816 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
August 26, 1898. 
gonium. Begonias bedded out in well- 
enriched soils and well watered are again 
this season most beautiful. It is a great 
mistake to plant them too thickly, to plant 
in poor soil, and to neglect the water-pot 
in dry weather, The finest effects are 
produced when planted thinly on some 
neutral carpet, and have intermixed with 
them a few tall plants of a diverse charac¬ 
ter. However, we may leave the Begonias 
to themselves, for as bedding plants they 
have a long and important future. We are 
pleased to see the old favourite Pelargo¬ 
nium—the geranium of common life—again 
having such a good innings. 
Wot Weather Diet. —How many of us 
are there who, during the recent hot 
weather have felt a great disinclination to 
partake of the ordinary diet, usually of a 
heated and heating nature, and have gladly 
accepted something light, green, or fruity, 
cool and pleasant, and which, while refresh¬ 
ing did not overload the stomach, or produce 
that heaviness which the heat itself is too 
provocative of. It was but the other day—- 
not specially thinking of the weather, for it 
wasnot so hot just then—the president of the 
Royal Horticultural Society, who is also a 
physician, deprecated in public the con¬ 
servatism of the British public in relation 
to meat diet, and strongly advised the 
greater use of vegetables and fruit as food. 
How the heat of the preceding fortnight 
has emphasised that advice, by making food 
of the old form completely lose its charm ! 
We have been reading in one of the daily 
papers an urgent appeal to consume light 
mid-day meals, and these should consist of 
cool salads and fruits ; also that good fruit 
should always be found on our breakfast 
and tea tables. This season, with a magnifi¬ 
cent fruit crop, we see immense quantities 
literally spoiling for want of a good market, 
and 5?et millions of the people do not eat 
one-hundredth part of the fruit they should, 
simply because their food associations are 
of the very worst traditions. 
What an immense boon to gardening 
would result were the vegetables, salads,and 
fruits that vocation produces, in ten times 
greater demand than now! What enor¬ 
mous benefit to the health as well as to the 
intelligence of the people ! Would that the 
recent tropical heat would help to bring the 
great army of consumers more to their 
senses in this matter—how much better for 
horticulture generally and the people at 
large ! 
-- 
Cliveden Gardens.—Mr. Astor, the new owner of 
Cliveden, has engaged Mr. A. Wadds as his gar¬ 
dener, and he will take up his duties about the 
middle of September. Mr. Wadds is a son of that 
able gardener, Mr. B. Wadds, Birdsall Hall, York, 
and has himself had a good training at Mentmore 
and other places. 
The Annual Trade Sales of stove and greenhouse 
plants, winter flowering Heaths, etc., conducted by 
Messrs. Protheroe & Morris, are announced to take 
place as follows :—Mr. H. B. May’s, Dyson’s Lane, 
Upper Edmonton, September nth; Messrs. B. 
Mailer & Sons, Burnt Ash Road, Lee, September 
12th ; Mr. John Fraser's, Lea Bridge Road, Septem¬ 
ber 13th; Mr. John Mailer’s. Enfield Highway, 
September 14th ; Mesrrs. Gregory & Evans, Sidcup, 
September 15th. 
The Employees of Messrs. William Cutbush & Son, of 
the Highgate and Barnet Nurseries, had their annual 
outing on Saturday last and visited Hastings, where 
they dined together at the Cafe Monico under the 
presidency of Mr. H. J. Cutbush, and generally spent 
a very enjoyable day. 
A Fuchsia Show at Bristol.—At no time, says a 
local paper, are the Zoological Gardens, at Clifton, 
Bristol, a more agreeable sight than during the 
summer, and the grounds presented an exceptionally 
attractive appearance last week, when the Fuchsia 
show of the Zoological Society was held. The plants 
were attractively set out in a large marquee erected 
on the lawn the effectiveness of the display being 
enhanced by the judicious use of Palms and Ferns. 
There were altogether 160 Fuchsia plants exhibited, 
and Mr. Harris, the society’s head gardener, may 
well be proud of the fine show they made. Possibly 
owing to the fierce heat experienced of late ; the col¬ 
lection would have looked a little better a month 
ago, but the sight of the Fuchsias, over fruitful in 
their rich clusters of pendulous bloom, was one not 
to be missed by admirers of flowers. Altogether 
109 distinct kinds were represented. 
Pomological Congress in France.—The tenth 
general show and the eleventh Pomological Con¬ 
gress, organised by the Pomological Association of 
the West of France, will take place at Vannes from 
October 17th to 22nd. The samples of fruit destined 
for the show are to be the property of the society, 
and must be sound, ripe (or almost ripe), and repre¬ 
sent the average type of exhibited varieties. The 
Pomological Show is to be accompanied by a special 
exhibition of instruments, such as crushers, grinders, 
presses, and stills. 
Fruit Imports.—The imports of green fruit were very 
large last year, especially Oranges, which showed an 
advance of 1,600,000 bushels over the previous year. 
Foreign Apples were also in abundance, there having 
been an increased import on the previous year of 
1,600,000 bushels. The Board of Trade have for the 
first time begun to distinguish the other ripe fruit 
imported, 217,000 bushels of Cherries being recorded 
last year, 413,000 bushels of Plums, 637,000 bushels 
of Pears, 764,432 bushels of Grapes, and 841,000 
bushels of unenumerated fruits. 
The Jersey Potato Crop. —For the second year in 
succession the Jersey Potato crop has been unsatis¬ 
factory, the price made per ton for those exported 
having been a little less than £5, against an averaged 
value for eleven years of a little over £ 6 . The crop 
also is about 11,000 tons less than in 1892. The 
figures for the present year have been issued by Mr. 
Philip Barbier, steamship agent, and these show 
that the earliest consignments only made £20 per 
ton this year against £52 last year, while the last lot 
made £3 10s. per ton against £2 3s. 4d. last year. 
The total amount received for the crop this year is 
no less than ^160,275 8s. 4d. less than for the good 
crop of 1891, in which year no Potatos were sold at 
less than £5 per ton. 
A Glass Brick Greenhouse. —This is decidedly the 
greatest novelty in greenhouses on the World’s Fair 
grounds. It is made of what might be termed 
hollow glass tiles set together in such a way as to 
form a Gothic arch, doing away entirely with the 
necessity of any framework. The roof is built over 
a wooden framework in much the same way that 
masons construct an arch and the framework after¬ 
wards removed. The tiles are joined by cement. 
Naturally the light does not penetrate the roof as 
readily as through sheet glass, but the hollow space 
between the outer and inner surfaces of the tiles 
would certainly make the house very warm in winter. 
Still but little assistance could be expected from the 
sun in the way of supplying heat. It is claimed 
that this style of structure has been in use in Europe 
for several years, and that it is giving excellent 
results .—American Florist. 
Torquay Gardeners at Taunton. —The members of 
the Torquay District Gardeners’ Association held 
their first annual excursion on the 10th inst., when 
over 200 journeyed to the floral fete at Taunton. 
The train left at 8 a.m., and arrived at Taunton soon 
after ten. An inspection was made of Taunton 
Castle, which contains a very interesting museum. 
At 12.30 seventy members of the society partook of 
lunch at the George Hotel, Mr. W. B. Smale pre¬ 
siding. A few toasts were proposed—that of " The 
Torquay District Gardeners' Association” being 
received with enthusiasm and suitably acknowledged 
by Mr. French and Mr. Pears. The toasts of " The 
Chairman" and "The Hon. Secretary" (Mr. F. C. 
Smale) were also received with much heartiness. A 
visit was subsequently made to the flower show, the 
best in the West of England, and so attractive that last 
year over £400 was taken at the gate. Later in the 
afternoon a few Chrysanthemum enthusiasts went to 
Claremont, the residence of Mr. W. H. Fowler, one 
of the greatest, if not the greatest, growers of 
Chrysanthemums in the West. 
A Beautiful Memorial. —The botanical museum of 
Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, is 
being enriched by a beautiful series of models of 
flowers, intended to represent the leading genera in 
all the families of plants. The foliage and flowers 
are represented life size and in natural colours, while 
characteristic generic details are given on an enlarged 
scale, such as a section of ovary or fruit, the style, 
or stamens or general structure of the flower. An 
average of six pieces are thus made to represent 
each species included in the series. These models 
are constructed wholly of blown glass, thus being 
nearly indestructible, the mineral colours entering 
into the composition of the glass with few exceptions. 
They are the work of Leopold Blaschka and his son, 
Rudolf Blaschka, of Dresden, Germany, renowned 
for their accurate models of jelly fish and other 
marine life. The Blaschkas are to devote ten years 
to the work. The series was presented to Harvard 
University by Mrs. Charles E. Ware and Miss Mary 
L. Ware, of Boston, in memoriam of the husband 
and father, Dr. Charles E. Ware. Nearly four years 
have already been devoted to the work, and from 
eighty to 100 models represent a year's labour. 
American plants are given preference in the series 
to those of other countries. 
The weather in the West during the past week has 
been very erratic. There have been heavy squalls 
of wind, accompanied by drenching showers of rain, 
with intervals of biilliant sunshine. The temperature 
at one time was 98°. It is hardly necessary to state 
that the heavy winds brought down the apples by 
the ton, and as they have never previously been 
known to be so abundant, they are actually retailed 
at 2d per gallon, the finest and best fruits. Pears 
are unusually fine this year and free from the 
disease witnessed in Cornwall during the last few 
years. This great plenty has suggested the thought 
that the present means of communication between 
the grower and the would-be buyers in the larger 
centres of population might be much improved. 
Better facilities by way of collection and cheap 
carriage are amongst the improvements hoped for in 
the future, though how to bring about the desir¬ 
ability is quite out of our power to suggest. To 
some little extent it has been meted out to the 
Strawberry growers residing in the east of Cornwall, 
and alike to the Mushroom pickers, whilst the 
Potato growers in the West are still left without the 
means of that cheap transit which is so desirable to 
the industry, and which keeps the army of growers 
in the West as poor as the proverbial church 
mouse. Gardening in Cornwall would be immensely 
benefited by cheaper railway rates. 
The Excessive Heat.—The recent high summer tem¬ 
peratures (remarks the Standard ) are in excess of 
those commonly experienced during an English 
summer, and for nine consecutive days the shade 
tempeiature at Greenwich has exceeded 8o°, which, 
so far as August is concerned, is the longest period 
with the daily maxima above 8o° during the last half 
century. There have already been twenty-two days 
this summer with a shade temperature of 8o° and 
above, while during the whole period of the six 
summer months from April to September this number 
of hot days has only been exceeded twice since 1877. 
The temperature was 83° at ten o’clock on the morn¬ 
ing of the 16th inst., in London, which is 17 0 above 
the average, and at two o’clock the thermometer 
stood at 89°, or 19° above the average. In West¬ 
minster the maximum temperature in the screen 
registered 91 0 which is the highest reading this 
summer, and the thermometer at Greenwich did not 
reach 908 during any of the five summers from 18SS 
to 1892. The temperature at two o'clock on the 
same day was 58 warmer than on the preceding day 
in the metropolis, and in the sun's rays the heat was 
practically unbearable. The hot weather of the 
last few days has been common to the whole of the 
United Kingdom, although the spell has been less 
prolonged in Scotland and Ireland. On Wednesday 
the greatest heat was limited to England and greatly 
to the southern and eastern portions of the country. 
On Tuesday the thermometer registered 89° at 
Greenwich and in other parts of the suburbs of 
London, while the reading was 88° at Loughborough, 
87° at Jersey, 86 Q at Oxford, and S5 0 at Wick, Leith, 
and Cambridge. On each day since August 7th, 
the Bank Holiday, the temperature has exceeded 80S 
in several parts of England, and on some days the 
readings have exceeded 85?. 
