468 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
March 28th, 1885. 
hitter frosts and from the cruel blasts. As a rule 
we get these latter evils when snow is absent, and 
then snow not unfrequentlybrings a changefor the 
better, a relieving of the air of its colder elements, 
and is the progenitor of milder days. In the 
recent case we had no such surroundings, beyond 
prevailing northerly and easterly winds, but of 
no special severity; while frost at night alternated 
with warm sunny days is a condition of weather- 
aspects not desirable because too often productive 
of harm to the unduly precocious fruit-bloom. 
Happily now, except on warm walls, the blossoms 
remain remarkably quiescent, and although it 
would provoke a smile were we to attribute to the 
trees any intuitive perception of what weather 
was to follow, it does seem at any rate that, this 
season, nature refused to be prematurely drawn, 
and was waiting patiently until real spring was 
assured. That it was wise in that respect the 
recent snow-fall seems to evidence. On the 
other hand, a spell of keen drying winds had 
somewhat set the surface of the soil, and whilst 
heavy rain would have done harm, perhaps 
making matters worse, the snow by gently 
melting has admirably softened the soil without 
further hardening it. Perhaps the best moral 
to be drawn from the recent visitation is not to 
be in too great a hurry to anticipate the season. 
-- 
Gardening and the Climate of New 
Zealand. — According to our esteemed corre¬ 
spondent, Mr. Oliver Revill, of Olipua, Timaree, 
New Zealand, Great Britain is not the only 
quarter of the world in which eccentricities of 
climate interfere with gardening operations. 
Old England comes in for a good measure of 
abuse from all quarters and on all subjects, but 
on none more than on the changeable nature of 
her climate. Mr. Eevill says “ Many are mis¬ 
informed about the climate here. The fact is, we 
often have some very, very trying weather. I 
have worked here without a coat or vest at nine 
o’clock in the morning, and at ten have had to 
put all on and work hard, and then not be warm. 
I have often seen three or four changes in one 
day, and the climate of New Zealand, according 
to what I hear, is as much on the change as 
that of some other places. We had hail 
here which knocked off all the cherries, and 
the cold winds since seem to have spoilt all the 
foliage of the standard fruit-trees. But there are 
other things to contend with besides the weather. 
We have been infested with small green parrots 
ever since the warm weather set in. They have 
made great ravages among the fruit, and have 
not left us a single Currant or Gooseberry ; the 
Strawberries and [Raspberries we managed to net. 
We shot and caught a good many, but that was 
not of much use. I hope they will soon go away, 
and never return. The Gardening World is 
greatly liked here, and no doubt others, as well as 
myself, will be pleased to send you some notes for 
its pages whenever anything likely to be interest¬ 
ing takes place.” 
-- 
Garry a elliptica. —This striking shrub is 
now in full flower—or, at least, male specimens 
of it—and the long greyish.green pendulous cat¬ 
kins, which are produced in profusion, give the 
plant a very attractive appearance. We came 
aoross a specimen the other day, planted in the 
front row of a shrubbery, facing sout h. The shrubs 
being rather tall, served to protect it from the 
severest winds and frost, and some tall trees in 
the background had a similar effect. In this 
position the plant seemed quite at home, for being 
a native of California, it likes a little protection 
from the severe cold of our winters. This is 
especially desirable at the time when the catkins 
are appearing, as severe frost is by no means 
conducive to their ornamental character. A 
fruiting branch is figured at p. 77 of The Gar¬ 
dening World, where some additional informa¬ 
tion respecting it may be found. 
(Sarbxnmg; Hlbtcllaniy. 
The leading London and provincial nursery estab¬ 
lishments are well worth visiting just now by all 
patrons of horticulture and lovers of flowers. In the 
metropolis, the special displays of Hyacinths, Tulips 
and other favourite flowers of spring announced for 
next week by Messrs. James Veiteh & Sons, Mr. B. S. 
Williams and Messrs. William Cutbush & Son, promise 
to be unusually fine. 
Tee Flower Show held at Bath on Wednesday and 
Thursday proved a great success. Pressure on our 
space compels us to defer publication of a notice of 
it until our next issue. 
At the next meeting of the Floral Co mmittee of the 
Royal Horticultural Society, which will be held on 
April the 14th inst., it is proposed to invite the 
growers of Daffodils to make a special display, as a 
supplement to the Conference held last year with so 
much success. 
Mb. W. T. T. Thistleton Dyer, Assistant Director 
of the Royal Gardens, Kew, was on Tuesday elected 
a member of the Athemeum Club. 
The Council of the Royal Caledonian Horticultural 
Society have recently adopted a bye-law which enables 
them to issue tickets to professional gardeners, at 
2s. 6 d. each, which will admit the holders to all 
the Society’s Shows of the season. It would be a 
great boon to gardeners if the other leading societies, 
would follow such an excellent example. 
At the termination of the opening ceremony in 
connection with the late Bulb Show at Haarlem, 
noticed in another column, Mr. J. H. Krelage, the 
president of the Bulb Growers’ Society, was presented 
with a handsome piece of silver plate, in recognition 
of the valuable services he has rendered to the 
Society since its formation a quarter of a century 
ago. 
The President of the Royal Horticultural Society 
has nominated the following gentlemen Vice-Presidents 
for the ensuing year, viz., Sir P. Cunliffe Owen, 
K.C.M.G., C.B., C.I.E., Robert Hogg, Esq., LL.D., 
F.L.S., Professor M. Foster, F.R.S., and George F. 
Wilson, Esq., F.R.S. 
The following gardening appointments have been 
made recently through Messrs. John Laing A Co.:— 
Mr. Biggs, as gardener to Mrs. Black, Blackheath 
Park, Lee; and Mr. Watts, as gardener to Sir Henry 
Fletcher, Bart., M.P., Ham Manor, Worthing. 
Special Flower Shows at Messrs. James Veitch 
& Son’s Royal Exotic Nursery, Chelsea.— A neat 
little card is just now being sent out by Messrs James 
Veiteh & Son, on which the times when those great 
specialities for which the Chelsea firm is noted 
are in bloom. To most of our great plantsmen 
and flower lovers the announcement will be almost 
unnecessary, as they well know that in the matter 
of Orchids, for example, the Royal Exotic Nursery 
has always enough to make such a show as is well 
worth visiting, without considering the countless 
other things which are always in flower to assist in 
the display. To the general public, however, the free 
invitation will be very acceptable, and the fixing of 
dates when the different things are at their best 
will be useful to all. The dates announced for the 
special displays are as follows;— 
March 16 to 31. Amaryllis, Orchids, Hyacinths. 
April 1 to 14. Orchids, Amaryllis, Greenhouse 
Plants. 
April 15 to 30. Roses in pots, Orchids, Miscellaneous 
forced Flowers. 
May 1 to 14. Orchids, Azaleas, Roses in pots, Ac. 
May 15 to 30. Azaleas, Tree Carnations, Gloxinias. 
June 1 to 13. Orchids, Anthuriums, Pelargoniums. 
June 15 to 30. Miscellaneous Flowers, Pelar¬ 
goniums. 
July 1 to 31. Orchids, Nepenthes, Flowering Stove 
Plants, Border Carnations, 
A special Exhibition of Chrysanthemums is held in 
November. 
The Rainfall of February. —Reference has fre¬ 
quently been made in your columns to the limited 
amount of rain which fell during the past twelve 
months. The past month has in some measure made 
up for the deficiency, for here, in South Wilts, we had 
rain eighteen days out of the twenty-eight, the total 
rainfall for the month being 4-76 ins.; this was a 
“February fill-ditch” indeed.— C. Warden, Clarendon 
Park, Salisbury. 
PLANT MANURES. 
That the parings from the hoofs of horses is no 
novelty as a plant-manure is evidenced by the fact 
that for several years past one of the very best of our 
Chrysanthemum exhibitors has employed this material 
for pot-drainage and latent root-food. It would, 
of course, be unfair to assume that his oft successes 
were due to the use of this stimulant, but he is 
fully satisfied with the results. Probably other good 
growers use some other stimulant, if not in the 
form of horse-hoof parings. The ivory shavings 
introduced some years since proved to be a potent 
plant-manure, but it is probable, owing to its soft 
ness, that hoof-parings would prove more active, 
and therefore more efficacious. There are thousands 
of blacksmiths’ shops about the country where these 
parings are obtainable, perhaps too often wasted as 
useless, or thrown aside with other manure to stimulate 
Cabbages or Potatos. Gardeners will do well to 
keep a watchful eye upon these products of farriery 
henceforth. 
Another apparently admirable plant-manure was 
brought to my notice last autumn in the form of 
Jensen’s Fish Compound. It is a dry, well-pulverized 
material, full of ammonia, yet not offensive when 
employed. In potting up Chinese Primulas, at that 
time, I sprinkled with the soil a few handfuls of this 
fish-manure, and the result is the very finest lot of 
plants I have ever had. It is really surprising to find 
such fine blooms produced from plants in only 60-sized 
pots, but these plants seldom want one-half the root- 
space usually allotted to them. Some really rich or 
well-stimulated compost with small pots always pro¬ 
duces better results than does ordinary compost and 
pots double the size.— D. 
■ - 3—» ~TL -< a -- 
BORECOLE, CALE, KALE, KAIL. 
As far as I can learn the term Borecole is from the 
Dutch boerekool, or peasant Cabbage, which will 
readily suggest itself to the minds of our readers, 
because it is a vegetable well adapted to cottage 
gardens, and very profitable, not only supplying a 
head of Cabbage, but an abundance of side-growths or 
sprouts also,whichcan be gathered successionally. Under 
the head of Brassica, Philip Miller in his Dictionary, 
published in 1731, treats of Boor Cole, the boor or 
peasant’s Cole, and he remarks that the Cole “are never 
eaten till the frost hath rendered them tender, for 
otherwise they are tough and bitter.” Cale, Cole, or 
Colewort is from the Anglo-Saxon cawl and caiclicyrt, 
the Dutch kool, the Latin caalis, a stalk, a name given 
to a thick-stemmed variety, the Kohl rabi, or Turnip- 
rooted Cabbage, and extended to the other kinds of 
Cabbage. Old Gerarde states “ the apothecaries and 
common herbalists do call it caulis of the goodness of 
the stalke.” 
The Cale or Kail is a very popular vegetable in 
Scotland. The Scotch Cale or German Greens is one 
of the most popular forms of the Cale, and by means 
of careful selection very handsome fimbriated forms 
have been obtained, the leaves of which are used for 
garnishing purposes ; and there are beautiful varie¬ 
gated forms also, that rival in rich colouring not a few 
of our ornamental-leaved plants, but it is running a 
risk to use them in the garden too near the dwelling, 
as in decay they do emit a perfume not always 
pleasant to the olfactory nerves. “ In Scotland, it is a 
custom on Hallowe-’en for the young people, after 
being duly blindfolded, to go into the Kail-yard, a 
garden, and pull the first stalk they meet with. 
Returning to the fire-side they determine, according 
as the stalk is big or little, straight or orooked, what 
the future wife or husband will be, the quantity of 
earth adhering to the root is emblamatic of the dowry 
to be expected, and the temper is indicated by the 
sweet or bitter taste of the motoc or pith. Lastly, the 
stalks are placed in order over the door, and the 
Christian names of persons afterwards entering the 
house signify in the same order those of the wives 
and husbands in futuris [Folkard’s Plant Lore].” 
Whether the Scotch Cale or German Greens originated 
in Scotland or Germany I cannot say. Cale, and 
especially this particular type, are largely grown in 
Germany, and is called by the Germans Grime or 
Blatter Kold. 
There are two types of the Scotch Cale or German 
Greens, the tall and the dwarf; any sub-varieties are 
