September 25,189?. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
S3 
Mr. Robert Lewis, foreman at Usan House, Mont¬ 
rose, the residence of George Keith, Esq., has been 
engaged as head gardener to Miss Paton, Links 
House, Montrose, N.B. 
Second Flowering of Late Phloxes. —It is not gen¬ 
erally known that the garden race of Phloxes belong¬ 
ing to the P. paniculata type can be made to flower 
a second time. In the more southern counties of 
England at least, when the Phloxes are cut down 
after having flowered, the stems will throw out side 
shoots and bloom a second time in October. The 
stems should be cut down to 6 in. or 9 in. from the 
base. The secondary shoots will be shorter than 
the original ones, but sufficiently long to make them 
suitable for cut flower purposes. Delphiniums may 
be treated in the same way, except that the old 
stems should be cut clean away. 
Thomas a’ Becket and the Fig—There is a legend 
extant to the effect that Becket brought the Fig to 
England. Soon after he was made Archbishop of 
Canterbury by Henry II. he quarrelled with the 
king and went to Rome to lay his case before the 
Pope. When the quarrel was patched up he re¬ 
turned to England bringing with him a Fig tree, and 
planted it in his garden. The big Fig garden at 
West Tarring, near Worthing, is the result of that 
Fig tree, and the said garden was probably at one 
time part of the primate’s palace grounds. Until re¬ 
cently there existed, if indeed it is not there still, an 
old Norman building alleged to have been the 
palace of Becket. 
A new name in the Rose world is Mr. Augustus G. 
Green, who has commenced business at " Rose 
Lands,” Great Horkesley, Colchester, that grandest 
centre in all the world for the cultivation of this 
flower. His catalogue, which is befote us, refers to 
the success which has attended Mr. Green during 
the past season, and includes some very useful hints 
on growing and on the management of Roses. We 
wish Mr. Green all the success that he can possibly 
desire, and need hardly remind him, perhaps, that in 
entering the lists he has to try his mettle against the 
leading growers of the Rose in all the world ; but re 
have always an admiration for the new comer and a 
new competitor, if for no other reason than for the 
additional stimulus which is thereby caused in the 
race for the tape. 
The Destruction of Alpine Flowers —The beauty 
and popularity of the Gentian, the Edelweiss, Cycla¬ 
men, Arnica montana, and other Alpine plarts have 
caused them to become increasingly scarce in the 
market. The Edelweiss particularly is much prized 
bv visitors to the Swiss mountains as a souvenir of 
their visit, and is now sold at a price sufficiently 
high to entice the Alpine peasants to risk life and 
limb in gathering it. An edict has just been issued 
bythe Prefect of the Haute-Savoie with a view tostop- 
ping the indiscriminate destruction of native plants. 
All lovers of natural beauty and of plants will hail 
this as a necessary and laudable movement, for we 
know something of the destruction of charming 
native plants in our own country, and would like to 
see similarly restrictive measures rigidly enforced 
here. 
The Rice Crop in Korea.—The food of the people of 
Korea is Rice, meat and vegetables being mere 
accessories. In the extreme north where Rice can¬ 
not be grown extensively, Wheat, Millet, and Beans 
are used as substitutes, but wherever Rice can be 
had it is always preferred. Korean Rice is of excel¬ 
lent quality, some of it being considered almost equal 
to the best Japanese. Consul Allen says it is diffi¬ 
cult to estimate the amount of Rice grown in Korea, 
as no proper statistics are kept, but the actual con¬ 
sumption is estimated at about 2,000,000 bags per 
annum, or 320,000,000 pounds. In former years the 
surplus was stored in Government granaries against 
a bad year, the old Rice being issued the next season, 
bag for bag, for new Rice. In 1886 the export of 
Rice from Korea began in a small way and has in¬ 
creased year by year, subject, of course, to the con¬ 
dition of the yield. The native method of cleaning 
is by pounding in stone or wooden mortars and 
separating the chaff by winnowing, This leaves 
much gravel with the Rice and causes injury to the 
teeth in eating. Lately, a number of fanning mills 
have been introduced from Japan, and Japanese have 
started a few crude steam Rice mills —Journal of the 
Society of Arts. 
£ 15,000 for Flowers and Plants.—This was the esti¬ 
mated cost of the flowers and Plants employed along 
the route by which the Jubilee procession passed. 
Public Fig Gardens.—It is stated that the only 
public Fig Garden in England is situated in the 
parish of West Tarring, near Worthing, in Sussex, 
and contains some hundreds of trees. 
Mr. Chas. Ilottgave a practical demonstration on 
the summer management of fruit trees at St. Agnes, 
at the beginning of the month. Several gardens 
were visited, and formed illustrative material for 
the lecturer. Mr. Ilott gave a list of what he con¬ 
sidered to be the best Apples. It was as follows:— 
Culinary: Lord Grosvenor, Lord Derby, Cox’s 
Pomona, Ecklinville, Bismarck, Bramley’s Seedling, 
Lane’s Prince Albert, Pott’s Seedling, and Grenadier. 
Dessert : Lady Sudeley, Worcester Pearmain, 
Beauty of Bath, Gladstone, Cox’s Orange Pippin, 
Adam’s Pearmain, and King of the Pippins. The 
demonstration was the result of an arrangement 
made by the Technical Education Committee. 
Another Kailyard Story.—Dr. Leitner, a learned 
German philologist,declares that the Gaelic language 
is a contemporary or derivative of a tongue closely, 
allied to the spoken language out of which the 
Sanscrit became evolved as a written language. This 
will go to confirm the ancient belief of the Gael 
himself that his mother tongue was spoken in the 
Garden of Eden. Some would fain have it that 
kilts were but a development or advance upon the 
Fig leaves worn by the first knight of the blue (?) 
apron. A. M’Leod considers that when Adam 
gathered up the Fig leaves it must have been 
autumn, and the leaves consequently in their cus¬ 
tomary autumnal yellow tints, just like the M’Leod 
tartan. 
Southern Counties Carnation Society —This society, 
which has been inaugurated in the neighbourhood of 
Southampton, has now fairly started, and has close 
upon one hundred members, including amongst 
others Mr. Martin R. Smith, Mr. James Douglas, 
Mr. Robert Sydenham, Mr. Weguelin, Mr. Nutt, 
Mr. Harden, Mr. Phillips, Mr. Keen, and others. 
By an advertisement appearing in our issue of to-day 
it will be seen that the society purposes sending out 
this autumn the first distribution of Carnations, so 
that those who take an interest in the culture of the 
Carnation and Picotee should lose no time in joining. 
In addition to this proposed annual distribution of 
plants, which is entirely the gift of the hon. secretary 
it is proposed to hold an annual exhibition, to which 
all members and their friends will be admitted. To 
those who have not yet received particulars of the 
society's intention, it may be mentioned that all 
subscriptions received will go to making up a liberal 
prize fund, in order that every class of Carnation 
can be represented, by which means it is hoped that 
a large and successful exhibition will be ensured. All 
information as to the society can be procured on 
application to the hon. secretary, Mr. William 
Garton, Jun., of Woolston. 
Market Peas -The conservatism that prevails in 
market gardening has again been brought to the 
front by a discussion on the subject in the Daily 
Telegraph. Messrs. J. Carter & Co., of High Holborn, 
London, find that the demand for Peas scarcely 
extends beyond half a dozen varieties, while in many 
districts nearly all the growers cling to one variety. 
Surely that is very bad policy when there are so 
many good sorts, early, midseason, and late, with 
which the grower might prolong the harvest, greatly 
to his own and other people’s advantage. For 
instance, they made a general sowing on March 29th 
last, and the varieties were ready for picking in the 
following order :—Lightning, June 10th ; Springtide, 
June 13th ; Prince of Wales, June 24th ; Telephone, 
Stratagem, and Daisy, June 28th; Telegraph, and 
Yorkshire Hero, June 30th ; G. F. Wilson, July 10th ; 
and Michaelmas, July 20th. Varieties picked from 
the above and sown at various periods from 
February or March and onwards to June, would fur¬ 
nish a supply to the end of September. All of the 
above are Marrowfat Peas, except the first named, 
and greatly superior to much that is put on the 
market. The main point to observe, however, is the 
succession that a selection from them will ensure. 
The Sparrow again. — Miss Eleanor A. Ormerod 
has presented us with reliable information concern¬ 
ing the little ways of the house sparrow. She has 
recently issued gratuitously an eight page pamphlet, 
in the production of which she has been assisted by 
Mr. W. B. Tegetmeier, showing the nature of the 
sparrow’s food as demonstrated by dissection. It is 
estimated that during the life of an adult sparrow 
75% of its food is corn of some kind, and it is averred 
that even the insects they eat are so much food taken 
from other birds, almost entirely insectivorous. The 
pamphlet points out that in Canada, on the recom¬ 
mendation of the Agricultural Department, the 
sparrow is no longer protected. They have also 
found the sparrow out in the United States, for in 
the report made by the Board of Agriculture it states 
that Mr. C. V. Riley, entomologist to the board has 
found that out of 522 bodies examined only two con¬ 
tained insects. The evidence of Mr. G. H. Gurney,also 
an entomologist of fame, who examined the stomach 
contents of 694 sparrows killed during each month 
of the year bears out Miss Ormerod's statement. It 
shows too that in young sparrows only half is corn, 
the other half insects. Clearly our friend the sparrow 
is in a bad way unless he can clear himself, which 
seems scarcely likely. Hitherto farmers have been 
induced to put up with his cheek in assuming rights 
of proprietorship over new sown fields in the hope 
that he makes amends by keeping down the insects. 
If the latter is proved to be only a pretence on his 
part he had better look out for himself. Copies of 
the pamphlet in question may be obtained from Miss 
Ormerod, Torrington House, St. Albans. 
-—^- 
TRIALS AT CHISWICK. 
Zonal Pelargoniums. 
Nearly i6d varieties of Zonal Pelargoniums have 
been subjected to trial at Chiswick this season. 
Amongst these are included many old varieties that 
have given a good account of themselves in gardens 
all over the country, and it is interesting to note 
how well these good old varieties have borne them¬ 
selves when placed side by side with other and newer 
ones. The Floral Committee assembled at Chiswick 
on August rgth to decide upon the respective merits 
of the varieties. The verdict of highly commended, 
exemplified by the XXX, was given in the case of 
each of the following sorts :— 
Dolly Varden.—A dwarf, compact-habited tri¬ 
color that stands the drought remarkably well, and 
is, moreover, a free grower. The leaves have a cen¬ 
tral area of pale green, with abroad zone of black- 
brown and a red margin. The flowers are large and 
bright scarlet. Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons, Swanley, 
Kent. 
Masterpiece. —This is one of the best of the tri¬ 
color section, a free grower, and of good habit. The 
centre of the leaves is green, the zone is dark brown 
and red, and the margin bright sulphur-yellow. 
Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons. 
Zulu. —This belongs to the bronze section. The 
zone is dark and very broad, and the margin prim- 
rose-yellow. In habit this is a very vigorous variety. 
Marechal McMahon. —This is one of the finest 
and best known of the “ bronze ” section. It has a 
heavy zone of brown-red, and the margin is yellow. 
Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons. 
Golden Harry Hieover.— This well-known 
variety needs little further description. The yellow- 
green foliage, with the narrow bronze zone, the pro¬ 
fusion of scarlet flowers, and the dwarf, compact 
nabit render it a great favourite for edging pur¬ 
poses. Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons. 
Miss Kingsbury. —This is a first-class bedder. 
The leaves are silvery-white, with a central area of 
light green. The flowers are orange-scarlet. Messrs. 
H. Cannell & Sons. 
Creed's Seedling. — There is no handsomer, and 
none more suitable for edging purposes than this. It 
is dwarf and compact in habit, although somewhat 
delicate of constitution. The foliage is bright green- 
yellow, and the flowers scarlet. Messrs. H. Cannell 
& Sons, 
Boule de Neige (bicolor). —A variegated form 
of great merit. The leaves have green centres, with 
broad margins of pure white. The variety is free- 
growing, and a capital bedder. The flowers are 
scarlet. Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons. 
Flower of Spring has for so long been recognised 
as one of our very best variegated bedding varieties, 
