550 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
April 30, 1898. 
trenched and broken up to a certain depth 
the roots, or at least the usable portions of 
t^em, will be very short and comparatively 
worthless. Besides depth of root run, the 
fineness of the soil must also be considered, 
otherwise the roots will lack evenness of 
surface. If the slender, primary root has 
to penetrate between stones and hard lumps 
of soil, it then proceeds to thicken in that 
position, resulting in a twisted, crooked or 
even forked tap-root. Deep and fine soil 
enables shapely roots to be obtained, while 
it also permits the roots to forage more 
freely in quest of the necessary ingredi¬ 
ents of plant food. This is one of the 
chief reasons why deep rooting sub¬ 
jects are able to produce heavy crops 
on land which has become, more or 
less, exhausted temporarily by the growth 
of shallower rooting subjects. Various 
observers and experimenters have noted 
that certain plants penetrate the soil to a 
much greater depth than they had suspected. 
It becomes the gardener, therefore, to study 
the necessity of trenching and otherwise 
preparing garden ground, so that the best 
possible results may be obtained from any 
given crop. 
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Wren’s Nest on a Brussels Sprout.—A curious in¬ 
stance of birds building their nests in strange places 
is to be seen in the garden of Miss Humberston at 
Newton Hall,Chester,where a wren has built its nest 
on the stem of a Brussels Sprout. 
A Royal Gardener. —According to the Samoa Weekly 
Herald, King Malietoa has been severely indisposed 
of late, and is seeking relief and rest in his palace at 
Alaca, which is situated in the middle of the bush. 
At this place his black skinned majesty is starting a 
Taro patch and Banana plantation. 
Testing American Bulbs—Mr. Andrew V, D. 
Snyder, of Ridgewood, N.J., U.S.A., has tested 
American grown Narcissus, the bulbs of which were 
grown in North Carolina, with imported European 
bulbs, and finds that the American bulb makes less 
growth and bears smaller flowers than the European 
article. 
An Improved Step-ladder - -American ingenuity has 
produced an improved form of step-ladder for the 
use of the fruit grower when gathering in his crops. 
The contrivance is supplied with wheels, and by 
means of the pair of handles affixed can be wheeled 
from place to place like an ordinary wheelbarrow. A 
shelf for carrying baskets of fruit is placed between 
the steps at the front, and the supports at the back, 
thus serving the double purpose of steadying the 
ladder instead of the cords used in the ordinary make, 
and of accommodating the fruit gathered. The 
"ladder” is capable of being folded up and packed 
away into small compass when not in use. Whether 
it will find favour with the British fruit gatherer 
must depend, however, upon whether it is a too 
elaborate affair or not, and also upon its price. If 
these two points are satisfactory it may prove of 
service. 
Agricultural Rates Act.—Smith and others v. 
Richmond. The Court of Appeal, reversing the 
judgments of the Courts below, has held that glass¬ 
houses are not to have the benefit of the relief given 
by the Agricultural Rates Act, 1896, to market 
gardens and nursery grounds. Having regard to the 
importance of the question to growers, my associa¬ 
tion has determined to carry it to the House of 
Lords, if we can secure the support of the trade 
generally. We have many calls on our funds, and, 
as it is felt that the serious expense involved in pro¬ 
ceedings of such widespread interest should not be 
wholly thrown on the subscriptions of our members, 
growers throughout the country are invited to in¬ 
form our treasurer, Mr. George Monro, by letter 
addressed on or before the 30th inst. to the offices 
of the association, 32, King Street, Covent Garden, 
London, W.C., what financial support they are 
under the circumstances prepared to afford the 
association.— William Poupart, President of the Market 
'Gardeners , Nurserymen and Farmers' Association. 
Powdered Rice is said to be very effective in stop¬ 
ping the bleeding of cuts and bruises. 
The Doom Palm— The Doom or Dom Palm grows 
plentifully on the banks of the Atbara in the Soudan, 
and the Fellaheen and Soudanese soldiers in the 
Anglo-Egyptian army which has been heard of so 
much of late find some amusement in shying at the 
clusters of fruit as they hang. The pulp surround¬ 
ing the stone tastes like ginger bread. 
The Cooking of Fruits. —Such fruits as Apricots, 
Peaches, and Pears have to be subjected for fully a 
week to the influence of the sun’s rays before they 
are sufficiently dried, and this in California where 
the sun’s rays are much better than here. In cook¬ 
ing these dried fruits, therefore, it is manifest that a 
large quantity of moisture has to be returned to 
them before they can possibly be anything like 
what they were when taken from the trees. Instead 
of cooking them at once, therefore, or with only two 
or three hours’ soaking, as is too often given, they 
should be allowed to soak in water for from twenty- 
six to thirty hours. The bulk will not only be in¬ 
creased thereby, but the flavour and delicacy of the 
fruit will be incomparably finer. 
A Plant for Dry Banks.—Seeing that there is so 
much discussion about plants suitable for covering 
bare spaces under trees, it may be germane to the 
subject to recall to mind a plant that was much 
in vogue, for covering dry banks where few other 
things except succulents would grow, about a 
quarter of a century ago. The plant is Chrysanthe¬ 
mum or Pyrethrum Tchihatchewi, a Composite of 
dwarf, creeping habit, with finely divided dark green 
leaves, forming a rich carpet of green over the dry 
ground. The white heads, not unlike those of a 
small Oxeye Daisy, are very abundantly produced in 
May and June, and may be allowed to remain upon 
the plant or cut off to bring the dark green carpet 
into prominence. It may be propagated to any 
extent by division, cuttings, and seed. 
Important Sale of Books of Natural History.—The 
library of M. De M. G. Dumont, a member of 
several learned societies, is to be put up for auction 
on the 9th, 10th and nth May, next, at 8 p.m., in 
the Salle Silvestre, 28, Rue des Bon-Enfants, Paris, 
by the Minister of Me. Maurice Couturier assisted by 
MM. J. B. Bailliere and Fils, experts. Some idea of 
the importance of the collection may be gleaned 
from the fact that 1,007 books are catalogued to be 
sold. They embrace physical and chemical science, 
and natural science, such as geology, mineralogy, 
paleontology, botany, zoology, medical science and 
literature. The bulk of the books are by French 
authors, and written in French, but there are books 
in fair numbers by English authors, such as J. S. 
Bowerbank, Esq., Sir John Lubbock, Sir Joseph D. 
Hooker, Charles C. Babington, Esq., and others. 
There are also the journals of some London scientific 
societies. Some of the works of British authors 
seem to be translated into the French language. 
Germany is represented by Reichenbach, the great 
authority on Orchids, and others. Many of the 
books are valuable scientific works. 
Pellaea atropurpurea in cultivation. — In the April 
number of the Fern Bulletin, a quarterly edited by 
Mr. Willard N. Clute, Binghamton, New York, 
U.S.A., is an interesting article on the cultivation of 
this interesting dwarf Fern. Plants were found in 
abundance in the seams of masonry of a railway 
bridge, and having been picked out by an iron tool 
were transferred to the Dolobran Wild Garden, on 
the estate of C. A. Griscom, Esq., Haverford, 
Pennsylvania. To establish these plants in the 
crevices of rock walls in a garden consisting of two 
old building-stone quarries transformed into model 
gardens for native plants, must have been no small 
feat to accomplish on the part of the cultivator. 
Usually Pellaea atropurpurea is confined to rocks of 
the limestone formation. The stone in these old 
quarries consists chiefly of mica schist, without 
lime. The compost in which the Ferns were planted 
consisted of mica schist and wood-soil, and the ex¬ 
periment has been very successful. When picked 
out of the crevices of the railway bridge the fronds 
were only 2 in. to 3 in. in height, now they are 8 in. 
to 10 in. Fern growers in Britain might try the ex¬ 
periment with Asplenium Ruta-muraria and several 
other of the smaller growing species. 
The Weed.—Darwin at the age of seventy-three 
said that a cigarette gave him more rest after a hard 
day’s work than anything else. 
Blechnum spicant, a common British Fern, is said 
by the Fern Bulletin to grow nearer to the North 
Pole than any other known species. In the United 
States it is known as the Deer Fern from the fact 
that reindeer eat it. 
Hibiscus syriacus and its varieties have for some 
time been known as very handsome flowering shrubs 
that are particularly valuable, in that they bloom in 
July and August when there is a dearth of hardy 
trees and shrubs in flower. Until last year, how¬ 
ever, no award had been made them by the Royal 
Horticultural Society, and it thus fell to the two 
fine forms H. s. coelestis, and H. s. Painted Lady 
to be the first to obtain this distinction. Awards 
of Merit were granted to both of these plants on the 
27th of July last 
Blaok Rot of the Oabbage.—A bulletin, written by 
Professor Erwin F. Smith, has been sent out by the 
United States Agricultural Department, Some of 
the rules for prevention are " to plant seed on land 
where the disease has never appeared ; to set plants 
on land that has not been under crops of cruciferous 
plants for some time; to avoid the use of stable 
manure, and as far as possible make use of com¬ 
mercial fertilisers ; not to turn animals into diseased 
fields and then allow them to wander over other 
parts of the farm; to keep up a warfare against 
insects ; to remove and burn all badly-affected plants 
as they appear; and to destroy weeds systematic¬ 
ally.” All of these measures commend themselves 
to the common prudence of the gardener and farmer, 
with perhaps the exception of the prohibition of the 
use of stable manure, which, to say the least of it, 
would be difficult to carry out. 
Apple Calvill Grossherzog Friedrich von Baden.— 
Half a dozen names, or rather that number of words 
in a name, are surely sufficient for any variety of 
Apple, whatever its value may be. For general use 
in this country the translation, nainely, Grand Duke 
Frederick of Baden, might be more acceptable than 
the original. It was raised by Herr G. H. Fiesser, 
court-gardener at Baden-Baden. The fruit in form 
is similar to the White Winter Calville, and of very 
large size, being about 12 in. in circumference, 34 in. 
wide, and 3 in. to 34 in. high. The skin is yellow, 
but in the mature state shining orange-yellow, and 
on the sunny side flushed with a red-brown tincture. 
The flesh is yellowish-white, of a sweet fine,agreeable 
flavour, and very fine quality. The period of 
maturity is from October to December, during which 
time it is fit for table. A figure of the whole fruit, 
as well as a section, and the portrait of the raiser are 
given in Mailer's Deutsche Gartner Zeitung for the 2nd 
inst. 
Technical Education in Essex.—The technical educa¬ 
tion committee of the Essex County Council has 
arranged a new system of testing the horticultural 
capabilities of the rising generation of the county. 
Pioneer courses of two days’ instruction in horti¬ 
culture are being given at various sub-centres, of 
which that in the Church Room at Epping delivered 
on the 20th and 21st inst., may be taken as an 
example. The subject was the science and practice 
of the propagation of plants; and the instruction 
was imparted by means of lectures, demonstrations* 
and practical work. The day classes are primarily 
intended for youths between the ages of fourteen 
and twenty-five ; and in the event of the applications 
being in excess of the accommodation provided, 
preference is given to applicants engaged in horti¬ 
cultural pursuits or intending to be. No charge is 
made either for instruction, or the use of micro¬ 
scopes, tools, &c., required by the student. Anyone 
interested in gardening is allowed to attend the 
evening lectures, which the public is invited to 
attend. Discussion at the evening lectures is also 
invited. On the first day at Epping the subject was 
upon the propagation of plants by seeds and cuttings, 
and other matters pertaining thereto. On the 
second day propagation by buds and grafts was taken 
in hand, the students during the day doing practical 
work and hearing lectures. During the evenings of 
both days two lectures were delivered, one 
commencing at 7.30 p.m. and the other at 8 p.m. 
The lecturers were Mr. David Houston, F.L.S , and 
Mr. Wakely, the latter taking the practical side of 
horticulture. 
