692 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
June 30, 1900. 
binations to represent districts for the pur¬ 
pose of taking prizes, the necessity and 
advisability of the restrictions are self- 
evident. 
-—- —■>*— - 
National Dahlia Society.— A Committee Meeting 
will be held on July 3rd, at 4 p.m., in the rooms of 
the Horticultural Club at the Hotel Windsor, 
Victoria Street, Westminster (by kind permission of 
the members of the Club). AgendaElection of 
Judges ; Meeting on September 25th, and other 
business.— J. F. Hudson, Hon. Sec. 
Royal Horticultural Society.—The next fruit 
and flower show of the Royal Horticultural Society 
will be held on Tuesday, July 3rd, in the Drill Hall, 
James Street, Westminster, 1-5 p.m. On this 
occasion special prizes will be offered for Roses. At 
3 o’lcck a lecture on “Bedding, Hedge, and Pillar 
Roses’’ will be given by Mr. George Paul, V.M.H., 
and at 4 p.m. a " Special General Meeting’’ will be 
held to consider the new bye-laws. 
An Insect Infested Fern.—She was very angry 
with the florist, and told him that be would never get 
another order from her. “ That Fern you sold me 
was infested with insects. The under sides of the 
leaves were thick with them. I cut the leaves all off 
to get rid of the insects, and now the plant has 
died.” “But, madame, those were not insects, they 
were spores, the seeds of the Fern plant ’’!! !—Exit 
madame. 
National Carnation and Picotee Society.—The 
annual exhibition of this society will be held at the 
Crystal Palace, Sydenham,on Wednesday, July 25th, 
The Carnations and Picotees give promise of an ex¬ 
ceptionally good bloom this season, and a very large 
display is anticipated. The schedule is a very liberal 
one, all classes of exhibitors being provided for. 
Four Silver Cups and about /300 are offered in 
prizes. The hon. secretary is T. E. Henwood, 16, 
Hamilton Road, Reading, who will gladly answer 
any enquiries respecting the society. 
“ Aye haddin Sooth.”—A paper reaches us (The 
Southland Times) containing some account of Mr. 
Peter Barr, V.M.H., to whom we referred two weeks 
ago. He was then at Dunedin, New Zealand ; now, 
however, he has gone south to Invercargill at the 
southern end of the south island, N.Z. He takes 
his leisure as he moves about, inspects and 
“ quizzes " as he goes, rubs againsts the Mayor and 
town dignitaries wherever he stays and soon they 
are listening to schemes of improvement all round. 
As the various councils seem to think the suggest¬ 
ions are fit and reasonable, Mr. Barr may thus do 
a lot of good in a quiet way. We echo the sentiment 
expressed recently in a contemporary—“ We hope 
Mr. Barr will write a book about his travels.” 
Mythology has it, " that the trailing Arbutus 
among the flowers of Eden, was the richest in beauty, 
foliage, and fragrance. It was styled the flower of 
Eden, by reason of its attributes, and was Eve’s 
favourite. When desolation was visited upon the 
garden, and Eve was banished therefrom, the little 
Arbutus elected to go with her. The Lord in punish¬ 
ment robbed it of its beautiful foliage, but by reason 
of its attachment and loyalty to Eve, allowed it to 
retain its fragrance. Its companion was what we 
now know as the night blooming Cereus, which was 
relegated to Adam, and was his favourite. The 
same condemnation was visited upon it, and in 
addition to the loss of its beautiful foliage the Lord 
decreed that it should never raise its head or bloom 
in the sunlight again, and so on.” 
The Chiswick Garden.— The Chiswick garden,need¬ 
less to say, refers to the experimental garden of the 
R.H.S. The fine collection of Paeonies which are 
so well treated were at their best about the 20th inst. 
The Irises germanica, squalens, variegata, pallida, 
&C., were just saying "Good-bye” to summer 1900. 
They evidently had been very good. No one visiting 
the old garden at this season could pass the Box 
hedges and fine edges without admiring and remark¬ 
ing the evenness, size, and bright green colour. The 
fruits of all kinds are very fair. Cherries are carry¬ 
ing extra heavy crops, so heavy indeed that either 
severe thinning will have to be done, or heavy feed¬ 
ing accorded to some of the trees. The Calad- 
iums in a nice span house, are very fine. Tomatos 
are also good; Chrysanthemums are fair; and 
Peaches and Vines look promising. 
Royal Honours for a well-known Cork Seeds¬ 
man.—It is with much pleasure we announce the 
fact that Mr. Wm. Baylor Hartland, of Cork, has 
been sent the “ Royal Warrant ” from Buckingham 
Palace appointing h im Purveyor of Seeds, &c., in 
Ireland to Her Majesty the Queen. The firm of 
Hartland is one of the oldest in Ireland, dating back 
to 1774. 
Wanted! an Acer Conference.—Owing to the 
enormous proportions of the trade in Japanese 
Maples, and which are yearly extending, it might be 
well to announce an Acer Conference for 1901 (just 
to keep the kettle boiling!). The nomenclature of 
Acers is something remarkable. Each firm has its 
own name for varieties. An Acer Conference is 
quite as reasonable as the Sweet Pea affair.— J. 
Canadian Fruit Imports.—It strikes us as strange 
that Canada, which we look upon as always export¬ 
ing fruits, especially Apples, should yet have paid 
away $3,036,563 for imports of fruits for consump¬ 
tion last year. The import of Apples amounted to 
$39 238. Oranges and Lemons to the value of 
$93,800 were imported from Great Britain, even 
though Colifornia, with its territories of orange 
groves, is a country of the same continent as 
Canada! 
Ulex Europaeus.—The etymology of botanieal 
terms is admittedly difficult, and this term, Ulex, 
appears to be one of those about which it would 
seem authorities agree to differ. Some confine 
themselves to classical usage, and bring the legend¬ 
ary Pliny to witness even against himself. Others, 
who want a reason for what they do, say it is derived 
from the Celtic ac or ec, a point or prickle. I accept 
the latter derivation as better than “ entirely un¬ 
known.” Linnaeus uses the term for these prickly 
shrubs, and doubtless Linnaeus had a reason why. 
Certain it is that the prickles are there—no one will 
gainsay that—although on the occasion in question 
the fioriferous condition of the Furze was such that 
we couldn’t see the prickles for the flowers, whereas 
my critic, who is always demonstrating, cannot see 
(metaphorically, of course) the flowers for the 
prickles.— C. B. G. 
A Girl’s Garden; a Beginning.—In that up-to- 
date and exceedingly interesting magazine which we 
have previously appraised, viz.; The Girl's Realm, 
there appears in the July number, now published, 
a communicative article under the above title, “A 
Girl’s Garden; a beginning,” from the able and ver¬ 
satile Miss Gertrude Jekyll. The object is to show 
the way for the forming of a girl’s garden, how to 
start, how to keep on, and what plants may in the 
first instance be chosen and expected to succeed. 
Few can write more clearly or interestingly than the 
author of "Wood and Garden,” &c., and the pre¬ 
sent instance but proves our words. A number of 
graceful illustrations illuminate the text. 
Severe Hail Shower in Ayrshire.—On Friday 
afternoon of the 22nd inst. a hail shower of great 
intensity occurred here, doing considerable damage 
to tender plants, fruits, &c., in the gardens. Chrys¬ 
anthemums, for instance, which were being arranged 
in their summer quarters had their shoots and leaves 
almost entirely stripped from the stems, while the 
few leaves that are left on the plants look as if they 
had been ruthlessly cut with a pair of scissors. 
Leaves of the Brassica tribe such as Brussels Sprouts 
are completely riddled. Gooseberry and Currant 
bushes had their fruit and leaves thickly strewn 
under them. Apples and Pears which looked well 
beforehand are severely hammered and cut both on 
wall trees and standards, besides a host of other 
tender subjects too numerous to mention. Some 
idea of the severity of the shower can be had from 
the fact that it only lasted twenty minutes, and in 
that time the ground (which was dust dry before¬ 
hand) was covered to a depth of 2J in. with hail, 
which lay in some sheltered places till twelve o’clock 
on the day following. Fortunately the hail was only 
the size of extra large Peas, or the damage would 
certainly have been more serious. Workmen who 
have lived on the estate for the last forty years say 
they do not remember such a shower of hail falling 
in such a short space of time even in the middle of 
winter, and strange to say our neighbours two miles 
distant had only a few drops of rain at the time.— 
D. Buchanan, Bargany Gardens, Ayvshine, N.B. 
The Croydon and District Horticultural Mutual 
Improvement Society.—The monthly meeting was 
held at the society’s room at the Sunflower Temper¬ 
ance Hotel, on Tuesday, June 19th, Mr. W. Harris 
occupying the chair, Mr. W. J. Simpson, the vice¬ 
chair. A large attendance of members was present, 
six new members were nominated. The chairman 
introduced Mr. W. J. Jarman, one of the younger 
members, who read a capital and instructive paper 
on “Carnations,” dealing very lucidly with the classi¬ 
fication as bizarres, flakes, Malmaisons, &c. Soils, 
propagation by layers and pipings, cultivation in 
open borders, potting and indoor culture, and suit¬ 
able structures were next treated upon : insect pests 
and diseases were also dealt with. Mr. Jarman's 
paper was listened to with close attention, and at the 
close of the reading met with applause. An interest¬ 
ing and profitable discussion followed, in which 
many of the members took part. The subject was 
further interesting by the exhibition of some fine 
varieties of Carnations, sent to the meeting by Mr, 
H. T. Dixon, of Hailsham, and a stand of capital 
flowers from Mr. T. Butcher. A hearty vote of 
thanks was accorded Mr. Jarman for his paper. The 
tables were very attractive with a beautiful display 
of good exhibits. Mr. John R. Box sent two dozen 
excellent flowers of double Begonias, which received 
considerable attention. Mr. Lisle, Sanderstead, 
brought some good Cattleyas. Mr. Humphreys, 
Hackbridge, brought Eulophiella gracilis, a pretty 
miniature Orchid of botanical interest; Mr. P. Bun- 
yard, some fine spikes of Dictamnus Fraxinella ; 
Calochorti came from Messrs. Wallace & Co , 
Colchester, and sprays of flowering shrubs were 
brought by Mr. Gregory. A vote of thanks was 
given the exhibitors named. The secretary (Mr. 
Gregory) read an excellent list of lectures and papers 
to form the programme from August to January 
next. The chairman then announced that at the 
next meeting in July, an exhibition of Sweet Peas 
will be held, when ladies will be invited. The meet¬ 
ing closed with a vote of thanks to the chairman and 
vice-chairman .—John Gregory, secretary, 60, Canterbury 
Road, Croydon. 
-►X—-- 
PRESENT DAY TOMATO CULTURE. 
The Tomato is so well known nowadays as to ren¬ 
der the task of saying anything very new or interest¬ 
ing about it somewhat difficult. Yet one phase of 
the subject does not seem to be generally recognised. 
We are told that the liking for Tomatos has to be 
acquired, and that nobody who for the first time 
tastes them likes the flavour. This statement might 
be quite true twenty or thirty years ago, but the 
flavour of the fruit as now grown is so immensely 
improved that even beginners can relish it. About 
that time the now popular esculent was only seen as 
a sort of rarity about gentlemen’s places, and re¬ 
garded by folks in general as a thing whose virtues 
only the upper ten were sufficiently discriminating to 
discern. The great consumption now, I believe, is 
due to the improved flavour begotten of superior 
culture, which again is largely due to the use of 
artificial manures, and also to superior varieties. 
The old term Love-Apple was a misnomer if the name 
was indicative of the feelings aroused at first taste. 
Unmitigated hatred and disgust were generally the 
passions depicted on the face of the embryo Tomato 
taster. A somewhat varied and extensive experience 
supports these views. I would, therefore, suggest to 
Tomato growers—use artificial manures, as they are 
called, liberally yet judiciously, and continue raising 
new varieties from robust parentage, as practised in 
Potato culture.— J. McAra, Kingsburgh, Prestonkirk, 
June 25 th, r900. 
GARDEN CROP PROSPECTS IN WEST 
LOTHIAN. 
We have had a very late, cold spring, and early 
summer ; but I think I am safe in saying that crops 
seldom or never looked more promising. The late 
genial weather has worked wonders, and we will 
now have a fairly early fruit harvest. Strawberries 
show over an average crop, and the size of the fruit 
promises to be good. The most favoured varieties 
are Royal Sovereign, President, and Duke of Edin¬ 
burgh. I have Laxton’s Noble this season, and it 
promises very well ; the first fruits will be ripe about 
June 30th. Gooseberries set a very heavy crop, 
but have dropped a good many fruits lately and are 
still a heavy crop. Black Currants are a good 
