March 19, 1898. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
455 
The Largest Rhododendron Catawbiense is probably 
the plant at Balinie, Scotland, according to the 
defunct Garden and Forest. It is 20 ft. in height, 
172 ft. in circumference, and 100 years of age—a 
grand specimen altogether. 
Syndical Chamber of Belgian Horticulturists.—At 
the monthly meeting of this society on the 6th inst., 
in the Casino, Ghent, Certificates of Merit were 
awarded to Didymospermum porphyrocarpum 
Phoenix histrix and Anthurium rothschildianum 
excelsior (with unanimity) all presented by M, L. De 
Smet; to Azalea Madame Louise Cuvelier, shown by 
MM. Haerens freres; to Vriesia Rex, shown by M. 
L. Poelman-Maenhout; to Cymbidium grandiflorum 
var. punctatum, shown by MM. Versypt freres et 
soeurs; to Aechmea pulcbella, presented by MM. 
Duriez freres; and to Selaginella emmelliana aurea, 
shown by M. Szewezik. A few other certificates 
were awarded for flowering and culture, and some 
Honourable Mentions made. 
The following curious mode of planting Apple trees 
I cull from Chambers' Edinburgh Journal, dated 
February 10th, 1844, which may prove of interest to 
the many readers of your valuable paper :—" New 
Mode of Planting Apple Trees: A horticulturist in 
Bohemia has a beautiful plantation of the best Apple 
trees, which have neither sprung from seeds nor 
grafting. His plan is to take shoots from the choicest 
sorts, insert them in a Potato and plunge both into 
the ground, having put an inch or two of the shoot 
above the surface. The Potato nourishes the shoot 
whilst it pushes out roots, and the shoot gradually 
springs up and becomes a beautiful tree bearing the 
best fruit without requiring to be grafted.—Canada 
Newspaper.” It would be interesting to know if any 
of your readers have heard of such a thing.— D. IV. 
Mitchell, Edinburgh, 72 / 3198 . 
Fatal Fall from a Tree.—A shocking accident 
occurred last Thursday afternoon in the yard attached 
to the board school in Bolingbroke Road, Bridge 
Road West,Battersea. A man named Robt.Batchelor, 
aged 60, of 16, Thibet Street, about half-past twelve 
was engaged in lopping a tree. While some 25 ft. 
up, he slipped and fell to the ground. He was 
picked up and immediately taken to the Bolingbroke 
Hospital. On examination it was found that his 
skull was smashed. In spite of the attention of Dr. 
Lyster, the superintendent of the hospital, the poor 
fellow died at seven o'clock in the evening. Batchelor 
was in the employ of Mr. Neal, nurseryman, of 
Trinity road, for whom he has worked many years. 
In these days of " Myticuttahs, ' &c., surely men's 
lives should not be risked in attempting to prune 
trees in the old fashioned way !! ! 
The Beginnings of Plants.—On Tuesday, the 1st 
inst., Professor Ray Lankester, reached that highly 
interesting point in his lectures on the “ Simplest 
Living Things" where plants and animals divide. 
The real difference, he said, is based upon what they 
are able to eat. The true animal must have the 
food made up for him into albumens, sugars, 
starches, etc., all of which are necessary to his 
existence, although the crude elements from which 
these are composed are useless to him. Plants, on 
the other hand, can extract the carbon from carbon 
dioxide by means of their chlorophyll and the action 
of light, and from the various salts which are taken 
up in solution through the root hairs, they can supply 
themselves with the elements of food they need. 
Some plants can even, by the aid of certain fungi 
parasitic upon them, take in free nitrogen. Some 
plants seem to have assumed an intermediate form— 
a sort of compromise between the strictly animal 
and strictly vegetable kingdom. The Euglena, for 
instance, had a mouth like an animal, and yet had 
the chlorophyll corpuscles which would cause it to 
be classed as a plant. Among the flagellata or 
"whip swimmers” there were, continued the Pro¬ 
fessor, several which would be classed as animals 
which have chlorophyll corpuscles. This was, there¬ 
fore, one reason why it was believed that the 
vegetable kingdom first found its origin among the 
" flagellata." Broadly speaking, one might say 
that if in the beginning a group of flagellata joined 
themselves end to end so as to form a thread they 
turned into a plant, whereas if they followed more 
complex courses and joined together in more elabor¬ 
ate structures and households, they became animals. 
A Blotter and Diary for a Postcard.—The Anglo- 
Continental Guano Works have issued a very neat 
and handy blotter and diary for 1898, in strong, 
crimson and gold, board covers, which we are 
requested to announce will be sent free to any of our 
readers who will forward a postcard to ” 30, Mark 
Lane, E.C.” This diary is not a toy, but a really 
serviceable article. 
The Mora Nut. —At a meeting of the Linnean 
Society of London, on March 3rd, Mr. Thomas 
Christy, F.L.S., exhibited specimens of the Mora 
Nut of British Guiana (Dimorphandra Mora, 
Schomb ), of which some had been lately introduced 
into London by Colonial brokers as the Kola Nut 
(Cola acuminata). It appeared, however, on analysis 
that the former contains no Caffeine, a product for 
which the latter is of definite commercial value. It 
remained to be ascertained whether the Mora Nut 
has any economic value. 
Devon and Exeter Gardeners turned up in strong 
force at the Exeter Guild Hall on the evening of 
Monday nth inst , to hear the lecture on " Variety 
in the Flower Garden ” delivered byjheirold fellow- 
countyman, Mr. J. W. Moorman, now superintendent 
of Victoria Park, London, E.C. Mr. Moorman 
dealt in an able manner with the various phases of 
modern decorative gardening. The main object in 
view should be to secure as great a variety, and as 
complete a succession, as possible. A mere flash of 
summer beauty should not be striven for, but con¬ 
tinuity of effect. Fashion governed in the flower 
garden, and fashions were continually on the change. 
From 1870 to 1885 carpet bedding was at the zenith 
of its popularity, but nowadays it was in disrepute. 
Despite this, he thought a bed or two treated thus 
might be in every garden of any size. During the last 
summer he made a special feature of a scroll bed in 
which a medallion, crown, and the letters V.R.I. 
were boldly brought out, and he found that it proved 
a lively source of attraction to many. Speaking of 
the numerous varieties of Begonias and Fuchsias, he 
extolled these plants highly for their beauty and use¬ 
fulness, and mentioned numbers of other plants that 
might be turned to good account, and which would 
add not only the charm of beauty, but the charm of 
variety to the garden. Moderation and simplicity 
were the chief ends that should be borne in mind in 
the arrangement. Overcrowding must be strictly 
avoided. Mr. Moorman paid special attention to 
the effect obtained by a free distribution of spring¬ 
flowering bulbs amongst the grass, which are such a 
conspicuous success in the London parks. 
Do Pot-plants in Rooms Disseminate Fever P— 
The Florists' Exchange has taken a commendable 
action in endeavouring to answer this question. A 
report was circulated that pot-plants in dwelling 
rooms do assist the spread of scarlet fever, and as a 
consequence, the principal of a public school ordered 
all such plants to be removed from the school The 
Exchange sought the advice of Mr. J. M. W. Kitchen_ 
M.D., whose reply, in substance, was as follows:— 
That he doubted the accuracy of the report, and 
that if the pedagogue in question believed that 
plants were an immediate cause of scarlet fever, he 
was not fit for his post. If, on the other hand, these 
plants had been in direct contact with fever cases, 
his action was right and commendable. Dr. Kitchen 
further stated as a matter of common knowledge 
that the presence of a limited number ot plants in a 
room could have but a very slight influence on the 
health of the human occupants. On an average 
they cleansed the air of deleterious gases, excreted 
by human and other animals. Malarial germs 
might be propagated in the soil in which plants 
were grown, and he would not care to live in close 
proximity to a large number of plants grown 
continuously in a high temperature and in a soil 
largely composed of decomposing vegetable matter. 
He would, moreover, not advocate the close connec¬ 
tion with a dwelling of a hothouse conservatory. 
A cool-house conservatory was not objectionable 
from a sanitary point of view. It might be a wise 
precaution to use purely chemical compounds of 
nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash as manures 
for such plants. He concluded by saying that where 
there was one point against house plants in connec¬ 
tion with health, there were, relatively, hundreds ia 
favour of their employment. It would be a good 
thing if all the schoolhouses ia the land contained 
growing plants. 
The Chestnut Tree in the gardens of thejTuilleries. 
Paris, so remarkable for its exceptional precocity in 
flowering on the 20th March, has just died. The 
tree formerly enjoyed great popularity amongst the 
Buonapartists, for from it they conceived the idea of 
celebrating the anniversary of the King of Rome. 
Children's Flower Fund.—Two years ago it 
occurred to a few friends residing in Oxford that 
boxes of wild flowers sent regularly to the London 
schools would be acceptable to both teachers and 
children, and the experiment of sending a limited 
number was made. This experiment met with so 
much success that last year a small fund was started 
to defray the expenses of postage, etc., and the work 
was extended to twenty-nine schools, about 274 boxes 
of flowers being sent to them during the spring and 
summer. Many letters have been received from 
teachers, speaking of the value of these flowers in 
various botany, drawing, and object lessons. There 
are 973 public elementary schools in the metropolis, 
and twenty-nine is but a small percentage of these. 
With a view to the further development of the good 
cause, help is solicited. The president of the move¬ 
ment is Mr. F. G. J. Reay, and the honorary secre¬ 
tary, Miss M. S. Beard. Subscriptions in aid may 
be addressed to the latter, 36, Ridgemount Gardens. 
Scottish Horticultural Association.—The " major¬ 
ity” supper of this association mentioned by us some 
time ago, was held in the Windsor Hotel, Edinburgh, 
on the 8th instant. The chair was taken by the 
president, Mr. M. Todd, and Mr. Malcolm Dunn 
and Mr. R. W. E. Murray acted as croupiers. They 
were supported by Bailie Hay, Railie Mackenzie, 
Messrs. W. S. Melville, Dundee ; Robertson Munro, 
Glasgow ; James Grieve, D. P. Laird, W. McKinnon, 
A. Milne, D. T. Fish, Loney, Robert Laird, Secre¬ 
tary, and others. The usual loyal toasts were 
proposed from the chair, after which Mr. R. Laird 
proposed the " Navy, Army and Reserve,” Mr. Mac¬ 
kenzie proposed the “ Lord Provost and Magistrates,” 
whom he considered a body of intelligent, patriotic 
and far-seeing men. Bailie Hay replied, stating that 
they had done much to cultivate a taste for flowers, 
and the taste was growing. The Corporation were 
gratified that their services were appreciated. Later 
on, he proposed the toast of the evening, namely, 
“ The Scottish Horticultural Association.” Twenty- 
one years ago the association began in a very small 
way by holding meetings in the Bible Society’s 
rooms, where they read and discussed matters 
pertaining to horticulture. It was all the more 
gratifying to know that after all these years they had 
lost none of their vigour, but were strong and 
healthy. They had been most successful, and he felt 
sure that the citizens of Edinburgh owed them a deep 
debt of gratitude for the privilege of visiting their 
_ Chrysanthemum show, which was the admiration of 
all classes of people. He hoped the Corporation 
would always be in touch with others, and 
not stint their donations to that and similar 
useful associations. He hoped the Corporation 
would give them every facility and assistance to 
further their success and progress. He considered 
that the association had done much good, and was 
capable of doing more in the future than it had done 
in the past. They had reason to take courage and 
endeavour to make the society second to none in the 
world. The chairman in reply, said they had done 
their best to deserve success, which was insured by 
their efforts being backed up by the public. There 
had been no retrogression ; while they had added to 
their membership and increased their usefulness. 
Since the establishment of the Chrysanthemum 
show, they had gone on with unvarying success, one 
success leading to another. They were grateful for 
the encouragement they had received from the Cor¬ 
poration of Edinburgh. The public had come to 
look upon the Chrysanthemum show as one of the 
most attractive entertainments of the year in the city. 
They had been led to strengthen and widen their 
sphere of action by bringing together the very best in 
the way of Chrysanthemums and other winter floral 
products, which culminated at their last show. 
They had wisely and generously devoted part of 
their abundance to works of charity. Mr. D. P. 
Laird then proposed ” Gardeners and Gardening,” 
to which Mr. M. Dunn responded. Mr. A. Jotinstone 
proposed the "Nursery and Seed Trade," to which 
Mr. A. Milne responded. Bailie Mackenzie proposed 
" Kindred Societies,” to which Mr. W. S. Melville 
responded. The chairman presented the association 
with an album of photographs of all the presidents. 
A most enjoyable evening was spent. 
