84 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
October 6, 1894. 
fruits earlier, but beyond the reach of smoky 
towns at least, the skilful cultivator can 
make more certain of an annual return in 
fruit for his outlay. Peaches, Nectarines, 
Plums, Figs, and similarly perishable kinds 
of fruit are now mostly out of season and 
were of course of secondary or even third- 
rate importance to Apples and Pears. 
The first prize collection of Grapes from 
the south-west of Fifeshire bore the stamp 
of high cultivation, and remind us of the 
fact that the heavi?st bunch of Grapes 
(26f pounds) grown in this country came 
from the south of Scotland. The record 
has been beaten for actual size of berries, 
the largest recorded being 4 in. in circum¬ 
ference. Some of the berries of Gros 
Colman, exhibited by Messrs. Wm. Thomson 
& Sons, Clovenfords, measured 4^ in. in 
circumference. The nearest approach, 
perhaps, to this in the neighbourhood of 
London were those shown by the Messrs, 
de Rothschild. The exhibits of Grapes 
did in some measure relieve the monotony 
of flat tables, and the collections of fruit 
trees in pots, as well as the hardy herba¬ 
ceous and other flowering plants, contributed 
in no small measure to the same desirable 
end. The arrangement of Apples and Pears 
in baskets shows what can be done with a 
quantity of a few well-selected kinds to im¬ 
part an attractive effect to the show. 
-- 
Narcissus Exhibition.—The Birmingham Botanical 
Gardens will hold a great exhibition of Narcissi in 
April next, and schedules can be obtained from Mr. 
W. P. Latham, the Curator. 
An Exhibition of Pansies and Violas will be held in 
the same gardens under the auspices of the Birming¬ 
ham Botanical Garden Committee, about the end of 
May next, when very liberal prizes, open to all, are 
contemplated. Communications respecting it to be 
addressed to Mr. William Dean, Dolphin Foad, 
Sparkhill, Birmingham. 
Indian Maize in Private Gardens.—It seems that 
never before in Cornwall were the gardens so well 
supplied with Indian Maize as is the case this year. 
Indeed it seems to have formed quite a new industry. 
Dr. Whitfield Perkins, of Port Isaac, has gathered 
frequent dishes of this green corn from his garden. 
This delicious vegetable could be successfully grown 
in many sheltered gardens, and both pleasure and 
profit would be the result. 
Suttons A. 1 . Tomato.—“ W. D.” writes:—From 
what I can see of this very fine variety, Messrs 
Sutton & Sons have scored a success, for it is a great 
cropper, producing fine clusters of large handsome 
uniform-sized fruit of perfect form and free from the 
customary spot so generally seen at the apex of the 
fruit. At least this is my experince of it as seen 
undergoing cultivation with other sorts. 
How the Labourer Lives.—A correspondent sends 
us some interesting facts relating to garden and 
agricultural labourers. He states that, as compared 
with the first half of the century, the labourer’s life 
is almost luxurious. Fifty years ago the Cornish 
labourer was reckoned to cost weekly 9/-, the price 
of a bushel of wheat, now he costs 15/-, the price of 
five bushels. The labourer's wife got 3/- a couple 
for her fowls fifty years ago, now she gets 6/-, and 
the cost of feeding is now not half what it was then. 
A Cornish labourer’s pig costs half of what it did to 
fatten half a century since, if he sells his pig he gets 
nearly double. 
Mr. George Ross, who has been gardener to Mr, 
McHardy of Cranford, Aberdeen, for the past four¬ 
teen years, was the other evening, on the occasion of 
his leaving for a situation with Captain J. G. Baird 
Hay, Belton, Haddingtonshire, made the recipient 
of a handsome marble clock and a couple of bronze 
statuettes by his professional brethren. The chair 
was occupied by Mr. Alex. Robson, vice-chairman 
of the Royal Horticultural Society of Aberdeen, who, 
in making the presentation, made reference to the 
respect in which Mr. Ross was held, and to the 
devotion he had given to the work of horticulture. 
Mr. Ross made a feeling reply. A number of toasts 
followed, including “ Success to Horticulture," to 
which Mr. A. M. Byres, C. A., secretary of the 
Royal Horticultural Society of Aberdeen, replied ; 
songs and recitations were given during the evening 
and a pleasant social hour was spent. 
National Chrysanthemum Society —A Floral com¬ 
mittee Meeting was held on the 26th ult. ; but the 
exhibits could hardly be expected to be numerous in 
view of the excessively wet weather, which is causing 
the plants to make a deal of sappy and soft growth. 
Mr. W. Wells, Earlswood, Redhill, was the only 
exhibitor who had several stands of large Japanese 
blooms and some baskets of Ruth Wells, a soft rosy 
purple pompon variety lifted from the open ground, 
and which was commended. Miss Dorothy Frank- 
land, previously certificated (see p. 74) received a 
First-class Certificate. Other good Japanese varieties 
in his stands were La Chirene, yellow, Albert Clark, 
pink, Sir Trevor Lawrence, white, Mrs. Nisbet, dark 
reddish purple with a silvery reverse and Frank 
Wells,, white. A bronze medal was a awarded the 
exhibit. That which received the certificate was 
certainly the best and most distinct, but Sir Trevor 
Lawrence is a promising variety which may appear 
later. 
Verbena Aubletia is an American hardy plant with 
showy purple flowers, and it isn't uncommon in 
cultivation. An English contemporary having read 
in an American paper that “ Verbenas of recent 
years * * probably from overfeeding and propa¬ 
gation have been so much diseased that the florists 
have largely discarded them.” And advises us to 
get an infusion of Aubletia blood into them. Bless 
you, no. Our Verbenas are all right. In fact, not¬ 
withstanding the severe drought we are now suffer¬ 
ing from, there are fields of Verbenas in bloom on 
Long Island and in Monroe Co., N.V., that would 
turn a European’s hair gray with envy. The real 
fact of the matter is, we get Verbenas so good and 
so easily from seed, and, too, in such variety that we 
can’t be bothered perpetuating them from cuttings 
with all the winter room and labour that entails.— 
Gardening [American). 
The Proposed Vegetable Show in 1895 .—Vegetable 
growers did not turn up in large numbers at the 
meeting held at the Crystal Palace on Saturday 
afternoon last to consider the advisability of organis¬ 
ing a great Vegetable Show on the lines of the old 
International Potato Shows, but there were enough 
of enthusiasts of the right sort present to give the 
project a good business-like start. Mr. H. Balder- 
son presided, and the letters read by Mr. A. Dean 
from all parts of the country were of a most en¬ 
couraging character, the prevailing tone being that 
the exhibition should take a wider scope than was 
originally intended, and be a Vegetable Show with 
the Potato as the piece de resistance rather than a 
show of the noble tuber only. After some discus¬ 
sion it was resolved—(1) “ That for the wider en¬ 
couragement of Vegetable Culture it is desirable to 
hold a great National Vegetable Exhibition at the 
Crystal Palace in 1895." (2) “ That for the purpose 
of organising such exhibition a large representative 
general committee be formed, and from that body a 
smaller executive committee be appointed to arrange 
the programme and carry the same into effect." (3) 
That the General Committee do consist of a chair¬ 
man, vice-chairman, treasurer, and secretary, and 
representatives of the Seed Trade, growers for 
market, professional and amateur gardeners, allot¬ 
ment-holders and the gardening press, the number 
to be unlimited, and that the Executive Committee 
do consist of a chairman, vice-chairman, treasurer, 
secretary, and twelve other members to be elected at 
a subsequent meeting.” Mr. H. Balderson and Mr. 
A. Dean were elected treasurer and secretary pro 
tem., and a small committee appointed to draw up a 
programme for presentation at another meeting to 
be called at an early date. Numerous suggestions 
were made as to the selection of officers, &c., which 
will be considered by the Sub-committee ; and it 
was also suggested that the movement should in 
some measure be under the sanction and control of 
the Royal Horticultural Society, against which a 
vigorous protest was made. It was considered that 
while it was neither necessary nor desirable that 
any spirit of hostility to the Society should be im¬ 
ported into the movement, it was most essential in 
order to secure wide and popular support that the 
show should be organised by an independent body, 
free from any suspicion of cliquism or personal 
aggrandisement. 
Devon and Exeter Gardeners’ Association.—The 
annual meeting of this Association was held at the 
Exeter Guildhall on the 26th ult., under the pre¬ 
sidency of the Mayor (Mr. E. J. Domville). The 
committee’s report—a somewhat lengthy one—was 
to the effect that the work of the association and its 
position, both as regarded finances and membership, 
were eminently satisfactory. The balance in hand 
amounted to £28 17s. 9d., and the membership roll 
showed 104 members. The papers that had been 
read at the various meetings during the session were 
marked by that practical application and plain 
handling which had, from the first, been charac¬ 
teristic of the society, and the discussions that 
followed them were most beneficial. The attendance 
had been excellent at all the meetings. On the 
motion of the chairman, seconded by Mr. Dallas, 
the report was adopted.—The retiring president, Sir 
Dudley Duckworth King, was thanked for his 
services, and Sir Stafford Northcote, Bart., C.B., 
M.P.,. was elected president for the year. The 
following vice-presidents were then appointed:— 
Dr. Dangar, the Rev. A. H. Cruwys, Messrs. R. N. 
G. Baker, G. D. Cann, J. Dallas, E. A. Sanders, 
H. W. Mitchelmore, R. R. M. Daw, J. M. Snow, 
H. D. Thomas, and P. C. M. Veitch. Messrs. Hope 
and Bartlett, were re-elected hon. secretaries, and 
Mr. W. Mackay hon. treasurer. The committee 
were elected as follows:—Messrs. W. Andrews, 
G. Anning, G. C. Crabbe, Hill (Whipton), G. B. 
Landsdale, J. Luxon, W. Physick, S. Radley, W. 
Rowland, E. Sparks, T. Stoneman, and J. Weeks— 
Mr. Crabbe proposed, Mr. A. Hope seconded, and it 
was decided to hold another Spring Show next year, 
either just before or just after Easter. 
Edible and Poisonous Mushrooms.— It is remark- 
ble that so many cases of poisoning occur every year 
in view of the fact that very few kinds of poisonous 
fungi can be mistaken for the two most generally 
known edible species, the common Mushroom, 
Agaricus campestris, and the parasol Mushroom, 
Sepiota procera. The fungus which is most often 
the cause of poisoning is probably the Amanita 
phalloides (Fries), which has a white or very pale 
yellow cap about the size of that of the common 
Mushroom, but differs from it in having permanently 
white gills and a large loose sheath or volva sur¬ 
rounding the base of the stem, The active poisonous 
principle is a vegetable toxalbumine called phalline, 
which is not destroyed by heating, so that the com¬ 
mon plan of frying Mushrooms does not destroy the 
poison, but in the case of other poisonous Mush¬ 
rooms thorough cooking renders them innocuous. 
In some of the rural districts of France fungi are 
first cooked for a few minutes in anise water, the 
liquid drained away, and the cooking finished accord¬ 
ing to taste. Strong alcoholic drinks should never 
be taken along with nor soon after eating fungi, as 
very disagreeable symptoms may be produced by 
varieties which under other circumstances do not 
cause any inconvenience. The genus Amanita, 
which includes the most poisonous species and those 
most frequently mistaken for edible kinds, is easily 
recognised if attention is paid to the following 
points :—1. The gills remain permanently white 
and do not touch the stem. 2. The stem is fur¬ 
nished with a long thin ring or frill at some distance 
from the top, the bottom of the stem is surrounded 
by a loose sheath or volva.— British Medical Journal. 
Pentstemons from Laurencekirk.— In the southern 
part of England, Pentstemons are practically summer 
flowers but, in Kincardineshire, they flower in autumn 
as a rule when grown from cuttings. Mr. D. Stuart, 
Frogfield Cottage, Lawrencekirk, sends us a box of 
seedling Pentstemons, many of which are quite 
equal to named kinds, and better than some, partic¬ 
ularly the scarlet and purple sorts, with a white 
throat and striped. Several were nearly white, 
slightly tinted with pink at the tips of the segments. 
Another was purple, shaded with crimson and with¬ 
out stripes in the white throat ; a white one, lightly 
tinted with mauve, was also fine. They were sent 
under number, but every one was displaced coming 
through the post. Some of his seedlings bore thirty- 
five open flowers at one time. The value of seedling 
Pentstemons is too much overlooked. 
Vines and Vine Culture.—The best book on Grapes. By 
Archibald F. Barron, Superintendent of the Royal Horticultural 
Society’s Gardens, Chiswick; Secretary of the Fruit Com¬ 
mittee. Demy 8vo., Handsomely bound in Cloth. Price, 5s., 
post free, 5s. 3d. Publisher, Gardening World, i, Clements 
Inn, Strand, W.C. 
