52 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
September 25, 1897. 
lie around the margins of lakes as a rule, 
and in the case of Lake Erie, the Grape 
belt is confined to an area not extending 
beyond two or three miles from its shores. 
When the land slopes towards the lake, the 
area enjoying the greatest immunity from 
frost does not extend beyond the crest; and 
if the elevation is 300 ft., the suitable land 
only extends two-thirds of the distance 
towards the summit. The explanation of 
these facts is that a large body of water has 
an equalising effect upon temperature. The 
depth of the water is of more importance 
than its width. The atmosphere in the 
neighbourhood of these lakes is cooler in 
summer and warmer in winter, than land at 
greater distances or higher elevations. The 
low temperature of the water in spring has 
the effect of retarding the Vines till the 
season of frost is practically over; and 
should frost occur, the presence of water 
has the effect of moderating the tempera¬ 
ture. Fruit growers in Britain when speak- 
of suitable sites for plantations of Apples, 
Pears, Plums, etc., advise the planter to 
keep as far away from water as possible, 
because the frost is always most intense in 
valleys and on low-lying land, while water, 
if present, intensifies the evil. It is not 
very easy to reconcile these two opinions 
unless we take it for granted that the lakes 
and rivers in this country are neither broad 
enough nor sufficiently deep to exercise any 
ameliorating influence upon the atmosphere 
in their neighbourhood. In practice we find 
that a dry atmosphere is always more 
favourable to a good set of fruit than a wet 
one, even though cold weather or frost pre¬ 
vail at the time in either case. A better 
comparison, perhaps, would be to consider 
the effect of climate around our sea shores 
upon fruit growing, when thinking of the 
great inland lakes of America. The Vine 
growing area along the lower Hudson River 
does not extend more than a mile from its 
banks. 
The book is of small octavo size, but runs 
to 508 pages, including an exhaustive index. 
It is made up of eight long chapters, of each 
of which a very full synopsis of contents is 
given at the beginning of the book. The hints 
above given have been culled at random 
from the first two chapters ; and the whole 
book teems with information and sugges¬ 
tions, which those who are engaged in fruit 
culture or intend doing, would do well to 
study. Numerous illustrations are given rela¬ 
tive to the tillage of the land and the tools 
employed; also fruits, flowers and leaves 
injured by frost or other means, tree 
pruning, root pruning, planting, etc. The 
fertilising of fruit lands, the evolution of 
soils, saving water, irrigation, pruning, the 
girdling of trees, the raising of new varieties 
from seeds, double planting, packing fruits, 
nitrogen for orchards and many other things 
pertaining to horticulture in itswidest sense. 
The paper used is of the very best and the 
large type of the text is clear and in every 
way excellent. 
- —— 
Mimulu8 luteus. —One of the most remarkable of 
exotic plants that have been introduced to this 
country is Mimulus luteus, hailing from North 
America. Originally imported as a garden plant, it 
has become naturalised all over England, Scotland 
and Ireland, more or less, as well as on many of the 
smaller islands from Skye southwards. It loves the 
water and may be found upon the banks of rivers, 
streams and ditches, wading out to the centre of 
many of the smaller brooks. We found it last week 
cn the margins of Loch Fad, a fine sheet of wafer 
occupying a valley between hills and extending 
across the island of Bute, almost from shore to 
shore. It luxuriates in the crystal and weedy springs 
that run from the base of the hills into the loch. It 
is perfectly at home amongst the native vegetation 
and bears a wealth of large, rich yellow flowers all 
through the season, beiDg much admired and 
appreciated by the collectors of wild flowers for the 
local flower show. We have seen it spring up 
spontaneously in gardens much further north, but it 
never looks finer nor more interesting than when 
growing in a truly wild state. 
Other Uses for Fruit.—After eating as much fruit as we 
like or as we can obtain, we may proceed to apply it to 
other uses. It is stated that Orange juice is the best 
dressing for black boots and shoes. We are perfectly 
aware that there is no better application for tan 
boots or shoes than the inside of a Banana skin. 
The said skin should be rubbed well all over the 
boot, the latter wiped with a soft cloth and polished 
with soft leather or a piece of flannel. 
French Rosarians. — Our Gallic neighbours have 
ever paid a deal of attention to the cultivation of 
what is generally regarded in this country as the 
English national flower, the Rose, but they are even 
proceeding to greater efforts. A congress of Rose- 
growers, recently held at Orleans, has resulted in a 
permanent commission having been appointed. Its 
work will be to deal with all communications touch¬ 
ing Roses—their names, classification, cultivation, 
etc. The congress was under the presidency of M. 
Viger, sometime Minister of Agriculture. An inter¬ 
esting feature of the gathering was the presentation 
of a medal to M. Paul Verdier, one of the greatest 
authorities on Roses, not only in France, but in the 
world. 
Parisian Flower Boxes.—Paris is nothing if not 
gay, and the garishness of all things Parisian has 
not forgotten the flower boxes. These almost excel 
in brilliancy the brightness of the flowers they con¬ 
tain, much to the disgust of our insular but more 
sober tastes. Plain boxes are almost, if not quite, 
unknown at the fashionable florists. The bunch of 
Roses, Daffodils, Carnations, or anything else that 
one may buy is invariably covered with designs of 
variously coloured ribbons, tied in knots and bows of 
all shapes and sizes, as obstrusive as they are ridicu¬ 
lous. The sober and garden flower pot is rigidly 
kept out of sight, and peculiarly constructed and 
wondrously hued receptacles take their place. This 
is going a few steps beyond the British country 
housewife, who daubs her pots with red ochre to 
enliven them up a bit. 
Saxifraga aizoides —As a rule this species grows 
upon wet rocks by alpine and subalpine streams. 
We noted it in plenty on an old sea bank, but within 
a hundreds yards or so of the present high water 
mark of tbe Firth of Clyde, at Craigmore, Bute. 
Water trickles down from above over the dark con¬ 
glomerate rock, and keeps the plants continually 
moist. Cultivators would do well to make a note of 
this fact and plant it where the soil is moist rather 
than otherwise. The yellow flowers, spotted with 
orange, are really very pretty. The dense tufts have 
been flowering for a long time past, but have not yet 
gone out of bloom ; and this coupled with the fact 
that the leaves are glandular-ciliate would make it 
identical with or closely allied to the form described 
by Linnaeus under the name of S. autumnalis. All 
the same it is evidently the prevailing form in this 
country. The northern latitude and the dripping 
rocks would account for its occurring at so low an 
elevation. 
Durham Show.—The twenty-fifth annual exhibition 
promoted by the Durham Floral Society was held 
on Tuesday, September 8th, in the New Markets, 
Durham. The weather was fine, and the 
excellence of the show delighted everybody. 
The total number of entries was 1,480, as 
against 1,533 the previous year. Mr. F. Nicholas 
Upleatham, maintained the first position for four 
stove and greenhouse plants. Mr. Charles Burton, 
Seaton Carew, was first for a group of plants, and 
Mr. McIntyre, Woodside Gardens, Darlington, was 
second. Mr. McIntyre led the way for Crotons, and 
Mr. R. J. Knaggs, of Whorlton, for hardy Ferns. 
The section for table decorations was the most inter¬ 
esting in the floral department, and was well patron¬ 
ised both by exhibitors and visitors. Mr. J. Atkin¬ 
son, Corbridge, secured the chief award for the best 
collection of cut flowers, the remaining prizes being 
won by Messrs. W. Reason, J. Tullet, Raby Castle ; 
R. Wharton, West Hartlepool; G. Lonsdale, and R. 
Burton. Mr. H. E. Gribble, gardener to the 
Marquis of Londonderry, Wynyard Park ; Mr. J, 
Hunter, Lambton, and Mr. Yare, Wolsingham, were 
the judges. 
The last London season cost the aristocracy between 
£ 20,000 and ^25,000 for flowers and Palms. 
The Tree-planting Society of Newcastle set an ex¬ 
ample by dying, which is being followed by many of 
the trees themselves which were planted under its 
auspices. The only green tree is a Black Italian 
Poplar, which was planted by Mr. Robert 
Sanderson. 
A Big Bunch of Nuts.—Mr. A. Loram is the happy 
gatherer of the biggest bunch of wild Nuts of which 
we have ever heard. It was picked at Ringmore, 
Shaldon, and contained fifteen well-formed, good- 
sized Nuts, all on one stem. We are waiting for the 
next bunch. 
Too Contented.—" Well, gardener, how is my son 
getting on in the profession ? " Gardener : “ Well, 
sir, he’s very contented.” Father: " Ah, that is a 
good thing. I’m glad to hear it.” Gardener : "Yes, 
yes—h'm—rather too much of a good thing. He 
says that by looking at the Chickweed choking down 
the Groundsel, it will save him the trouble of pulliDg 
it up.” 
Honour to whom honour is due.—Mr. Alfred 
Oulram, F.R.H.S., a well-known and general repre¬ 
sentative of the horticultural profession, has been 
the recipient of a well-merited and well-earned 
honour at the hands of the County Borough of 
Hanley Corporation, which body so successfully in¬ 
augurated and carried out its first annual fete and 
horticultural exhibition. Naturally, as a body of busi¬ 
ness men the Council, in the arrangement and man- 
angement of their show, consulted the best expert 
opinion obtainable, and Mr. Outram was readily 
able to give them valuable practical assistance in 
this way, which has been gracefully and fittingly 
recognised by the presentation of an illuminated 
address to that gentleman, setting out in suitable 
words the thanks and esteem of the Corporation for 
the services rendered on the occasion referred to. 
Sleep of Plants.—A Norwegian observer has been 
making some investigations on the sleep of plants, 
with the object of shortening the period of repose, 
and he claims to have succeeded. His plan was to 
subject bulbs and the buds of resting plants to the 
action of chloroform vapour. He asserts that plants 
so treated subsequently grow more rapidly, than those 
under normal conditions. He considers that the re¬ 
pose of the plants was intensified by the narcotic, and 
therefore that a shorter period is necessary. The so 
called sleep of plants, from this point of view must 
be on a different footing to that of animals with which 
the less of narcotics used the better. Bulbous 
and other plants that have been retarded by low 
temperatures till past their usual period of growth 
usually come away more rapidly than those allowed 
to start under natural conditions. 
After-Dinner Speeches.—The wisdom, or otherwise, 
of the tirade of adulation which sometimes follows 
the occasion of some of the public dinners held in 
connection with a few of the shows was brought 
sharply to the notice of some of tbe guests at a cer¬ 
tain horticultural function recently. It was a matter 
of comment that some of the speeches fell short of 
the usual standard, and why this should have been 
so was not particularly clear, for there were many 
men present who could, and probably would, have 
done better justice to the occasion. The fault, we 
assume, rests with the managers or those who are 
responsible for the toast list, over which a little 
more trouble might, we think, profitably be taken. 
We are aware that in securing suitable speakers for 
or in response to a toast it is of paramount impor¬ 
tance to “ first catch your hare,” and it may also be 
pleaded that until the last moment it is not always 
possible to tell who will be present, or if present, be 
agreeable to undertake a duty, often onerous, and one 
sometimes that is looked upon with a grudging 
stinginess by those who really ought to be better in¬ 
formed. Still, we do think that a frequent difficulty 
does occur, and certainly no small additional success 
might be obtained by adopting the custom which 
obtains in most of our leading societies in arranging 
by post beforehand matters of this kind. Moreover, 
it would give the horticultural Press a better chance 
of completing its record of an otherwise interesting 
function, especially when a special edition is in pro¬ 
cess of production. We commend the matter to the 
official consideration of committees of management. 
