July 22, 1899. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
n a i 
1 41 
Mr. William Swan, lately of Bystock, Exmouth, 
has been appointed head gardener to Sir Edward 
Clarke, Q.C., M.P., Thorncote, Staines, Middlesex. 
Mr. Swan’s wide experience should enable him to 
polish up the garden and make improvements. 
Royal Horticultural Society.—The next fruit and 
floral meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society 
will be held on Tuesday, July 25th, in the Drill 
Hall, James Street, Westminster, 1—5 p.m. A lec¬ 
ture on " Seed Dispersal" will be given by Prof. G. 
S. Boulger, at 3 o’clock. 
Weather in London.—Wednesday, July 12th, was 
steadily warm. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday 
were warm, the evening of Saturday ending very cool. 
Sunday was breezy and bright. Monday and Tues¬ 
day, the 18th and 19th, were very close. Wednes¬ 
day opens very hot. 
Messrs. Dicksons at Wolverhampton.—We con¬ 
gratulate Messrs. Dicksons (of Chester) upon having 
been awarded the " Hawley ” Silver Challenge Vase, 
value £ 10, with a cash prize of £5, for the best dis¬ 
play of plants at the great floral fete recently held 
at Wolverhampton. Last year Messrs. Dicksons 
were successful in winning for the third time con¬ 
secutively, and in open competition, a Challenge 
Vase of the value of 20 gs., in addition to numerous 
Gold and Silver Medals, and other prizes. We take 
this opportunity of reminding those who are in¬ 
terested in horticulture that Messrs. Dicksons, at all 
times during business hours, welcome visitors to 
their extensive Chester N urseries, where the hun¬ 
dreds of acres of trees, plants, Roses, fruit trees, &c. 
in countless numbers and endless variety, also in 
every stage of growth, are now clothed in all the 
beauty of foliage and bloom, and will certainly well 
repay a visit. 
Devon and Exeter Gardeners’ Association.—The 
summer outing of this association took place on July 
i2th. The party drove in brakes, starting at nine 
O'clock in the morning from Exeter, and returning 
about half-past ten at night. The drive was of a 
varied and highly interesting nature, where every¬ 
body, for one happy day at least, was sociable and 
free. Some of the floe country seats and places, ob¬ 
jects and people of interest all along the way were 
pointed out or mentioned for everybody’s edification, 
Early in the forenoon the party reached their first 
place of inspection—Strete Raleigh, the residence of 
H. M. Imbert-Terry, Esq. The Coniferae were the 
objects of much interest, and as ,Mr. Terry is an en¬ 
thusiastic arboriculturist it follows that some fine 
specimens were in evidence. The conservatories and 
the other gardens were also viewed, thence luncheon 
was partaken of, and with hearty thanks and in good 
spirits the party again moved onward. At Ottery St. 
Mary, the Church was inspected, led by the Vicar. 
On again, this time to Sid bury Manor, belonging to 
Sir Charles Cave, Bart., where another hour or two 
was eojoyably spent under Mr. Reynold’s escort. 
Mr; Reynolds is the head gardener. For the smooth 
arrangements thanks are due to Mr. A. Hope, Hon. 
Secretary, and Mr. W. Mackay, Hon. Treasurer. 
Fruit Prospects.—It seems strange that after the 
fine promises for good Strawberry crops that these 
should so lamentably fail. Of course, the somewhat 
cold and erratic springtime, in fact, the weather was 
very changeable just at the earliest fruit-setting 
time; and then, the long spell of dry, hot weather, 
has had a share in the present results. In our own 
British papers, both horticultural, agricultural, and 
the daily press, as well as Continental and American 
papers, laments are being made about the great 
failure of fruit crops this year. But gloomy views 
and opinions are always in evidence. Things may 
take a brighter look before our harvests are 
gathered, and for such we can but hope. Here is a 
paragraph from the Daily Chronicle, giving the 
opinions of Messrs. W. W. White & Co., the large 
English and foreign fruit dealers;—The fruit crops 
of England, and not only England, but of all Europe in 
general, are the greatest failure that has taken place 
for the past ten years. It is quite true the prices 
realised are nearly double those made in ordinary 
years, for the simple reason that the demand in 
London is great while the supply is limited. English 
fruit has suffered severely. A month ago we were 
told there was the heaviest crop of Strawberries 
everywhere known for many years ; now they say it 
is the worst for ten years. In many instances, not 
only in Kent but in Middlesex, many growers will 
finish their crops with one week's picking." 
Death of Colonel Mason —We regret to learn of 
the death of Colonel Mason, The Firs, Warwick, after 
a few hours’ illnes, on the 14th inst. 
Acacia Tree Flowering in Perthshire. —Nothing 
remarkable to southerners certainly, but this tree is 
away north in Perthshire, on the Comrie Road, near 
Crieff. It is presumably Robina Pseudacacia, said to 
be about forty years old and forty feet high. The 
False Acacia is found frequently in the south of 
Scotland, but very rarely can be seen in flower. 
Fruit Condemned as Unfit for Food. —As many as 
698 packages of Strawberries, Raspberries and Black 
Currants which had been sent from well-known 
fruiterers to the Messrs. Lipton, Ltd., for jam-mak¬ 
ing, were the other day destroyed us unfit for human 
food. Such a state of affairs is painful, for fruit is 
not too plentiful. It is stated that the Messrs.Lipton, 
or their managers, on seeing the fruit sent for the 
sanitary inspector and the fruit was forthwith 
bundled into the dust carts to be destroyed. 
Vegetation at St. Helena.—From what we gather 
from an article on historic St. Helena, in the 
Windsor Magazine, Napoleon could not have had 
anything like a dull and dreary stay while retained 
there. The air is of the best, especially good for 
weak-lunged people, and vegetation grows rampant 
all over the place. Flowers with every scent, Ferns 
over all the rocks, and fruits and vegetables of every 
kind luxuriate in the fertile soil of that southern 
island. 
Edinburgh Field Naturalists and Microscopical 
Society.—On Saturday last the members of this 
society enjoyed their fourteenth field meeting of the 
season. Owing to the death of Mr. John Henderson, 
a well-known local geologist, who was to have led 
them in visiting the eurypteriot beds of the Gutter- 
ford Burn, on the Pentlands (of which he was the 
discoverer), the excursion was altered to a botanical 
one to Thriepmuir Moss. There was a large atten¬ 
dance of botanists, and a fairly good collection of 
bog and moorland plants was made. 
Moles on Lawns.—The means of trapping moles 
lies in a few essential points which a correspondent 
to the Farmers' Gazette attempts to explain:—(1) 
Puddle the wood and string well before setting the 
traps, and use the old wooden ones ; (2) See that the 
spring peg is set broadway of the run; (3) Make 
the earth firm on each side after setting; (4) Cut 
the hole to receive the trap as near the size of the 
latter as possible, and sink it sufficiently to allow the 
trap when set to be slightly lower than the run ; and 
(5) A trap must be set on firm ground. Moles are 
usually to be trapped by the side of a fence. They 
breed in woods and dry hillocks, and a fence running 
from either of these places is the best place to catch 
them. (6) A fresh run must be selected. 
New Park at Leicester.—The inhabitants of this 
busy town are now in possession of another fine Park. 
A fine natural piece of ground extending to 184 acres, 
on the western side of Leicester, and bordering upon 
the Hinckley Road, was opened for public use on 
Thursday, July 13th. Councillor Flint (chairman of 
the Parks Committee of the Corporation) performed 
the ceremony. The estate,which will be useful alike 
for great public demonstrations and for shady, rural 
walks, was purchased from the Mellor trustees for 
£30,000. The Mayor and Mayoress (Mrs. Clifton) 
together with most of the city magistrates, officers, 
and many other ladies and gentlemen attended at 
the celebrations. Councillor Flint was presented 
with an engraved gold key, in recognition of his 
brother officers’ respect for him and the work he has 
done. Mr. Burns, the Parks' superintendent, and* 
Mr. Mawbey, the borough surveyor, were compli¬ 
mented on the skillful way in which they had 
accomplished certain changes within the site. 
' -- 
SWAMP CULTURE. 
Ponds and swamps, says the Vie Scientifique, of July 
8th,are cultivated wherever they exist in our country, 
but they are badly cultivated. Fish culture is that 
chiefly adopted and it is not remunerative. Perhaps 
it would be well to begin a new style of culture 
which is described by M. H. Coupin, who is a 
specialist. 
Ponds and swamps, he says, can supply quite a 
series of alimentary plants. Why not make an 
aquatic culture ? It would not interfere with the 
fish and give double profit. 
But what can be grown in a pond ? The author 
of this ingenious thesis mentions several very nice 
plants. 
The two-eared Aponogeton of the family of the 
Naiadaceae, native of the Cape of Good Hope, floats, 
as it were, on the water with its leaves and long 
petioles; but the stock is formed of oval brownish 
tubers,rich in starch,which can be eaten like Potatos, 
and its flowering stalks can be prepared like Spinach. 
Naturalised in Herault and Finisterre this plant also 
grows very well near Paris. 
There is also the Water Caltrops, Trapa natans, 
or Water Chestnut, a long plant with floating leaves, 
and fruit the size of a Walnut, cornuted and 
strangely twisted. The Chinese, who regard it as a 
delicacy, call it Ling-Kio. The plant is sown in 
autumn and the summer crop is eaten fresh or dried 
in the oven and pulverised, in which state it makes 
an excellent bouillie. 
Why not grow the Nile Lotus (Nelumbium 
speciosum) which grows well on ponds in the south 
and centre of France. Its rhizomes recall to mind 
those of the long Radish, the Cardoon, Celery and 
Salsify ; they can be eaten raw, baked in cinders, 
boiled, or dried and ground into flour. These seeds 
have the flavour of Filberts and Almonds. This 
Lotus is extensively eaten in China and Japan. 
M. Coupin also recommends the culture of the 
pi-ts’i and Arrow-head ; but we must limit ourselves. 
Let us hope that novelty-seeking kitchen gardeners 
of the exhibition of 1900 will introduce this remark¬ 
ably vegetarian diet; we may predict great success. 
It would in fact “ vary the ordinary," as they say, 
in an intelligent, refined and practical manner, which 
can do no harm. 
■I* 
PINKS AT EDENSIDE. 
Some years ago attempts were made to resuscitate 
the popularity of the beautiful old-fashioned border 
plants known as Pinks by the holding of a show, but 
somehow that was a failure. There are so many 
shows and other attractions calling for attention 
during June, July, and August that it seems too 
much to expect horticulturists to support a special 
show for the sake of Pinks. Nevertheless they are 
amoDgst the most beautiful, sweet-scented, and 
hardy flowers of the first order of merit that can be 
grown and flowered successfully almost without any 
trouble at all. There is no necessity for cultivating 
them in pots or otherwise coddling them, for they 
bloom best when planted in the open. Their 
delicious fragrance makes them most invaluable for 
indoor decoration in the cut state, as a handful of 
them will enliven a room and fill the air with a most 
grateful fragrance. Their extended cultivation is, 
therefore, highly desirable, but although an exhibi¬ 
tion can hardly be run simply on their account, 
prizes might be offered for them at the various Rose 
shows held during the period they are in perfection. 
One by one the old raisers and cultivators were 
giving up the cause of the Pink, so that we were agree¬ 
ably surprised the other week to find that Mr. James 
Douglas, Edenside, Great Bookham, Surrey, had 
been carrying on the work of raising new varieties 
for the past six years. His object is not merely to 
get laced Pinks that will correspond with the canons 
of the florist, but to raise varieties of strong consti¬ 
tution, with plenty of grass and a profusion of 
beautifully coloured and fragrant flowers for garden 
purposes that can be grown in the open border by 
amateurs as well as professionals. The Pink wants 
to be placed on the same footing as the modern race 
of garden Carnations, and Mr. Douglas has raised 
some beautiful and vigorous varieties towards that 
end. They can be propagated by layers or cuttings 
as freely as Carnations. A collection of the best 
named old varieties is kept at Edenside, but we were 
particularly interested in the four new varieties now 
catalogued. 
We noted a very striking single variety, with 
broad, rounded white petals, and a crimson centre, 
but no name has yet been given to it. The named 
ones are all double. Royal Worcester is of vigorous 
constitution, producing a profusion of large white 
flowers, having a rose centre and a delicate, clear 
rose lacing. On the other hand Chantilly has a 
maroon-red centre and a red lacing of medium width, 
and is certainly a beautifully formed and coloured 
flower. Old Chelsea is another very beautiful variety 
