April 18, 1895. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
515 
THE NURSERYMEN, 
Market Gardeners’, 
AND 
General Hailstorm Insurance 
Corporation, Ltd. 
CAPITAL, £100,000. 
am ar jiMim ■.iiivi. m-i m 
Directors 
Chairman —HARRY J. VEITCH. 
FLORISTS’ FLOWERS 
AND 
HARDY BORDER PLANTS. 
-o- 
FORBES’ ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE 
for 1895 is now ready, and will be posted to all intending 
Purchasers. 
The new Catalogue for 1895 is enlarged to about 150 pages 
and very materially improved, embracing everything new and 
old worth cultivating in the way of Florists’ Flowers and 
Hardy Plants with accurate description and prices, copious 
notes as to their origin, how, and where best to grow, a full 
index of the common or popular name? of Hardy Border 
Plants and a vast mass of other valuable information that 
cannot be had elsewhere, which renders this the best, most 
reliable, and complete catalogue ever issued on this popular 
class of plants. 
JOHN FORBES, Nurseryman, Hawick, Scotland. 
JACK FROST 
has caused many losses that can be made good in 
an easy and cheap manner by purchasing the follow¬ 
ing bulbs and plants which I can recommend as being 
first class. 
JAMES BACKHOUSE. THOS. ROCHFORD. 
THOMAS HAMILTON. JOSEPH ROCHFORD 
WILLIAM ICETON. 
PETER E. KAY. 
GEORGE MAY. 
HENRY B. MAY. 
GEORGE MONRO. 
EDWIN C. MOTT. 
ROBERT PIPER. 
EDMD. ROCHFORD. 
WILLIAM SAMS. 
F. SANDER. 
N. N. SHERWOOD. 
JAMES SWEET. 
PETER C. M. VEITCH. 
JAMES WALKER. 
General Manager and Secretary :— 
ALEXANDER JAMES MONRO. 
Registered Offices :— 
i & 2, KING ST., COVENT GARDEN, 
W.C. 
BEGONIAS, SINGLE. 
20,000 grand bulbs, mixed colours, finest ever offered 
at the price, 3s. per dozen. 
PELARGONIUMS, SHOW AND DECORATIVE. 
Fine plants in best kinds, 6s., gs., and 12s. per dozen. 
ZONAL PELARGONIUMS. 
Best kinds only, 6 for 2s. 6d., 12 for 4s. 
IYY-LEAF PELARGONIUMS. 
A very choice lot, 6 for 2s. 6d., 12 for 4s. 
DOUBLE PETUNIAS. 
Extra fine new kinds, 6 for 3s. 6d., 12 for 6s. 
Send for Catalogue, Free. 
H. «J. JONES, 
Ryecroft Nursery, Hither Green, Lewisham. 
ABRIDGED PROSPECTUS. 
This Corporation has been formed for 
the purpose of affording greater facilities in 
respect of the Insurance of Nursery and 
Garden Glass against damage by Hail. It 
will meet a long-felt necessity, and will 
greatly benefit all owners of Glass Houses. 
The enormous growth and strength to 
which the Nurserymen and Market Gar¬ 
deners’ Trade has attained, and the 
immense area of Glass now erected and 
under erection in all parts of the United 
Kingdom, in the opinion of the Directors, 
fully justify the formation of this Cor¬ 
poration. 
The main feature of the Corporation is 
that it shall be for the mutual benefit of 
the Trade ; and it is confidently anticipated 
that the majority of Nurserymen, Market 
Gardeners, and Owners of Glass Houses 
will become Shareholders and Insurers. 
PREMIUM. 
The Rate of Premium to be charged 
will be ios. per cent, on 21 oz. glass 
(which will be is. 3d. per 1000 feet, valued 
at 3d. per square foot; is. o£d. per 
1000 feet, valued at 2^d., and iod. per 
1000 feet, valued at 2d. per square foot), 
and on 15 oz. glass, 15s. per cent. Special 
arrangements may be made for the 
Insurance of Glass of greater weight. 
CLAIMS. 
Compensation will be paid on Glass 
broken by Hail at the rate per foot at 
which it is insured. 
The Memorandum and Articles of Asso¬ 
ciation can be inspected, and Prospectuses, 
Forms of Application for Shares and 
Proposal Forms obtained on application at 
the Offices of the Corporation. 
Agents required in every Town and 
District in the United Kingdom. 
For Index to Contents see page 525. 
" GardenlDg Is the purest of human pleasures, and the greatest 
refreshment to the spirit of man ”— Bacon. 
tfn 
Edited by BRIAN WYNNE. 
SATURDAY , APRIL 13//1, 1895. 
NEXT WEEK'S ENGAGEMENTS. 
Thursday, April 18th.— Norwich Spring Show. 
Friday, April 19th.—Orchid Sale at Protheroe & Morris’ 
Rooms. 
®he Late Spring and Fruit Pros- 
“ pects. —It may be too soon to prophesy 
an abundant fruit crop, seeing that we can¬ 
not be certain that all danger of frost is 
gone, so that we prefer to prophesy after 
the event, but shall continue our observa¬ 
tions all the same, and speak of the pros¬ 
pects. For many years past we have been 
accustomed to hear of the advantages of 
late flowering varieties of Apple and other 
fruit trees in escaping late frosts, but 
actual experience has proved that they are 
just as liable to have their flowers destroyed 
as those that bloom earlier. Frosts occur¬ 
ring about the second or third week in June 
have incontestably proved this. By retro¬ 
spection and reason we can also prove the 
fallacy of the same old notion. Peaches, 
Nectarines, and Apricotsin forward seasons 
have flow’ered in March and set an abun¬ 
dant crop of fruit. Last year the Pears 
also set a heavy crop, yet they had 
flowered considerably in advance of Apples, 
as they always do, and the Apple blossom 
was extensively injured or destroyed. 
Then the causes of injury are often local, 
that is, more or less confined to districts and 
always of temporary duration. Late and 
early flowering trees are liable to have their 
blossom destroyed if a low temperature 
should occur when, the flowers are fully ex¬ 
panded or only on the point of opening. 
The pistil or young ovary is the most ten¬ 
der part of the flower, for it may be black¬ 
ened and killed while the petals remain 
perfect and unharmed. At present every¬ 
thing is very late, and Peaches upon open 
walls are in full blossom about a month 
later than they were the last and the 
previous year. The show of flower buds 
on Apples, Pears, and Cherries is also 
abundant and promising, so that in the ab¬ 
sence of severe frost at the critical time of 
blossoming for each class of tree, we may 
look forward ta a prospect of an abundant 
harvest of fruit. 
The weather cannot be regulated or al¬ 
tered in any way to suit the convenience of 
cultivators, but several factors that contri¬ 
bute to success or failure may be discussed 
and taken advantage of, or guarded against, 
as far as may lie in the gardener’s power. 
Even in early spring there is less danger to 
the expanded flowers of Peaches when the 
atmosphere is relatively dry, than if much 
moisture preceded the advent of frost. This 
may be noted when we get a spell of cold 
and dry east wind while the trees are in 
bloom, with bright sunshine during the day. 
This favours the dispersion of the pollen, 
and though the temperature may fall a few 
degrees below freezing during the night, no 
damage accrues as a rule to the bloom, 
owing to the relatively dry state of every¬ 
thing. Later in the season, it may be, 
should a sudden fall of the temperature take 
place after rain, the moisture in freezing 
forms a rimy coat over everything, and 
should the sun rise bright next morn¬ 
ing it greatly augments the evil by a 
too sudden thawing of the frozen tissues. 
For this reason an east aspect wall is more 
unfavourable to the safety of Peaches and 
other early flowering trees than a south or 
west one. The various methods of protect¬ 
ing Peaches on open walls are now well 
known, and should be put into active 
practice whenever the trees come into 
bloom. The protecting coverings should 
be fixed and held in readiness to be let 
down at a moment’s notice on the least evi¬ 
dence of a night’s frost. Pears, Plums, and 
Cherries are swelling and elongating their 
buds, so that the critical period in their 
case has not yet arrived ; nor is it possible 
in manj’ establishments with the available 
means at command to protect all of these, 
particularly when grown in the open ground, 
but favourite and valuable trees may be 
protected by whatever means the gardener 
may improvise. Strawberries are perfectly 
safe, and not yet showing their buds. The 
unfortunate experience of last year’s failure 
of the crop should act as a monitor to put 
ever}’ cultivator on his guard to protect as 
large an area of his plantations as possible. 
The late froH in June came unexpectedly 
when the plants were in full bloom. The 
earliest kinds that had set their first-opened 
flowers, passed the ordeal fairly well, but 
all newly-expanded ones had the tender 
embryo fruits blackened and destroyed. 
Loose straw or dry bracken should be laid 
between the rows in readiness, so that if 
the night becomes clear and frosty, an 
hour’s smart work would suffice to shake 
the straw over a large breadth of Straw¬ 
berries by means of a few men furnished 
with forks. Gooseberries and Currants do 
not suffer so readily as any of the above- 
mentioned owing to the fact that their 
flowers hang with their face downwards, 
and are more or less protected by means of 
the young foliage. 
With the prospect of a crop as a stimulus 
to energy, every means that can be devised 
to save the blossom of fruit trees and bushes 
should be employed. Light protection in 
spring is quite sufficient to ward oft a con- 
