May 15 ,1897. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
581 
The Water Melon was introduced to this country 
in 1597 ; but it was cultivated in Egypt in 2,500 B.C. 
At the Waverley Market, Edinburgh.— Old lady to 
gardener's man :—“ What's the price of your Pea- 
pods ? " G. M. (snappishly) : “ The Peas are half-a- 
crown, and you get the pods for nothing ! ”— People's 
Journal. 
Hydrangeas with blue flowers—In order to produce 
blue flowers on Hydrangeas, it is recommended to 
use 86 per cent, of peat, mixed with 10 per cent, of 
pounded slate, 3 per cent, sulphate of iron, and one 
per cent, of ammonia. 
Robinson v. Ward, Lock, & Company (Limited.)— 
The Plaintiff in the above action, on the 2nd day of 
April ult., obtained from His Lordship, Mr. Justice 
Kekewich, in the Chief Division of the High Couit of 
Justice, an order perpetually restraining the Defend¬ 
ants from printing, publishing, selling, or disposing 
of, and from advertising, offering, or exposing for sale 
any newspaper, periodical, or publication by the 
name of " Gardening Illustrated," or by any other 
name so similar to “ Gardening Illustrated," as to in¬ 
duce the public to believe that such newspaper, 
periodical, or publication is the paper published by 
the Plaintiff. 
Gardeners' Royal Benevolent Institution. —We are 
requested to state that the 58th Anniversary Festival 
Dinner in aid of the funds of this institution will take 
place on Wednesday, May 26th. at 6.30 for 7 o’clock 
the first day of the Temple Flower Show) at the 
Hotel Metropole, under the presidency of the Right 
Hon. Lord Rothschild. As a large gathering is ex¬ 
pected on the occasion, the secretary, George J. 
Ingram, 50. Parliament Street, London, S.W., will 
be greatly obliged if these friends who desire to be 
present will intimate their intention to him as early 
as possible, in order to make the necessary arrange¬ 
ments. 
Sutton's Cricket Club.—All work and no play makes 
Jack a dull boy, and we are not sure that this idea 
has been at work amongst the staff of Messrs. Sutton 
& Sons, Reading ; but they evidently have acted upon 
it. Out door exercise is needful both for gardeners 
who are much confined to glass houses, as well as 
for those who are not precisely gardeners, but who 
are connected with gardening establishments and 
whose occupation is sedentary. Out door exercise 
is wholesome and always to be recommended. The 
staff is so large that it has been divided into three 
teams—A and B, and the JuDiorteam— on the show¬ 
ing of a neat folding card suitable for the waistcoat 
pocket. The programme of the work to be got through 
during the season from May to August, inclusive, is 
fairly extensive, seeing that the three teams are to 
play in the ag gregate forty matches. We presume 
there will be practice as well in the intervals, though 
the fifteen matches to be played in June will leave 
little time for drilling except during the evenings 
which are not very long even in June. 
Another Breathing Spaoe for Cardiff.—Theweste:n 
district of Cardiff is to be blessed with a new park and 
recreation ground some twenty acres in extent. It is 
seven years ago since the Cardiff Corporation pur¬ 
chased the land, and plans were prepared soon after 
by Mr. Harper. It was not, however, until July of 
1895 that anything further was done, but at that date 
Mr. Pettigrew started on the laying out of the park 
according to the plans accepted. A great deal had 
to be done for the land was little better than a swamp 
where skaters rejoiced in winter, and reeds and rushes 
flourished in summer. In addition to the all impor¬ 
tant draining a large portion of the surface was raised 
several feet, the soil for this being obtained from the 
bed of the Ely river. Now a great change has been 
effected. Undoubtedly a great factor in the rapid 
change has been the planting of some very large trees 
over 40 ft. in height, and includes a Silver Birch, an 
Elm, a Copper Beach, and a fine Mulberry. All 
appear to have stood the transplanting remarkably 
well. The playground specially devoted to the 
children is two and a quarter acres in extent, the 
grass being evidently in fine condition. The central 
feature of the park is a lake, which has been so well 
devised and constructed that at no point can its whole 
extent be seen at one time. Round the banks of this 
lake Rhododendrons, Aucubas, Dwarf Conifers, and 
double Cherries have been planted in great numbers 
and the whole of them are doing well. 
The Japanese hold their picnics under Cherry 
trees, millions of people singing and sporting under 
the trees in June. We speak of a beanfeast; the 
Japanese speak of " going to see the flowers." 
Large Glasshouses.—A horticulturist at Isleworth 
has built ten huge glass houses, each of them 600 ft. 
in length by 40 ft. in width. Ploughs and horses 
are to be used for the preparation of the soil inside 
for Tomatos. 
Potatos and Cabbages can be raised on 22 acres of 
land in sufficient quantity to support 176 people. On 
a similar area oats will sustain 88 people ; wheat 42 ; 
but only one man, if fed on flesh meat, can be sup¬ 
ported on that space of land. 
The Carrot Fly.—The Board of Agriculture has 
issued a leaflet containing a description of the Carrot 
fly and the methods of combating it. The fly is 
especially injurious in dry seasons, its presence being 
indicated by the tops of the p’ants becoming brown 
and withering prematurely. When these symptoms 
are noticed, the affected roots should be dug up and 
destroyed. The fly itself is of a shiny black colour 
and about a fifth of an inch in length. As soon as it 
is seen, the plants should be sprayed with a mixture 
of one gallon of petroleum and J lb. of soft soap to 
ten gallons of water. Another plan is to mix ashes, 
sawdust, or sand, with petroleum, at the rate of 
three or four quarts of the latter to 1 cwt. of the former, 
and strew it about among the plants. Some of the 
mixture may also be put in the drills with the seed. 
It is also stated that the laying of eggs by the flies 
close to the stems of the plants may be prevented by 
pressing the soil firmly around them. 
The Sunflower Crop.—In Russia the farmer con¬ 
siders his Sunflower crop the best paying of any, for 
in nearly every part of that country Sunflower seeds 
find a ready market. They are eaten by the poor 
people, sometimes in the raw condition, at other 
times crushed into meal and made into cakes. The 
culture on a large scale of Sunflowers has been 
recommended by enthusiasts as a profitable under¬ 
taking for the British farmer. It is stated that the 
value of the gross yield per acre will run as high as 
£82 8s. Some fortunate cultivators are also said to 
have cleared ^49 per acre on the venture. The diffi¬ 
culty, however, would not be in growing the plants, 
for that is easy enough, but in finding a market for 
the seed. There is no doubt that the oily seed 
of the Sunflower constitutes a highly nutritious food 
for poultry, but the demand is not an extensive one, 
although, if it could be proved that it would be 
cheaper than other grain now used, the demand would 
increase; still it is one thing to grow and another to 
sell. 
Horticulture in Canada.—A new horticultural 
paper, named the Canadian Horticultural Magazine, 
has been launched on its mission by the Montreal 
Horticultural Society. The aim of the magazine is 
to be on the broad lines of education. It will be 
supported, and all the branches of Horticulture dealt 
with, by numbers of the best known and ablest of 
Canadian Horticulturists. The useful and beautiful 
in horticulture will receive equal attention. The 
promotion of fruit culture in its several departments 
and the important commercial interests identified 
therewith will receive unremitting attention. 
Reliable information will be furnished by the society 
to those who contemplate planting orchards. 
Amateur gardening will also receive attention as well 
as forests, public parks, and other matters of interest 
to gardeners, floristshnd others. In the first issue 
of the magazine there are articles on the farmer’s 
fruit garden, Plums for the cold north, the orchard, 
the Delaware grape and some of its recent seedlings, 
experiences in exporting summer Apples, &c. One 
of the reasons for the starling of such a magazine is 
that it will deal with subjects suitable for the climate 
which of course varies considerably, some parts being 
favourable to the cultivation of Apples, others to 
Pears ; but much of the Dominion of Canada being 
at high latitudes, the question of suitable varieties 
and the treatment necessary for various things are 
matters of leading importance, and must be dealt 
with by writers living in the country and having a 
wide experience of the climate, and horticulture 
under those conditions. The magazine is under the 
direct control of the Montreal Horticultural Society, 
P. O. Box 778, Montreal. 
Grapes are still trodden with the bare feet in the 
wine-producing districts of France, Spain, and Italy, 
under the impression that the wine is better. 
-—-*»- 
OXALIS BOWIEANA. 
THEOxalis is a rather extensive genus, and although 
unrepresented in very many gardens, it includes 
some very useful and beautiful varieties, foremost 
among which is the subject of this note, which I 
believe was better known and more widely cultivated 
some thirty years back than at the present time. 
It is one of the stemless forms, a free grower, with 
large trifoliolate leaves of a pale green colour, The 
flowers are of a bright shining rose colour, borne in 
umbels on a stem 6 in. to 7 in. in length and 
measure about in. across. Considering its 
native habitat, it is hardier than might be expected. 
I have known it to survive several winters close to 
the wall plate of a vinery, receiving no further pro¬ 
tection, and flowering better there thaffiunder any 
other conditions ; but I would not recommend any¬ 
one with a limited stock to run the risk. Our own 
plan has been to grow it in 4-in. pots, keeping it cool 
through the winter in a cold pit from which frost is 
excluded, allowing them to come along naturally, 
and removing them into the greenhouse or 
conservatory when in flower. After flowering 
they are dried off gradually, and before 
growth recommences they are shaken out and 
repotted in a mixture of sandy loam with a little 
decayed manure. A dozen or more pots of this are 
a most useful and beautiful addition to the conserva¬ 
tory when fully in flower. Another old favourite 
was Oxalis tigrina of quite a different character 
being of a trailing habit and well adapted for small 
baskets. The flowers of this when fully open are 
white, but when closed they have the appearance of 
being striped with lines of a deep red.- W.B.G. 
- — - 
MANURING WITH SEAWEED. 
On a coast line of 130 miles in Normandy and 
Brittany, and in a background varying from one 
and a half to seven miles, two-thirds of the manure 
employed is seaweed. Its cutting and collection 
form a special local industry. Only the resident 
peasantry and the proprietors of lands adjoining the 
coast can appropriate the seaweed. The latter forms 
immense prairies in the bottom of the ocean, extend¬ 
ing over miles upon miles of shingle, and to which 
the weed, or, to give it its general, but not accurate 
name, Varech, is affixed. It is also attached to 
rocks, and immense quantities are washed ashore 
after a storm. The seaweed harvest takes place 
from the middle of July to the middle of October; 
the dates are limited by the Government to the five 
days before and the five days after each new and full 
moon. The hours, sunrise to sunset. Along the 
beach every man, woman, and child capable of using 
their legs ; every vehicle that can run on wheels; 
every animal—horses, asses, costermonger, draught 
dogs—that can pull; every boat that can float—all 
are drawn up in crowded lines; the adults are 
armed with scythes and reaping hooks ; the tides are 
neep at the periods selected. A cannon is fired or a 
bugle blown, and the seaweed meadows are charged 
by the motley bands. Some of the men wade up to 
their waist in the tide to mow the crop, which the 
water maintains in an upright position. 
One variety of the weed, having long, fine leaves a 
quarter of an inch wide, is spread on the downs to be 
washed by the rain, and when air-dried is made into 
bales, and sold at 6s. per cwt., as stuffing for 
palliasses, bolsters, and upholstery. Some is dried, 
burned, and the ashes are utilised to make kaoline 
and iodine. The inferior sorts, or drift, when dried, 
are stocked, and serve as bedding for byres and 
stables. In the fresh state the weed is frequently 
plowed down, and a catch crop taken thereon. It is 
an excellent preparation for winter black Tartary 
oats, rye, and buckwheat, It is as a compost, mixed 
with peat, earth, farmyard manure, leaves, etc., em¬ 
ployed for topdressing meadows or manuring land 
for Potatos. Seaweed is much patronised in the 
Channel Islands as a manure for Potatos. Its ferti¬ 
lising value resides in its high percentage of sulphate 
of potash—20 per cent, in the ash, and a little nitro¬ 
gen according to Gay-Luttac and Muntz. No com¬ 
mercial value is attached to the extraction of the 
potash of seaweed; it could not compete with the 
kainit mines of Stassfurt .—Irish Farming World. 
