be 
so in succeeding years. The belief is gaining ground 
that the mycelium of the fungus is perennial, and lives 
through the winter upon the trees, making its 
appearance again in the following spring as soon as 
the leaves commence to expand. 
A British Balsam spreading —Impatiens Noli- 
me-tangere used to be considered as truly native 
only to North Wales, Westmoreland, and Lancashire 
in mountainous districts. Now it seems to be firmly 
established on the banks of the Thames in several 
quarters many miles apart. Whatever may have 
been its origin it seems now to be carried for long 
distances down stream, or possibly up stream in 
some cases where the river is affected by the tide- 
As it occurs plentifully on the banks between Ted- 
dington and Kingston, and above the lock of the 
former place, the seeds would appear to have been 
carried down stream from some source or other and 
deposited during times of high water or floods, for 
the seedlings germinate in places considerably above 
the summer water level of the river. Very few of 
the ordinary large yellow flowers are produced, but 
seeds are ripened in fair quantity, and evidently the 
result of small cleistogamous flowers that do not 
open. The foliage even to the cotyledons is glaucous 
and pretty. 
Club-root of Cabbages. —After the roots of 
Cabbages, Cauliflowers, T urnips, etc., get infested 
with the germs of Plasmodiophora Brassicse, no 
discovery has yet been made of a cure. Methods of 
prevention must be aimed at as in the case of other 
fungoid diseases that live in the interior of plants. 
Clean cultivation is what should receive the special 
attention of the cultivator. The annual or biennial 
trenching of affected ground, the removal of every 
bit of clubbed root that can be detected, and burning 
them together with the old stems should be vigorously 
carried out. Applications of ashes, salt, lime, and 
chalk are given by gardeners and scientists, and 
what seems curious they have little effect the first 
year, but after they have been in the ground for a 
year and a half the effect in preventing the disease or 
clubbing is well marked. Another good plan is to 
mix a quantity of unslaked lime with the soil of the 
beds in which members of the Brassica tribe are to 
be sown. The reason for this is that the roots first 
get affected in the seed bed and carry the germs 
with them to the open ground. Externally the 
disease does not begin to show itself in the form of 
tubercles or swellings till three or four weeks after it 
has gained access to the roots. Other fungoid germs 
are then able to affect an entrance, and certainly 
greatly aggravate the evil by hastening decay and 
causing the well-known foetid odour arising from 
diseased roots. 
