June 14, 1890. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
r, 47 
degree, yet all distinct, except where a single specimen 
had originally been divided, but duplicates are rare. 
Besides the named kinds above-mentioned, light coloured 
unnamed varieties were distributed throughout the 
collection. 
Some choice named forms of C. Mendelii we cannot 
omit mentioning, because of the rich colours of the lip, 
and the absence of the netting of the veins and the lilac 
shades so characteristic of C. Mossise. The sepals and 
petals of C. Mendelii insigne are white, faintly tinted 
with lilac, forming a fine contrast to the rich dark 
purple of the lip. The best variety coming under our 
notice was that named C. M. Alfred Stnee. The flower 
is of fine form, with short, broad petals, recurving a 
little above the middle. The lip is of a rich dark 
purple, with the white blotches of the throat extending 
along the lamina almost to the apex. This latter 
characteristic is the special feature of the flower, and is 
quite unusual. As a counterfoil to this is another with 
orange-yellow instead of white blotches, and almost as 
large,.but the flowers are smaller, and the lamina of the 
lip is margined with white. C. M. Hackbridgensis 
is to C. Mendelii -what the variety Backhouseana is 
to C. Trianae. The petals are white, with a purple 
blotch or band extending from the apex for 1A ins. 
down the centre. The lip is also very rich in colour, 
with well-marked white and yellow blotches at the 
mouth of the tube. 
Several other Cattleyas are now in flower or on the 
point of expanding, including the true C. Mossise 
Wageneri, characterised by its pure white flowers with a 
small yellow blotch in the throat. Suspended from the 
roof was a piece of C. Warneri, with richly coloured 
flowers, and a largo white blotch at each side of the 
entrance to the tubs. Close by wa3 a piece of C. 
TriiuEe Scbroderre, flowering rather late in the season. 
Lfelias were represented by L. purpurata Brysiana and 
L. p. Sehroderi. The former had an intensely dark lip, 
while the pale or blush sepals and petals were veined 
with pink. L p. Sehroderi had white sepals and petals, 
and a pale lip marked with purple lines, and lined with 
purple in the golden yellow interior of the tube. 
Although still in beautiful condition when we saw 
them about a week ago, they were even better a week 
previous to that occasion, for then the earlier flowering 
forms were in their prime. They, however, testified to 
the enthusiasm of Mr. Smee, and his assiduity as a 
collector, as well as to the care of Mr. Cummins, under 
whose charge they are. 
Last week, the gardens were thrown open to the 
public for inspection, and a large concourse of people 
testified to the delight with which they hailed this 
opportunity for seeing the beautiful and diversified 
gardens with its streams, arbours, shaded spots, flowers, 
and above all the Orchids. Ho entrance fee was 
charged, but collecting boxes were placed about in 
suitable places, and the sum of £111s. 6cZ. was collected 
in aid of the Gardeners’ Orphan Fund. The public, 
therefore, not only appreciated Mr. Smee’s generosity 
in throwing his gardens open, but they responded to the 
call for aid in a good cause. 
THE CORK OAK. 
The Cork Oak, says a writer in Garden and Forest, 
produces the most valuable bark of all trees, with, 
perhaps, the exception of the Cinchona, and the money 
value of the world’s product of cork is greater than 
that of the auinine it consumes. It is a native of the 
Mediterranean basin in Northern Africa, in Corsica, 
Sicily, Southern France, and the Iberian peninsula, 
across which it extends to the shores of the Atlantic in 
Portugal and of the Bay of Biscay. It is an evergreen 
species, very much resembling some varieties of the 
Ilex or Evergreen Oak of Southern Europe. It rarely 
attains a greater height than 25 ft. or' 30 ft., and trunks 
more than 2 ft. in diameter are exceptional. The value 
of the tree is in its bark. The outer layer becomes, 
through annual additions on the inner surface, after the 
tree has attained a certain age and size, a thick, soft, 
homogeneous mass, possessing the compressible and 
elastic properties upon which its economic value 
depends. Cork is, in a certain sense, an artificial pro¬ 
duction, as the bark naturally developed by the trees is 
of comparatively little value. This last is called 
“Virgin Cork,” and is stripped from the trees when 
they are from fifteen to twenty years old. It is rough 
and woody in texture, and is only valuable as a tanning 
material, or for the coarsest kinds of rustic work. 
The removal, however, of the natural bark causes 
the development of another growth of much finer and 
more compact quality. This is removed every eight or 
ten years, the quality of cork improving with each 
successive stripping, and the trocs continuing to live 
and thrive under the operation for more than 100 years. 
The bark is stripped during the months of July and 
August. Two cuts are made around the stem, the first 
above the ground and the second directly under the 
forking of the main branches. These cuts are then 
connected by three or four longitudinal incisions which 
thus divide the bark of the whole trunk into as many 
divisions. Only the outer coating can be removed 
without destroying the tree, and the greatest care is 
taken, therefore, not to injure the inner bark. The 
cork is removed with the aid of the wedge-shaped 
handle of the tool used in making the incisions. The 
outer surface of the bark, as soon as it is stripped 
from the trees, is scraped and cleaned, and the pieces 
are then flattened, heated slightly, and pressed under 
stones on a flat surface. The heating chars the surface 
and closes tho pores, giving to the bark what is techni¬ 
cally called “nerve.” 
In this state it is ready for manufacture or exporta¬ 
tion. The amount of cork used in the world, and the 
number of uses for it are increasing enormously. The 
available forests of Cork trees are already relatively 
extensive, although hardly sufficient to supply the 
demands now made on them, or which as the world 
grows in prosperity must be made on them, for there 
is hardly any end to uses for cork, and none of the 
substitutes for it which have yet been tried are 
very satisfactory or'promise to take its place to any 
great extent. The wood of the Cork Oak is heavy, 
coarse grained, and of yellow-brown colour ; it shrinks 
and warps badly in seasoning, and decays rapidly when 
exposed to the action of the atmosphere. It has little 
value in the arts, but furnishes a useful fuel, and makes 
good charcoal. The inner bark is rich in tannin, and 
trees too old or unfit to produce cork are cut for the 
sake of the inner bark. 
The Cork Oak is an interesting tree to Americans, as 
its cultivation now seems destined to become an im¬ 
portant industry in California, where the climate and 
soil in many parts of the State are admirably suited to 
it. This is not a mere theory, as trees have been 
growing now for several years in California, and have 
already produced crops of cork of excellent quality. It 
is probable that the tree will grow rather more rapidly 
in California than it does in its native country, 
although the quality of the soil, the exposure in which 
the trees are placed, local climate, and the treatment 
which the trees receive will influence, of course, the 
rapidity with which the bark is developed. In Africa 
it is found that the trees which grow the most rapidly 
produce bark of the poorest quality, and that, within 
certain limits, the more slowly the trees grow the more 
valuable the product, provided the growth is not too 
slow, in which case the bark loses some of the elasticity 
which makes it valuable. The conditions which 
influence the development of cork are so numerous and 
complicated, that the product of all the trees in a 
grove or forest can never attain the same uniformity 
of thickness or quality in any given time. This is so 
well understood in the countries where cork is grown, 
that the best method of harvesting has been found to 
be to go over the forest every two or three years, and 
remove the bark from such trees as are covered with 
merchantable cork, and not to strip all the trees at the 
same time. All these matters must, of course, be 
considered in connection with planting forests of the 
Cork Oak in California. The planting and care of 
such forests in Portugal and Spain have long been 
important industries, and there is no reason why they 
may not be made so in California, where the local 
consumption of cork is already enormous, although the 
wine industry there is hardly more than in its infancy. 
-- 
FRUIT CROP PROSPECTS. 
England. 
Reports from tho home counties early in May spoke 
favourably of prospects and anticipations of good crops 
of all kinds of fruit. Since then changeable weather 
has been experienced—some days very warm, other 
days very cold, with morning frosts—and all kinds of 
fruit have suffered severely, Plums (Damsons, Plums, 
and Greengages) : The prospect is very bad ; not one- 
tenth of a crop. In many places there are absolutely 
none. Pears: Although all kinds, except Hessle’s, 
blossomed well, very few have properly set ; and there 
are not many in England of either early or late kinds. 
Black and Red Currants promised well—even as late as 
a week ago it was thought that crops would be good ; 
but since then, in some districts, they have become 
infested with “Honeydew,” and the crop now cannot 
be more than one-half, even if that. Cherries promised 
well, but early kinds were destroyed the second week in 
May. Since then the later sorts have suffered ; taking 
reports all round, they cannot be reckoned at one-third 
of a crop. Strawberries and Raspberries promise well, 
but it is feared that unless warm weather sets in the 
fruit will be small, and the bulk reduced one-half. 
Gooseberries at one time were believed an exceptionally 
fine crop, but since then many districts have been 
attacked by vermin, and the morning frosts in exposed 
situations have done great damage—so much so that 
they can only be reckoned at a good half-crop. Apples 
blossomed well in some districts, in others not so well. 
Where growers have washed their trees they will no 
doubt save the bulk of the crop ; but in many districts 
where they have not washed them the trees are attacked 
by vermin, and the crop (if any) must be a very poor one. 
On the whole, we think the crop can be reckoned at 
barely one-half. 
The Continent. 
France .—Crops generally in the early part of May 
looked very favourable indeed. Since then they have 
had a continuation of very cold, wet weather, and early 
Cherries have suffered severely. On the other hand, 
Apples in the south are said to be good crops. Plums 
and Greengages half a crop. In the north, Black 
Currants are only half a crop. Cherries are fairly good ; 
but of stone fruit (Plums and Greengages) it is stated 
that the oldest inhabitant never knew the crop to be so 
bad as it is this year. Pears are a fair crop. Apples 
look fairly good. 
Belgium. —Reports from Ghent, Ostend, Maestrich, 
Sliedinge, and Namur speak of Cherries from a quarter 
to one-third of a crop. Greengages and Plums only a 
quarter-crop. Early Pears half a crop. Late Pears a 
fair crop. Apples are said to look well, with every 
prospect of a fair crop ; although reports from one or 
two districts during the past few days speak of Pears 
and Apples being attacked by vermin. 
Holland .—Crops of fruit have suffered much from 
late frosts during May, particularly Cherries, Goose¬ 
berries, and Pears. In the district of Gelderland par¬ 
ticularly, the fruit has received much damage from 
hailstorms. Gooseberries and Currants are said to be a 
fair half crop. Cherries are not more than one-third of 
a crop. Pears one-third of a crop, and Apples fairly 
good. Plums are a small crop. 
Germany .—Owing to the mild spring, crops are 
forward, and fruit from the Rhine districts promised to 
be most plentiful; but the weather in May has affected 
them also, and they have been attacked by vermin ; so 
much so, that Apples are now said to be a bad crop, and 
Cherries only half a crop. Plums a bad crop. 
Taking these reports as a whole, it will be seen that 
Cherries are bad all round, Plums are very short, and 
for Pears England will have to depend upon foreign 
countries for supplies. It would therefore appear that 
on account of their scarcity, all kinds of soft fruit in 
good condition will meet with a profitable market.— 
W. N. White <£• Co., Ltd., Covent Garden, June 2nd. 
-->;£<-=- 
WEATHER TRADITIONS. 
It is strange to find, in these days of education and 
scientific teaching, how old weather traditions still 
hang about and seem to find credit. Even amongst 
presumably intelligent people, every year, with assured 
regularity, is trotted out the old hackneyed proverb 
concerning the leafing of the Oak and the Ash, and in 
not one but in scores of papers, until the lines become 
an intolerable nuisance. 
It used to be a regular joke at one time prior to the 
demolition of Northumberland House, at Charing 
Cross, to tell country visitors that when the famous 
bronze lion heard the clock from St. Martin’s Church 
strike midnight it would wag its tail. There was so 
much virtue in an “if” ; but of course the lion, even 
in its elevated position, did not hear the clock strike, 
and it never wagged its tail. There is about the same 
virtue in one of the “ if’s ” found in the Oak and Ash 
proverb. “If” the Ash leaves before the Oak; but 
then it never does, and it would be a miracle if it did 
so, hence the virtue of the “ if ” in question. 
If those who are so fond of quoting the old adage 
would but remember that the Oak invariably leaves 
sometimes several days, sometimes a fortnight, before 
the common Ash, they would better understand the 
worthlessness of the saying. What if someone were to 
aver that when the “Apple blooms before the Plum, all 
the dickey birds will be dumb”? We should at least 
be comforted by the assurance that the would-be 
prophet was a fool, and that the song-bird’s music was 
safe. There are still people who will cling to these old- 
world stories, and think they have in them germs of 
truth. It would be wiser did they turn their attention 
to something more practically scientific.— A. D. 
