June 24, 1899. 
677 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
Gardening World Offices. — Correspondents will 
greatly oblige by leaving out the No. i in present 
address, and substituting 5 & 6. The full address is 
5 & 6, Clement’s Inn, Strand, London, W.C. 
Weather in London.—Wednesday opened rather 
cold and dull, and remained so. Thursday was 
beautiful throughout, Friday shone bright and very 
warm. Saturday was oppressively close. Sunday 
was rather dull, with cool breezes and rain in the 
evening. Monday was dull but mild. Tuesday 
opened very wet, clear and warm later. 
Malcolm Dunn Memorial Fund.—The news of the 
sudden death of Mr. Malcolm Dunn, on May nth, 
at Dalkeith Palace Gardens, where he had been gar¬ 
dener for nearly twenty-eight years, must have come 
upon all who knew him as a great shock. Although 
a gardener by profession, his interest did not end 
there. Horticulture, Botany, and Arboriculture are 
to-day all reaping the benefit of his great energy and 
devotion. Looking to this general interest displayed 
by Mr. Dunn, it has been agreed upon by the Royal 
Caledonian Horticultural Society, the Botanical 
Society of Edinburgh, the Royal Scottish Arboricul¬ 
ture Society, and the Scottish Horticultural Associa¬ 
tion, with all of which he was intimately identified, 
to unite in issuing a joint appeal to the many friends 
of Mr. Dunn throughout England, Scotland, and Ire¬ 
land, for funds to perpetuate his memory : and it is 
proposed that, after erecting a suitable monument in 
Dalkeith Cemetery, the balance sho uld be devoted 
to charitable and educational objects in connection 
with Horticulture and Arboriculture. In issuing this 
appeal, the Councils of the four societies feel assured 
that there are very many who will gladly join in 
raising such a memorial as is proposed, and thus 
testify to their appreciation of Mr. Dunn's worth, 
and to the kindly help and advice which he so freely 
gave. Subscriptions will be received and acknow¬ 
ledged by any of the undersigned. In name of the 
respective societies, P. Murray Thomson, Secretary, 
Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society, 5, York 
Place, Edinburgh ; James A. Terras, Assistant- 
Secretary, Botanical Society of Edinburgh, 21. 
Teviot Place, Edinburgh ; Robert Galloway. Secre¬ 
tary, Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society, 5, St. 
Andrew Square, Edinburgh ; Robert Laird, Secre¬ 
tary, Scottish Horticultural Association, 17 
Frederick Street, Edinburgh. 
Manure. —Here is a mixture costing only 25s. 3d. 
per acre, says The Fanners' Gazette, and producing 
25 tons of Swedes per acre. Mixture :—i cwt. of 
nitrate of soda, 2 cwt. of kainit, and 5 cwt. of basic 
slag, applied as a dressing for Turnips. 
POOR GARDENER! 
Dear Mr. Editor, —I thought your heading on p. 565 
had been sufficient to clear up this little matter. I 
cannot quite agree with A. P., on p. 647, that because 
a man offers his services for a wage such as 25s. per 
week and house, that he is not competent to ful¬ 
fil his duties. I maintain there are gardeners 
working to-day at the above mentioned wage equal 
to some receiving £2. Why ? Possibly because they 
have a family, and cannot wait out perhaps six or 
twelve months, in hopes of securing as good a 
position as they have lost,perhaps through no fault of 
their own. The supply is too great, and it would be 
useless, in nine out of ten places, to ask more than 
the above stated wage. I should like to ask A.P. if 
he could mention a dozen such places in his sur¬ 
rounding neighbourhood as mentioned by him, or 
even that exceed the above wage. I myself was 
fortunate enough four years ago to meet with a 
gentleman that well rewarded me for my services. 
Unfortunately in two years' time he did not like the 
locality, and chose Brighton for bis residence. I 
waited some time, as one never likes to come down, 
but was pleased in the end to get the above, and then 
not without the aid of a well-known gentleman, as it 
appeared to me something like a lottery. Much 
more might be said concerning us poor gardeners, 
but I am afraid it will be useless.— W.W. 
chance of maturing the wood last autumn, as we 
had no settled weather, it being dull, wet, and damp. 
They ceased growth early, however, as all the trees 
of other fruits did. The roots are well above the 
low-lying surface of the damp, heavy, undrained 
land, which is environed by tidal rivulets on each 
side, and below the level of the sea. To make sure 
of water getting away from the surface, walks and 
portions of the ground are filled up with 2 ft. at 
least of brick rubbish and stones, in order to remove 
surface water. This answers well where drains are 
all but useless. I notice that Black Currants and 
Gooseberries are being severely thinned where the 
sun strikes them early in the morning. Cherries 
are extra plentiful.— IV. T., Carron, Stirlingshire, 
ISCELLANY. 
Shirley Gardeners' Mutual Improvement Association. 
—The monthly meeting of the above society was 
held at the Parish Room, Shirley, Southampton, on 
Monday, the 19th ult., there being a very good 
attendance of the members, the president, W. F. G. 
Spranger, Esq., J.P., presiding. The lecture was 
under the auspices of the Technical Education 
Committee, Southampton County Council, and 
was given by Mr. W. Wheeler, of Messrs. 
Hugh Low & Co.’s Nurseries, Clapton, London. 
Mr. Wheeler’s lecture was on Ferns and Palms, and 
in opening his remarks he said he thought that 
Ferns were the most beautiful and useful of any 
class of plant, and much easier to grow than many 
other plants. How to grow them from spores or 
seeds, how to make them into useful decorative 
plants for cutting or using in other ways, in the 
quickest and best manner, were next considered, and 
then lastly the best kinds suitable for the various 
purposes of decoration, and how to use them for those 
purposes were considered. Palms were treated just 
in the same exhaustive manner ; and British Ferns 
came in for more than their share of commendation 
as being so interesting and so suitable for either out 
or indoor decorations. Questions and debate ensued, 
and after their disposal a very hearty vote of thanks 
was accorded to Mr. Wheeler for his interesting and 
most useful lecture. Mr. Wheeler, in responding, 
hoped to pay Shirley another similar visit, and took 
the opportunity to propose a vote of thanks to the 
members for their exhibits that evening. The 
exhibits included Roses by Messrs. W. H. Rogers 
& Son, Ltd., Red Lodge Nursery; also from Messrs, 
Hallett, Mankelow, Curtis, and Gardener; a fine 
piece of Cattleya Mendelii, by Mr. A. J. Keates, of 
Rownham's House ; Seedling Pelargoniums by Mr. 
F. Cozens; and herbaceous plants by Mr. B. Lad- 
hams, of Shirley Nurseries; Ferns and Palms by 
Messrs. Curtis and Biggs ; and Shirley Poppies by 
Mr. Thorne. 
MAGNOLIA. 
By John Miller. 
It may be interesting to note that the name of this 
flower has been within the last three years brought 
to the attention of nearly every Judge on the Bench. 
A manufacturer of a white metal took the name 
“ Magnolia ” as a fancy name for a trade mark, and 
the particular metal he manufactured became known 
in the trade as “ Magnolia metal.” It is, perhaps, 
the best of the many anti-friction metals now in the 
market. The metal was at last so well known by the 
Dame “ Magnolia ” that newjmanufacturers took to 
using the name as descriptive of the class of metal 
they manufactured, with the result that the matter 
soon found its way into the courts. The learned 
counsel, Mr. Bousfield, Q.C., and Mr. Newton 
Crane, have considered the flower so little known 
that they have always explained to the court that 
Magnolia was the name of a flower. In the Court 
of Appeal the learned counsel omitted to say what 
Magnolia was, and Lord Justice Lopes enquired if it 
were not the name of a flower. This I fear would 
rather go to show that the Magnolias in Kew 
Gardens are not much appreciated by our forensic 
heroes. 
It might also be interesting to note that objection 
was taken to the name on the ground that there are 
many villages in America known by that name, but 
the Judge, Mr. Justice Kekewich, not being 
better acquainted with the villages than the flower, 
held that Magnolia was not a geographical name 
within the meaning of the Act. 
WINTER SPINACH. 
As not unfrequently happens, this has, in very many 
cases, been a most unsatisfactory crop this winter, so 
many promising breadths of it having gone off with 
canker, for which so far as we know there is no 
remedy, when once it sets in. I generally make a 
sowing about the middle of August, following it up 
with one or two more at intervals to the beginning of 
September. I sometimes find these later sowings do 
not canker off to the same extent as the earlier sown 
ones. As a preventive I have sown the seed in 
drills, and covered it up with wood ashes and burnt 
earth ; but in the case of earlier sowings I must pro¬ 
nounce it a failure. Where I have come across a 
good bed of Winter Spinach this season it has 
almost invariably been the result of rather late sow¬ 
ings.— W. B. G. 
POTATO SORTER AND CLEANER. 
The header (Melbourne) for February last, reproduces 
a sketch of a machine intended to clean and grade 
Potatos. Such a device should be welcomed by 
many cultivators of this esculent, for the saving of 
time it would mean to them when grading their 
crops. The Potatos are filled into a receiving box, 
and after the fashion of a turnip-cutter, the Potatos 
grade down and on to, first, a coarse sieve, and then 
those that pass right through it are caught beneath 
in a finer one. These sieves are long and fairly 
broad and being obliquely laid, the Potatos work off 
into baskets placed for them. It seems very simple 
and should work all right. 
ROSE SOUVENIR DE WOOLTON. 
This belongs to the hybrid Teas, and may be fairly 
described as a light crimson, beautiful in tbe bud, 
free flowering, and well adapted for very early 
forcing. I found it being grown in large quantities 
for this purpose at the Duchess of Marlborough’s 
place, with whom it is a great favourite. There it 
takes precedence of all others of a similar colour 
for winter work.— W. B. G. 
FRUIT TREE NOTES. 
Fruit promises to be plentiful, especially Apples, 
Plums, and small fruits. Never have we had 
Apple trees so closely studded with blossom. Every 
branch of every tree is the same. Some which are 
rather shy setters in these parts are as full as the 
hardiest. We have received similar reports from 
districts far apart—north and south. Pears on 
westerly aspects are not showing very abundantly. 
Those on south-easterly aspects are over-laden with 
blossom, and many cordons are (May 27th) set 
freely. Plums on walls never were so crowded here 
with blossom, but I notice that (even where good 
protection is given) they are thinning themselves. 
Standards, with roots on brick and plaster rubbish, 
(mostly Victorias) are set in clusters, but we have 
no great hopes of heavy crops on them, as they have 
since setting been dropping by reason of frost— 
severe for the season of the year—and continuous 
cold rains, They had, like most fruits, no great 
AN IVY WREATH. 
The figure of a pretty Ivy wreath, with Cattleyas, 
Cypripediums, and Roman Hyacinths, arranged on 
the widest or bottom part of the crescent, appears in 
The Florists' Review for March 30th. Sprays of fine 
Ivy were also employed lightly over the flowers, and 
all the foliage was brightened by being rubbed with 
sweet oil, the finished wreath looking remarkably 
rich and beautiful. 
BRUGMANSIA SANGUINEA. 
This is an old favourite now too seldom seen. I 
draw attention to it from having come across a plant 
of it entirely covering a back wall in a cool lean-to 
house, where it made a brave display of colour. The 
flowers are tubular in form, about 6 in. in length, 
and the segments of the corolla and about a third of 
the length of the tube are of a reddish-crimson hue. 
The remaining portion of the tube, both inside and 
out, is yellow. There were hundreds of flowers out 
at the same time, and the foliage, owing to the roots 
having plenty of space to ramble in, was a rich deep 
green, very different to what we see on specimens of 
it grown, or rather starved, in pots or tubs. I may 
add that as a matter of necessity all the growth has 
to be kept close in to the wall.— W. B. G. 
