548 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
May 1, 1897. 
on experiments at Dartford in order to test 
the practical value of the cold storage of 
ripe fruits. The experiments have been 
personally superintended by two members 
of the committee, who have issued their 
report. Two stores were kept at tempera¬ 
tures of 30 q and 40°, respectively till the 
end of last December, when this trial was 
discontinued. During the refrigerating 
process the fruit loses weight at the rate of 
1-5 per cent, each week. The moisture, as 
it arises from the fruit, is collected by the 
dry air of the stores, and which is kept 
continually circulating ; it is deposited, 
however, on the colder portions of the walls, 
and, trickling down, is carried away in the 
drainage. This loss of weight to the 
stored fruits is a great disadvantage to the 
system, and the object of future trials is to 
lessen the dessication as much as possible, 
but yet maintain a dry atmosphere, which 
is absolutely necessary to prevent the 
growth of mould and other fungi, which 
are ever ready to live upon fruit when the 
conditions are suitable. 
The effect of a low temperature is to 
retard the maturation and decay of fruit, a 
fact that is well know to those who bring 
fruit from Australia and the Cape to this 
country. One of the principal objects of 
these experiments was to determine the 
relative cost of carrying on operations of 
this kind on a small scale. A gas engine 
was used for producing the low temperature 
desired, and at 3s. 6d. per 1,000 cubic ft. 
of gas, the daily expenses were 8s. gd. 
This does not include the wages of the 
attendant, as the labourer who looked after 
the engine had only to do so at intervals, 
while he pursued his other duties. An oil 
engine would cost approximately about the 
same. The engine used was one of the 
smallest practicable, and was capable of 
refrigerating a much larger chamber. 
Moreover, it was only run for about 
3^- hours each day. The same engine if 
kept running on an average of twelve hours 
a day, it could maintain a chamber 24 ft. 
by 24 ft. by 8ft. high. Such a store would 
be capable of holding 2,000 bushels of 
Apples, and, calculated on the basis of the 
recent experiments, would cost only 2s. 2d. 
per day. The quantity of fruit in the store 
would practically determine the economy 
or otherwise of the operations. .Larger 
houses would require a larger engine, and 
the cost would practically be spread over a 
greater quantity of fruit. 
During the experiments 4-I bushels of 
Apples were stored in the refrigerating 
chambers for 101 days, and 35^ bushels for 
56 days. Some of the varieties were sum¬ 
mer Apples, which kept sound till the end 
of the experiments, but had lost consider¬ 
ably in flavour, and were somewhat soft. 
The long keeping varieties were of course 
as sound and good in flavour as when put 
in. It is proposed to make experiments 
on soft fruits in season during the coming 
summer. In private establisnments where 
an engine is kept at work for producing and 
storing electricity for lighting purposes, or 
pumping water, a refrigerating chamber 
would be a useful and inexpensive adjunct 
to the place in keeping fruit till wanted. 
Primroses were moderately plentiful on Primrose 
day, but the Bank Holiday crowds displayed a great 
variety of flowers, indicative of great differences of 
taste or no tas'.e at all, and in honour of anybody or 
nobody, particularly the latter. 
The trumpet Daffodil, Grandis, is now in perfec¬ 
tion, as may be seen by the beds of it in Kew 
Gardens. The plants are wonderfully dwarf as 
usual, in fact dwarfer than any other Daffodil with 
flowers of the same size. Even those varieties which 
were planted very late last autumn are now mostly 
past their best, so that Grandis is decidedly late for 
the trumpet section of the genus. It may be des¬ 
cribed as a dwarf and late Empress, though it differs 
from this in other respects. 
Lichen and Moss upon fruit trees may be cleared off 
in winter by spraying with a wash consisting of 10 
lbs. of caustic soda and 10 lb. of potash in 100 gallons 
of water. 
Mr. J. Hudson, Gunnersbury House, Acton, is 
appointed one of the jury at the first or opening 
show of the Hamburg Horticultural Exhibition 
which opens to-day. 
A Daffodil Bazaar was opened on Tuesday last at 
Ash Common School, Aldershot, by the Duchess of 
Connaught. The proceeds are to be employed for 
the purpose of clearing the school from debt. 
Floral Cycles.—A novel competition was recently 
held at Devonshire Park, Eastbourne, and consisted 
of bicycles bedecked with flowers, Miss Evelyn 
Fenn obtained the first award. She had decorated 
her wheel with white Hyacinths until it looked like 
a swan. 
The late W. G. Head Fund.—This has now been 
finally closed and the balance, after payment of 
medical, funeral and other accounts, has been 
handed to the widow, who desires to most gratefully 
thank all who so kindly assisted in meeting the very 
heavy expenses incurred during her husband’s long 
and very painful illness. 
Hawthorn is merely the old Saxon term for hedge s 
thorn, the old name being hagathorn or hagthorn. 
Haga and hag may also be translated haw, the fruit 
of the haw. The Saxons planted numerous hedges 
all over the country for the purpose of impeding 
cavalry. There are similar words to hagathorn in the 
German, Dutch, Danish, and Swedish languages, all 
of which are akin. 
A Scarlet Daffodil is now considered more easy of 
acquirement than a blue Rose, Dahlia or Chrysanthe¬ 
mum, or than some other unnatural curiosities 
which might be named. The red or scarlet in a 
Narcissus is found in the corona of N. poeticus, and 
to a larger extent in N. p. poetarum. From these it 
has been transferred to N. incomparabilis, N. Barrii, 
N. Nelsoni, and other wild types by artificial cross¬ 
ing ; or some of them may have been picked up in 
the wild state. A considerable amount of orange- 
scarlet or orange may be found in C. J. Backhouse r 
Mozart Orientalis, Beauty, Gloria Mundi, and 
Nelsoni aurantiaca. 
Cabbages and the Weather.—Writers in some of 
our daily contemporaries make curious statements 
concerning vegetables. One says that Cabbages 
should not be planted in the open ground before the 
end of April. Even in the far north Cabbages are 
sown in beds in the open ground, and left there all 
the winter, unless autumn plantations for spring and 
early summer use are made. Plantations are also 
made in January, February, or March, according to 
the state of the weather and the ground. The 
Cabbage is a hardy plant, but grows naturally in dry 
places. Rich, wet ground, therefore, is its enemy in 
winter. In the hearting stage of the cultivated 
forms the Cabbage would be more tender because 
such a condition is unnatural to the wild plant. 
Autumn plantations do not, however, heart in winter. 
Hamburg Exhibition.—The horticultural exhibition 
at Hamburg promises to be the most important this 
year. It is being supported by the Kaiser, and many 
German Princes and Governments, and a great 
number of the people of Hamburg have offered 
honorary prizes, so that the more successful com¬ 
petitors will receive more than 100,000 marks, 
besides medals. Moreover, the Senate and Munici¬ 
pality of Hamburg propose to give 50,000 marks to 
the committee for honorary prizes and State medals. 
Would-be competitors, both native and foreign 
gardeners are so numerous that the committee fears 
there will not be space for all the exhibits promised. 
A few days ago an exhibit of plants arrived from 
Mr. W. A. Manda, South Orange, New Jersey. This 
group was very interesting to nurserymen as well as 
amateurs, because it consisted largely of new intro¬ 
ductions. American gardeners frequently come in 
contact with flowery Japan, so that many new 
things may be expected. Amongst them are 
Japanese Lilies, Paeonies, and Maples, which will be 
grown on and flowered at Hamburg. New 
American Roses, Cannas, carnivorous plants and 
other subjects will be shown by Mr. W. A. Manda, 
who will keep exhibiting these till the autumn. 
A crop of Cabbages removes 12 5 lbs. of sulphur, 
and 23 5 lbs. of Phosphorus, per acre of land. 
The green Narcissus, that travesty or burlesque 
upon nature, is going its rounds again fishing for 
admirers of its very doubtful beauty. The double 
form of N. poeticus is the variety most often 
operated upon by the addition of a green dye to its 
unimprovable white. 
The Wilts Horticultural Society recently held a 
meeting in the Council Chamber, Salisbury, at which 
it was resolved that no show should be held this 
year. They had teen obliged to draw upon their 
reserve fund last year, and it would be difficult to 
maintain their subscription list or to hold a good 
show with financial success this year, owing to the 
numerous attractions there would be during the next 
few months. 
Botany and Bicycles.—On the face of it there does 
not seem to be much connection between the two ; 
but the boom in cycles threatens the extinction of the 
plants from which the rubber is obtained for making 
the pneumatic tyres. Cultivators are so reckless in 
their haste to get rich that they cut down the trees 
in order to drain them of the last drop of juice they 
contain. There are more than a dozen kinds of 
trees from which the juice is extracted for commer¬ 
cial purposes. Landolphia, a genus comprising some 
16 species, natives of tropical and sub-tropical South 
Africa and Madagascar, is now being looked upon as 
a source of supply. If bicycling ceases to be 
fashionable in the course of a few years, the planta- 
tations of rubber trees will have time to recuperate. 
Bad Planting is not infrequently the cause of non¬ 
success in the cultivation of hardy fruits. An 
instance of this comes to our notice where an owner 
of some 13 acres of orchard found that his trees, 
which had cost him several shillings each to plant 
and protect moved very slowly, some of them dying. 
It was found that the holes for the trees bad been 
made too narrow and too deep, and had ultimately 
proved like so many drainage places, the roots of 
course perishing. If instead of digging such holes 
as thes=, they had been made as wide again and not 
so deep, success would have followed. Again many 
people do not seem to know that the soil that has 
long supported an old fruit tree is not fit to receive a 
young one. A proof of this may often be seen in 
cases where young trees have been introduced into 
an orchard, as they have generally failed to grow, 
Where young trees are planted in orchards to fill up 
gaps, the situation should be properly prepared. A 
quantity of good loam, with a sprinkling of crushed 
bones for the young trees to start in, would make all 
the difference. If this practice were followed we 
should see less of the stunted young standards in 
orchards. 
The extermination of Orchids.—Collectors find their 
occupation getting more and more difficult and un- 
remunerative every year in the United States of 
Colombia The plants are becoming scarce owing to 
the drain upon them, and more particularly owing to 
the coffee region corresponding to the Orchid district, 
which lies between 2,000 ft and 7,000 ft. above sea 
level. Below and above these elevations very few 
useful Orchids are found. The cost of transporting 
Cattleya Trianaei and C. gigas has doubled within 
the last four or five years, owing to the localities 
where they grow being more retired and the difficulty 
of getting beasts of burden, which are required to 
move the Coffee crops. In the department of Antio- 
quia, the Orchids are getting scarcer every day. 
Here occur such as Cattleya gigas, C. dowiana aurea 
(in limited quantity), C. Skinneri, Oncidium Papilio, 
Houlletias, Acinetas, Pescatoreas, Peristerias, Ang- 
uloas and allied genera. Miltonia vexillaria is plenti¬ 
ful in some districts owing to the lull in their 
popularity and the consequent limited demand for 
fresh importations Odontoglossum crispum is 
getting very scarce in the Pacho district of Cundina- 
marca. Collectors stay in a place for three or four 
years, and the owners of the forests where they grow, 
imagining there is a fortune in them, prohibit their 
being collected except under conditions which they 
impose, and which are often excessive. Cattleya 
cho<:oensis is still fairly plentiful, but the area in 
which it is found is limited. C, Mendelii is dis¬ 
appearing ; and though C. Schroderae is fairly 
plentiful, the plants become costly in transportation. 
