84 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
October 8, 1898. 
ever, with which few will find fault. They 
added much to the general appearance and 
interest of the show. Amongst Peaches 
were some instances of bad colouring, but 
they were exceptional, rather than general. 
Handsome and attractive Plums were 
Monarch, Magnum Bonum, Jefferson’s, 
Rivers' Golden Transparent, Pond’s Seed¬ 
ling, Diamond, Grand Duke, &c. Victoria 
would be getting past its best,though several 
good dishes were shown. Gros Maroc, 
Alicante, Muscat of Alexandria, and 
Chasselas Napoleon Grapes took prominent 
positions for size of bunch and berry and 
general finish; but Mrs. Pearson was 
generally condemned on account of its 
general inferiority. Apparently it is not a 
favourite with gardeners. Figs were in no 
way prominent. Fruit trees in pots, if any¬ 
thing, were more numerous than usual and 
constituted a considerable amount of attrac¬ 
tion to visitors. Cob Nuts and Medlars 
added their quota as usual to the general 
variety. Morello Cherries were in their 
ultimate stages of maturity,when they make 
palatable eating for those who prefer a little 
acidity to the usual run of sweet fruits. 
Blackberries and Mulberries bear a close 
resemblance to one another, though widely 
distinct in flavour. The former might be 
encouraged as a useful addition to home 
grown fruit. The appearance of several 
exhibits of Strawberries was quite unusual 
for an autumn show in London. Royal 
Sovereign must be fruiting for the second 
time this year. There were, however, two 
of the new perpetual bearing varieties, and 
as time goes on they may come to be 
common at autumnal exhibitions, more 
particularly if, in the average of seasons, we 
have sufficient sunshine to intensify their 
flavour. In that event we think there is no 
doubt they will become popular in private 
establishments. 
One rather curious outcome of Class 
XVI., for a collection of hardy fruits, grown 
partly or entirely under glass, was that in a 
collection of thirty-six dishes, there were 
three varieties of Grapes, namely, Black 
Hamburgh, Foster’s Seedling, and Gros 
Maroc, from Sevenoaks. If these varieties 
are to pass muster as hardy fruits, particu¬ 
larly Gros Maroc, of which the bunches 
were the best, then the number and signifi¬ 
cance of tender or hothouse fruits must be 
considerably reduced. Surely this was not 
what was intended by the schedule, though 
the wording did not exclude them, the Vine 
being hardy. Notwithstanding this fact, 
fruit of Gros Colman, Gros Maroc, Alicante 
and other varieties of that class would be 
very poor if grown entirely out of doors. 
The various ways of packing fruit for 
market created a considerable amount of 
interest. In many cases the Apples were 
simply packed tightly into ordinary market 
baskets. The first prize for a basket or 
box containing 42 lb. of Apples was 
awarded to an oblong, rectangular, white 
basket in which the fruits were laid neatly 
and regularly upon their sides, with the 
apex of one next to the base of another, and 
neatly packed with wood wool. The latter 
is now generally admitted to be the best 
packing, because the most elastic and 
springy material; and we hope to see 
cotton wool as a packing material for any¬ 
thing entirely discarded in the near future. 
It is villainous material for Peaches, 
flowers, &c. Some amusement was caused 
by the miniature flannel bags used for 
packing and carrying each Peach fruit 
separately in one of the exhibits. 
-- 
The Forests of Cuba run to 13,000000 acres, and, 
as in South America, many of them are impene¬ 
trable. 
The Lord Mayor’s Fund for the relief of the distress 
in the West Indies, caused by the recent tornado, 
amounted on Saturday last to £25,700. 
Royal Horticultural Society. The next fruit and 
floral meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society will 
beheld on Tuesday, October nth, in the Drill Hall, 
James Street, Westminster, 1 to 5p.m. A lecture on 
“ Some of the Plants Exhibited ” will be given by 
the Rev. Prof. Geo. Henslow, M A , at 3 o’clock. 
Snow on Ben Nevis.—The beautiful weather which 
has prevailed till recently in the Western Highlands 
of Scotland has given place to storms of wind and 
rain. Snow fell on Ben Nevis, on the 27th ult., 
covering the mountain half way down to an average 
depth of 6 in. Frost was also recorded at the 
Observatory. 
Madame Carnot is Dead — not the grand white 
Chrysanthemum which every cultivator knows so 
well, but its name mother, the wife of M. Sadi Carnot, 
the late President of the French Republic. She died 
on the 30th ult. at the Chateau des Presles, near La 
Ferte Alais, of heart disease. Mme. Carnot was 
very fond of her garden, and often busied herself in 
it as well as the greenhouse built by her late 
husband. 
Devon and Exeter Gardeners’ Association.—At the 
annual general meeting of this society, which we 
referred to in our last issue, Mr. E. A. Sanders was 
unanimously elected president of the association for 
the ensuing year, and Messrs. A. Hope and W. 
Mackay were asksd to continue to perform respec¬ 
tively the offices of hon. secretary and hon. treasurer, 
which they have discharged with such credit to 
themselves and benefit to the society. We wish the 
Devon and Exeter Gardeners a successful and pro¬ 
fitable session. 
Pasteur and the Cherries.—While dining at the 
house of his son-in-law, it was noticed that Pasteur 
kept dipping his Cherries into a glass of water and 
wiping them dry before eating them. This caused 
some amusement, at which Pasteur began to dilate 
on the dangers of eating unwashed Cherries on 
which microbes were thickly clustered. After this 
effort to enlighten the darkness of his audience, he 
leant back in his chair, wiped his brow, aDd auto¬ 
matically lifting the glass in his hand, drank the 
contents, microbes and all! 
A Balloon in Kew Gardens.—On Saturday after¬ 
noon last, about 6 o'clock, a balloon with a car 
attached, and containing a lady and two gentlemen, 
descended on the top of a Beech tree in Kew gar¬ 
dens, near the sun dial at Kew Palace. It had made 
the ascent from the Alexandra Palace during the 
day. Though it was getting dusk on the arrival of 
the balloon at Kew, and the gardens had been closed, 
yet some of the officials and of the staff observed the 
aerial visitor, and went to assist it in making the 
descent from the dangerous landing place in the tree. 
The grapling and line had been thrown out and 
secured by these on terra firma, so that when 
slackened and some material thrown out, the balloon 
rose clear of the tree when the aeronaut let it down 
gently. As it touched the ground it rebounded when 
one of the Kew staff caught hold of the car and was 
lifted off the ground. That was so sudden, but 
declining the aerial journey he dropped at once. 
The saucy balloon was only joking. 
Gordon’s Garden at Khartoum.—When the British 
reached the garden of Gordon at Khartoum, they 
were struck with the contrast between it and the 
palace. Both were entirely ruined ; but though the 
palace accepted its doom mutely, the garden was 
struggling against it, and could hardly fail to awake 
a sympathetic vein in the minds of the observant 
The Orange and Citron trees, though unpruned and 
unwatered in the dry and hard soil still wrestled with 
their fate in trying to produce fruit. The Pome¬ 
granates put forth their showy scarlet blooms, but the 
fruits that succeeded them were dry and worthless. 
More inured to a dry soil the Figs were in better 
form, but the odds were against them. A Vine 
straggled over the roof of a low house, but was only 
able to produce leaves, though they were a grateful 
sign of life. Weeds had possession of the garden 
everywhere, and slowly but surely were reducing the 
garden to the primeval wilderness. In grateful 
remembrance to its former owner the garden ought 
to be restored to its erstwhile beauty and utility. 
A Prominent Doctor says that artificial teeth are 
an evil to those of advanced years, because it enables 
them to masticate flesh. Nature intends that people 
should subsist on a vegetable diet after their teeth 
fail naturally. 
Green Peas to Bottle.—Shell the Peas, which should 
be fully ripe, and put them into clean, dry bottles. 
Shake them well together, and fill the bottles. Cork 
them perfectly tight to keep out the air, put them in 
a pan of cold water to reach up to the necks, protect 
the bottles with wisps of hay in case of cracking, put 
the lid on the pan and bring to the boil, then draw 
to the side and simmer gently for two hours. Let 
them cool in the water, then dry the bottles and dip 
in wax. Secure the corks, and keep in a dry, cool 
place .—Irish Farming World. 
Thomas S. Ware, Ltd.—On the 30th of August 
last Ware’s Nurseries, Tottenham, London, were 
sold and transferred to Mr. J. H. Osborne, who 
immediately announced that he had acquired the 
business and nurseries as above described. He also 
announced that “ in order to obtain the full advan¬ 
tage of the services of those who have had the prac¬ 
tical management of the business for many years 
past and to provide additional capital, it is intended, 
as soon as possible, to form the business into a 
limited company under the style of ‘Thomas S. 
Ware, Ltd.’ ” This has now been accomplished for 
some time past, so that the business will be con¬ 
ducted as formerly, and by the same official members 
of the staff. Several of them, besides the purchaser, 
Mr. J. H. Osborne, have seats on the board of 
directors, including Mr. J. H. Brazendale, Mr. 
Ballantyne, and Mr. Reuthe. There is little 
apparent change, therefore, in the ordinary business 
of the firm, all the experienced men remaining at 
their posts. 
Chrysanthemum Rust.—From various quarters we 
hear of disheartening injury to collections of Chry¬ 
santhemums in various parts of the country, both 
north and south, but the worst examples come from 
districts where rain is more abundant than in the 
south and east. The atmospheric moisture of the 
western counties is always greater than in the 
eastern districts in the average of seasons, but, all 
the same, from what we have seen of it the fungus 
is able to live in Chrysanthemum leaves all the year 
round, and this in spite of an unusually dry season. 
The National Chrysanthemum Society is about to 
discuss the question on the evening of the nth 
October, the opening day of the October Chrysan¬ 
themum show. We hope that much useful informa¬ 
tion will be imparted on the subject, and that some 
means will be devised for checking the ravages of a 
virulent disease. Prevention must be the aim of 
those who would combat the disease, for cure is out 
of the question. The information gleaned is to be 
distributed by means of circulars, so that growers 
at a distance should be able to profit by the discus¬ 
sion at headquarters. 
The Mule Theory again Exploded.—A mule belong¬ 
ing to a potter in the Kapurthala State, India, gave 
birth to a male foal on August 6th, after her return 
from the Tirah Field Force. Great excitement has 
been caused in the town of Kapurthala by the occur¬ 
rence, and the Prime Minister of the State, Sirdar 
Bbagat Singh, C.I.E., was informed of the event, 
when he duly repaired to see the foal early on the 
following morning. They say that such an event 
has never been known before, and the pundits are 
consulting the stars and sbastras as to what is 
portended by the event. Even in this country, how¬ 
ever, the barrenness of the mule has been insisted 
upon until it has become a dogma, and this degma 
io various forms has been applied to plants, in some 
cases to limit and define species. One by one the 
theories have fallen to the ground, and Darwin did 
much to let light into dark places upon the subject. 
We have Mule Pinks, a race between two species of 
Dianihus, yet there are several varieties of them. 
Moreover, some hy brids between the Carnation and 
Sweet William, were amongst the first artificial pro¬ 
ductions of which we have any record. Gardeners, 
hybridists and botanists have given up the idea that 
hybrids amongst plants must always be barren, of 
that they serve to define a species in any way. In 
the Proceedings of the Zoological Society, 1884 
p. 401, is the following record:—“The belief, so 
general, that all hybrids or mules are barren and 
useless for breeding purposes is simply a stupid and. 
ignorant prejudice.’ 1 
