286 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
January 1, 1898. 
of deceased proprietors. It is an undeniable proof of 
the value of the Act and the facility of its working 
that payments from the assurance fund to the 31st 
December, 1896, in respect of titles improperly 
granted, amounted to only £3,113. The assurance 
fund, which forms part of the Trust Fund of the 
Colonial Treasury, amounted to £151,730 at theclose 
of 1896, and bears interest at rates varying from 
three to five per cent. The accretions to this fund, 
that is, interest and collections, average from £8,000 
to £9,000 per annum, while the total withdrawals 
during the whole currency of the Act have not 
reached £3,000 ; thus, as there is every likelihood of 
the amount annually added growing larger as years 
roll on, the fund bids fair to reach considerable 
dimensions. 
■ 
OBITUARY. 
Mr. James Brown. 
It is with deep regret that we record the death of 
Mr. James Brown, sixty-five years of age, gardener 
for over forty years at Abercairney, Perthshire, the 
splendid domain of Captain Moray, on December 
22nd. 
Mr. Brown was for many >ears a keen competitor 
with vegetables and hardy fruits. At Perth, 
Dundee, Edinburgh, and Glasgow his skill as a cul¬ 
tivator was strikingly exemplified. Mr. Brown’s 
services as a judge were much in request. By reason 
of his knowledge and conscientious adjudication he 
commanded the respect and confidence of exhibitors. 
His work in the fine gardens under his charge, and 
devotion to his employer’s interests were duly appre¬ 
ciated by the gallant captain, who is descended from 
generations of forebears distinguished for their in¬ 
tegrity and urbanity as employers and proprietors. 
Mr. Brown succeeded his father-in-law, the late 
Mr. James Arnot. Abercairney was the home of the 
Mclntoshes, of Dalkeith, and Drumlanrig Gardens, 
and one of the most beautiful seats in Scotland. 
- - - 
Questions ado snsroeRs 
Will our friends who send us newspapers be so good 
as to mark the paragraphs or articles they wish us to see. 
We shall be greatly obliged bv their so doing. 
[1 Correspondents, please note that we cannot undertake to 
name florists' flowers such as Carnations, Pelargoniums, 
Chrysanthemums, Roses, nor such as are mere garden 
varieties, differing only in the colour of the flower. 
Florists' flowers, as a rule, can only be named by those who 
grow collections of them.] 
Habit and Growth of Maples. - Notts: Acer colchic- 
um rubrum is more correctly named A pictum 
rubrum. It forms a small tree, 15 ft. to 20 ft. in 
height and has spreading or ascending branches. 
The leaves are five-lobed, rather thin in texture and 
beautifully coloured or tinted with red from spring 
to autumn, particularly while young growth is being 
made. We have seen it doing well both in heavy 
and sandy soil ; and if the latter is fairly moist the 
tree will in time attain a height of 20 ft. or nearly. 
It grows fairly rapidly after it is well established, 
making growths of 1 ft to 2 ft. till it is nearing its 
full stature. The Snake Barked Maple (Acer penu- 
sylvanicum) also known as A striatum, also attains 
ajheight of 20 (t. under favourable conditions, but in 
some cases it forms a speading top, making a wide 
head rather than a high one. The leaves are much 
larger than those of A. pictum rubtum, and the bark 
is covered with wavy, pale or white lines. It grows 
well enough in sandy soil, provided it is neither too 
poor nor dry. In its native country of North 
America it is recorded as growing only 8 ft. to 10 ft. 
in height, but in this country it varies from 10 ft. to 
20 ft. 
Professor McOwan on Fruit Culture.—/. L.: We 
think your best plan would be to write to the 
Secretary of the Emigrants' Information Office, 31, 
Broadway, Westminster, London, S W. Professor 
McOwan, F.L S , is the director of Gardens and 
Public Parks, Cape Town, Cape Colony. He might 
be willing to give you the information you want, but 
we doubt very much whether it would be his duty to 
do so. 
Catkins of Hazel.— H. C. : It is nothing unusual 
for the male catkins to be on the trees at this period 
of the year, so that they cannot yet be considered 
early unless they are actually shedding the pollen. 
The male catkins are usually well advanced in 
September, before the fall of the leaves. They keep 
increasing in length when the weather is open and 
otherwise favourable, and the pollen gets matured 
and shed in January, February, or March, according 
to the district in which they are growing and the 
mildness of the season. 
Araucaria excelsa.— A twenty years' subscriber : 
We compliment you on the length of time you have 
been subscribing, and wish you many returns of the 
year, but you might verify and note down the dates 
as an aid to memory. You speak of Araucaria 
excelsa, but we think you mean the hardy one, A. 
imbricata. A. excelsa requires greenhouse treatment, 
and grows so rapidly and tall, that even in botanic 
gardens it becomes necessary to cut off the top, so 
that cones are seldom, if ever, produced in this 
country to show whether the trees are male or 
female. Many Conifers have the sexes on different 
trees, which are therefore male and female. This is 
usually the case with the Araucarias, but occasionally 
a tree proves an exception by producing both male 
and female cones. If you turn to The Gardening 
World for January, 1896, p. 313, you will see an 
illustration showing male and female cones on the 
same branch or twig. The tree on which they grew 
is at Cudham Hall, Kent, where this behaviour has 
been evinced for the last eight or nine years. This 
is exceptional for Araucaria, as far as observations 
have yet been made, the trees being generally either 
male or female. 
Annuals for Cut Flowers —Effort: The following 
are useful and showy annuals that are perfectly 
hardy and may be sown in the open ground about the 
end of March or the beginning of April, the figures 
denoting their usual height:—Sweet Peas, 3 ft. to 
5 tr., Lavatera trimestris alba, Malope trifidagrandi- 
flora, 18 in. to 2 ft., Convolvulus tricolor, 12 in., 
Clarkia elegans, r8 in., Gcdetia Lady Albemarle and 
other varieties, 12 in., Candytuft of various colours, 
12 in., Chrysanthemum carinatum, in variety, 15 in., 
Chrysanthemum coronarium, single and double, 
15 in., Calendula officinalis, in variety, 12 in., 
Coreopsis tinctoria, 18 in .double annual Larkspurs, 
i2 in., Nigella damascena, 12 in., Iceland and Shirley 
Poppies, 12 in. to 2 ft., Scabiosa atropurpea, 18 in., 
and Nasturtiums in variety. Sow the Nasturtiums 
in April. Several of the half-hardy annuals might 
be sown in pans or boxes in March and brought on 
under glass. Amongst these we might mention 
China Asters, Ten Weeks Stocks, and East Lothian 
or Intermediate Stocks. The latter might also be 
sown in July or August and kept through the winter 
in pots under glass lights for planting out in spring 
to bloom about May and Juue. Wallflower may be 
sown at different times to furnish a long supply of 
flowers. If sown early in the year, some would 
bloom in November if the weather is open. By 
sowing in May, June, and July you will get a 
succession. Small plants last best in severe winters. 
Everlastings are very useful, and amongst them you 
could sow Helichrysums, Rhodanthe Manglesii and 
Acroclinium roseum. Sow in the open about the 
third week of April, or treat them as half hardy 
annuals in frames. The above will give a great 
amount of variety. 
Names of Plants.— A.L. : 1, Reinwardtia trigyna ; 
2, Acacia riceana ; 3, Acacia verticillata ; 4, Coronilla 
glauca variegata.— W.J : 1, Odontoglossum Pesca- 
torei, a very fine variety; 2, Laelia anceps Sander- 
iana ; 3, Laelia autumnalis ; 4, Oncidium tigrinum — 
T. Wesley: 1, Jasminum nudiflorum; 2, Selaginella 
Martensi robusta; 3, Polypodium rupestre; 4, 
Cryptanthus acaulis zebrina; 5, Chlorophytum 
elatum variegatum.— A. James: 1, Hamamelis vir- 
ginica; 2, Picea Smithii; 3, Juniperus sinensis; 4, 
Cupressus nutkaeosis. 
Communications received —W. B.G.—A. D. W. 
—R. M. — M. T.—A. McDonald.—A. Hope.—H. C. 
Prinsep.—T. B.—A. K —D. B.—J. R.—W. David¬ 
son.—R. H.—R. S. O.—Sesame.—Walter Crane.— 
A. O.—G. Coboro. — S. Caswell.—Rubens. 
* 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
H. Cannell & Sons, Swanley and Eynsford, 
Kent.—Complete Catalogue of Golden Seeds. 
Harrison & Sons, Royal Midland Seed Ware¬ 
house, Leicester.—Leicester Seeds. 
Dobbie & Co., Rothesay, N.B., and Orpington, 
Kent.—Dobbie’s Catalogue and Competitor's Guide. 
W. Atlee Burpee & Co , Philadelphia, Pennsyl¬ 
vania, U S.A.—Burpee's Farm Annual (Vegetable 
and Flower Seeds). 
Samuel Dobbie & Son, Heathfield Gardens, near 
Chester.—A Select List of Vegetable and Flower 
Seeds. 
David W. Thomson, 24, Frederick Street, Edin¬ 
burgh.—Seed List, 1898. 
T. Methven & Sons, 15, Princes Street and Leith 
Walk, Edinburgh.—1898 Seed List. 
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