736 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
July 22, 1898. 
fruiting varieties all the more popular, as 
they should fruit early this season. 
Plums have been moderately good, but 
in many districts the aphides have done the 
trees great harm, and drought at the roots 
especialty has caused the fruit to fall. We 
shall find probably that some districts will 
show heavy crops, others very light ones. 
Both Apples and Pears, especially on tall 
trees, will be heavy crops, and the recent 
rains will do enormous good. In some dis¬ 
tricts these fruits are wonderfully plenti¬ 
ful. Walnuts and small nuts are heavy 
crops, and stone fruits on walls are 
generally very abundant. 
JjThe Rain.— Happily for our gardens the 
w rain, so long looked for and so sadly 
needed, did not wait for the traditional wet 
Saint’s festival, that of St. Swithin, ere it 
came to refresh the parched soil. Oddly 
enough, in the Southern area, St. Swithin’s 
Day was comparatively fine and dry, but 
there may have been some little mistake as 
to the date, for a truly grand rain fell the 
following day, and did an incalculable 
amount of good. Of course it will require 
a large rainfall ere the ground is thoroughly 
saturated, indeed, that desideratum may 
hardly be looked for until the winter comes. 
Just now, perhaps, heavy and persistent 
rains would be as great an evil as the 
previous drought has been. 
Already in the South we are in the midst 
of harvest. The corn is not only ripe for 
the sickle, but is being everywhere cut and 
stacked. With so moderate a corn crop, 
and straw especially so thin and short, it 
would not help the agriculturist to find that 
what he had of grain and straw had been 
spoilt by rain. Then we may fear, as well, 
that continuous rain may promote the 
Potato disease, and the tubers on the late 
breadths, because of the previous drought, 
are none too large now. On the other 
hand, good showers may promote the 
growth of autumn grass and thus largely 
recoup the loss incidental to short feed and 
summer hay. Also the ordinary root crop 
may be thus wonderfully helped. 
The Rosarian is regarding the showers 
with equanimity as he perceives his plants 
are putting forth strong growths and will 
doubtless in the autumn carry very fine 
flowers. What a chance is thus offered 
for an autumn Rose Show, only no one 
seems to think it worth while to promote 
one ! . Fruit trees are benefiting from the 
rains immensely, indeed, the crops on trees 
are swelling at a great rate, and whatever 
may be the general product, at least, 
Apples and Pears should be most plentiful 
later. 
^DTinter Greens.— Assuming, we trust 
~ ^ rightly, that the recent rains were 
general, and that all parts of the country 
have shared in them, we can at least con¬ 
gratulate gardeners of every description on 
the splendid assistance thus given to 
garden crops, and especially to newly 
planted Winter Greens. The importance of 
these for winter use cannot be too highly 
estimated, as without the help of the 
Brassica family our gardens in winter and 
our dinner tables would be bare indeed. 
Where plants had not been got out prior 
to the rain, we can well imagine that no 
time since has been lost in planting, and 
that now there is a wealth of all kinds 
put out for the purpose of giving the need¬ 
ful winter supply. 
W hat wonderfully good things we now 
have in all the varied sections into which 
Brassicasare divided ! The term “ Winter 
Greens ” may seem to comprise only Kales, 
but we use it in its widest or most homo¬ 
geneous sense. There is, to begin with, 
the Giant Cauliflower, that seem to have in 
it a spice of the hardier Broccoli. This 
gives heads, under ordinary conditions, 
from the beginning of September till 
Christmas if sown for successional cut¬ 
ting, and includes such fine varieties as 
Magnum Bonum, Veiteh's Giant, and Self- 
Protecting. Then the Brussels Sprouts, if 
they have been got out early, give of their 
delicious stem heads from the middle of 
October until the end of March at least, 
and some sweet Asparagus-like Sprouts 
■well into April. It is indeed a first-class 
vegetable that is thus so serviceable all 
through the long, hard winter. 
White Broccolis are more or less useful 
as they are hardy, but they, too, where they 
do well, present us, in return for trouble 
taken, a liberal supply of heads ranging 
over several months, and the hardy Purple 
Sprouting is not less useful, whilst to the 
market grower it is invaluable. Savoy 
Cabbages of the smaller sorts are really 
delicious, and give a long season, whilst 
the Curled Kales in their great variety help 
also to furnish very tender and acceptable 
leafage, while Cabbages run over a long 
season, and the Colevvorts are tender and 
delicious eating. The list is a long one, 
and it is full of valuable winter produce. 
/|atch Crops.— Although there is in this 
^ term some idea as to making the most 
of a chance given by a short season, the 
term may hardly be so expressed, especially 
this year. Really we have such a very 
early season, it seems difficult to realise 
that, now r the rain has fallen so refreshing^, 
we are still only a couple or three weeks or 
so beyond midsummer, and that there is 
yet a growing time of fully three and-a-half 
months, during which wonders, literally, 
may be accomplished to recoup gardeners 
for their early summer losses. 
W 7 e have noted that the Agricultural 
Department of the Government has re¬ 
cently issued advice to farmers as to what 
they should do in regard to catch crops in 
the present emergency. Does it not occur 
to the Department that thus to waste 
money and paper in telling the farmers of 
the country what are the most elementary 
facts in Agriculture, is as absurd as it is 
insulting to the farmers who are thus in¬ 
structed ? We hear sometimes clamour, 
and exceedingly foolish clamour too, as to 
the absence of any Government Department 
of Horticulture. We should like to see any 
Government Department issuing such 
schoolboy instructions to gardeners as to 
what they should do, now that rain has 
fallen, to replace spent crops or so far as 
possible utilise the remainder of the season 
to secure other late crops. The doing so 
would create a roar of ridicule. 
Happily, gardeners know what to do; 
they are not waiting to be told. Even the 
modest cottager seems to know so much, 
for on every hand we see the sowing of 
various hardy crops proceeding, the putting 
out of plants, and much useful and impor¬ 
tant work being done vdthout the need of 
outside pressure. Farming must indeed 
have got into second childishness when its 
professors look to a Government for help 
and advice in such case. The rains have 
already worked wonders, grass and roots 
are growing apace, so also will all kinds of 
catch crops that soon will make the autumn 
green and luxuriant. 
--J-- 
Gardening and Forestry Exhibition. —-At the sugges¬ 
tion of the Directors, a committee of ladies orga¬ 
nised a Rose Sale at the Earl’s Court Exhibition on 
Saturday evening last in aid of the Victoria Fund. 
A number of stalls were arranged in the centre of 
the building around the band of the Hon Artillery 
Company, and after eight o'clock a scene of busy 
excitement ensued Although the idea was hastily 
developed, upwards of £40 was realised. AmoDg 
those who rendered valuable assistance were the 
Misses. Milner, Mrs. and the Misses Dodson, and 
Mrs. Harry Turner. 
Death of Miss D'Ombrain. —The many Flori- 
cultural friends of the Rev. H. H. D’Ombrain will 
regret to hear of the death, at Westwell Vicarage, 
Ashford, on the 14th inst., of his eldest daughter, 
Jane Margaret Stevenson, aged 44 years. 
English Gardeners for India. —The Government of 
India have under consideration (says the Bombay 
Gazette) a scheme by which European gardeners for 
gardens in the various provinces will be regularly 
supplied from Kew, and will be retained on conditions 
more satisfactory that at present. 
A Dundee Picnic.—The employes of Messrs. W. P. 
Laird & Sinclair, of Dundee, had their annual picnic 
on the 5th inst., Auchmithie being the place selected 
for the outing The party drove to the rendezvous 
by way of Arbroath, and the day was spent in a very 
enjoyable manner. 
Mr. lnglis, cashier to Messrs. W. P. Laird & 
Sinclair, of Dundee, was presented on the 10th inst. 
by his fellow employes of the firm with a beautiful 
silver dessert stand on the occasion of his marriage. 
The presentation was made at the Crown Hotel by 
Mr. D. D. Smith, and Mr. lnglis suitably acknow¬ 
ledged the compliment paid to him. 
The New Allotments Garden Association, Paisley, 
held their flower show on Saturday last under very 
favourable circumstances as regards weather. We 
hope by another year they will be able to have all their 
exhibits under cover, as unsuitable weather would 
completely spoil the show if held in the open. 
Perhaps the most interesting exhibit at this show 
was the extensive display of herbaceous cut flowers 
from Mr. M. Cuthbertson, florist, Rothesay, consist¬ 
ing of 125 tubes of beautiful specimens from his fine 
collection, for which he was unanimously awarded a 
handsome Silver Medal and the thanks of the 
association. 
Royal Horticultural Society of Aberdeen. —The ar¬ 
rangements for this society’s annual floral fete, which 
is to take place in the Central Park, Aberdeen, on the 
17th, 18th, and 19th of August, are well advanced. 
Judges have been appointed, and the subjects of 
tabling and staging considered. The services of the 
splendid band of the 42nd Royal Highlanders (the 
famous Black Watch) has been secured. In 
addition, the band of boy pipers from Liberton 
School, Edinburgh, has been engaged. The 
directors are at present considering the question of 
providing additional entertainment for the public. 
Altogether the gala promises to be a most successful 
one. Competitors are reminded that entries close on 
the 14th August at twelve noon. The schedule of 
prizes contains the following special intimation, 
which gave so much satisfaction last year " In the 
event of the fete being a financial success, 50 per 
cent, will be added to the prize money offered in this 
schedule.” 
The Chrysanthemum in Victoria.—A writer in the 
Melbourne Leader of June 3rd, discussing the subject 
of Chrysanthemum culture and Chrysanthemum 
shows in the distant colony of Victoria, remarks 
that the rage for the flower continues to increase, 
and that there is not now in the Colony a horti¬ 
cultural society, however small or recently formed, 
which does not hold a Chrysanthemum show in the 
season. Says the writer :—” That our climate suits 
them and our gardeners understand their culture we 
have the evidence of Air. James H. Veitch, of the 
great nursery firm of that name in London, that we 
are able to grow equally well, if not better than 
English growers, for he states that the flowers shown 
by Messrs. Brunning & Sons in the Horticultural 
Hall a fortnight ago exceeded any he had seen in 
England. Regarding the plants in pots he says they 
grow them larger in England, though he does not 
say they are grown better, and size of plant is merely 
a question of size of pot.” 
Wood Green Horticultural Society.—The eighth 
annual exhibition of the Wood Green and District 
Horticultural Society was held on Saturday last, in 
the grounds attached to the Town Hall, Earlham 
Grove, Wood Green. The exhibits generally, were of 
an excellent character. The prizes were presented 
by the Rose Queen, who was elected by the visitors 
by ballot, and was selected from the following candi- 
