i'$6 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
November 3, 1900. 
Snow in Germany.—The weather in Germany 
changed suddenly duririg last week. The first snow 
fell in the Giant Mountains in Silesia, on the Brocken, 
and in the Harz Mountains last Sunday, October 
28th, though the thermometer registered four degrees 
Celsius. 
A Thrifty Scotch Gardener.—Mr. James Howie, 
a Scotch e&rdener, died at New Rochelle, N.Y., on 
October 5th, leaving a fortune of about 890,000. 
His rate of living was not to spend more than ten 
cents, for a meal. One Apple was his usual supper ! 
His latest will leaves everything to his sister, Mary 
Scott, Kelso, N.B. 
Gardeners’ wages in America.—Though the 
wages throughout “the States’’ are not uniform, 
it may interest some of our readers to notice that the 
gardeners of the New York City parks are paid as 
follows : — Foreman, 100 dols. per month ; journey¬ 
men, 75 dols per month. These figures are a clue to 
the wages of head gardeners in the Eastern States. 
Primroses and Violets are now flowering more 
or less plentifully at Stroud. The flowering of 
Primroses in autumn is due to the favourable nature 
of the weather, the warmth of the ground, and the 
vigour of the second growth brought on by the 
autumn rains. Violets flowering in autumn without 
artificial aid, while due to the same causes as the 
above, appear to have this feature more accentuated 
in the new large-leaved and large-flowered varieties 
such as California and Princess of Wales. 
' Devon and Exeter Gardeners’ Association.— 
An excellent syllabus has been arranged for the 
autumn'session of the above association. The sub¬ 
jects and the dates of their delivery are: -October 
31st, “ Studies in Plant Life,’’ by Mr. Allen H. 
Ware (Ph. Ch), i lustraied ; November 14'b, 
" Herbaceous Flowers fcr Exhibition," by Mr. H. 
Hemsley ; November 28th, “ Spraying Potatos and 
other Plants with Chemicals to Prevent Disease," 
by Mf- Geo- Ryce, B.A.; and December 12th, 
“ Malmaison and TreeCarnations," by Mr. T. Slade, 
Poltiraore Park Gardens. All meetings will be held 
at the Guildhall, Exeter, commencing punctually at 
8 o’clock. The Hon. Secretary is Mr. Andrew 
Hope. 
Agricultural Education. —Essex enjoys almost a 
greater prominence than any other county in the 
matter of agricultural education. There are many 
reasons to account for this, and one of the chief of 
these is that the County Council are fortunate in 
having the services of able men in their several and 
respective capacities. The scheme of the Essex 
County Council in the matter of agricultural educa¬ 
tion is to provide, by means of schools and labora¬ 
tories. instruction in the sciences upcn which agri¬ 
cultural depends. The complete course of instruction 
comprises three three-weeks’ courses, the subjects 
being (1) the soil, (.) farm crops, and (3) farm stock. 
Lectures are also given upon agricultural biology 
and chemistry Bat we need Dot further exploit the 
schemes here. By application to J. H. Nicholas, 
Esq., of the County Technical Laboratories at 
Chelmsford, full information may be obtained. It 
may be mentioned that a very complete School of 
Horticulture is another of the institutions of the 
County Council. 
Railway Station Gardens.—The Great Western 
Railway Company, with a view to encouraging their 
staff to make the most of the garden ground avail¬ 
able at the stations for the cubivation of flowers, 
shrubs, &c., have each year, for nearly a quarter of 
a century past, given, in deserving cases, money 
prizes of from ^5 to 10s. each—the aggregate value 
of such prizes being /250 per annum. The result 
has been that since the company first began to offer 
these prizes the number of stations on the Great 
Western line which have been improved by the 
addition of attractive and well-cultivated gardens 
has considerably increased. In awarding the prizes 
regard is bad to the maintenance of a uniform stan¬ 
dard of excellence throughout the season, the pro¬ 
gress made compared with former years, climate and 
other special circumstances, and the neatness and 
cleanliness of the station generally—the resultsbeing 
considered by the company at the termination of the 
sea'OT, a'ld the prizes distributed at Christmas. — 
Times 
A Heavy Wind Storm of the nth and 12th ult. 
committed terrific havoc with the fruit orchards of 
Ontario, and indeed, those of a large part of the 
Apple belt of Canada. Immense quantities of Pears 
and Apples were blown down, but the larger part of 
these were found to be wormy and defective. 
A Register of Nurseries,, market gardens, farms, 
florists’ seed businesses, and partnerships to be let 
or sold has been published by Messrs. Protheroe & 
Morris, 67 and 68, Cheapside, London, E.C. How 
frequently this Register is published we cannot say. 
Descriptions of the properties and businesses to be let 
or sold 'are fully detailed in this publication, the 
county in every case being mentioned first. For 
copies of this publication we would refer any who 
are interested to apply to the firm at the above 
address. 
The Scale Pest in California.—Hundreds of 
Orange trees in the western part of tbe city are being 
cut down to avoid the necessity of fumigation, says 
the Weekly Times, of San Francisco. The house¬ 
holders are thus destroying their trees to avoid 
complying with the fumigation regulations of the 
horticultural commissioners, who are making a house 
to house investigation to ascertain the state of the 
trees. It costs 75 cents (3s. 1 Jd.) to fumigate a tree, 
and in a back yard this is not worth the cost. The 
commissioners usually find men to cut down the 
trees, recouping themselves with the wood, and thus 
saving tbe householders the trouble. If the house¬ 
holder refuses to fumigate his trees within a reason¬ 
able time, the commissioners have it done and 
charge the expenses against the owner. 
Essex Farmers’ Visit to Denmark.—In order to 
enable Essex dairy farmers and ladies engaged in 
dairying to gain an insight into agricultural educa¬ 
tion and the organisation and practice of the agricul¬ 
tural industries of Denmark, arrangements were 
made for a visit to that country by tbe Essex 
Technical Instruction Committee. Tbe party, con¬ 
sisting cf thirty-one persons, started from Harwich 
ou May 26th and spent the following six days in 
Denmark. Among other places visited were the 
Danish Co-operative Butter Factory at Esbjerg, 
Ladelund Agricultural School, the Field Experiment 
Station at Askor, High School at Ascov, Margarine 
Factory at Vejen, and some other noteworthy places 
and centres. At every place they visited they 
received the most cordial entertainment, and even at 
some of the railway stations bunting was displayed 
in their honour. The full report of what was seen 
and learned by the visit is compiled in a pamphlet 
by Mr. T. S. Dymond. 
Preservation of Unfermented Grape-must - 
“ The use of unfermented Grape juice Or ’must’ as 
a beverage, both in health and sickness, has been 
common in Vine growing countries from time 
immemorial." But until lately this unfermenled 
must has been restricted to the Vine growing regions 
owing to its ill-keeping properties. The juice soon 
spoils unless artificially preserved. A bulletin, issued 
by the University of California Agricultural Experi¬ 
ment Station, shows how this agreeable and medi¬ 
cinal beverage can be preserved. The chemical 
composition of Grape-must is given in a table, and a 
sentence is added pointing out that if other than 
these constituents are found in Grape-must it is 
impure. The process of fermentation by means of 
the micro-organisms, which are everywhere present 
in the air, is explained, and the means of preventing 
the wine from being infested with these minute 
bodies, and thus preserving it unfermented, is 
explained. The means adopted to prevent fermenta¬ 
tion are divisible into two groups—chemical and 
physical. By adding germ poisons or antiseptics 
the microscopic organisms can be killed pr perma¬ 
nently checked. For this purpose boracic acid, 
saccarhin, and formalin are employed. These 
matters are injurious to digestion, and on these lines 
they are as well avoided. The physical means 
employed are (1) to destroy the germs by beat, cold, 
electricity, or (2) to remove them by some mechanical 
means such as a filter or a centrifugal apparatus. 
The heating method seems to be the safest and best. 
A heating to 6o° C. (140 F.) in fifteen minutes, and 
thereafter allowing the sterilised must to cool slowly, 
has been found to answer all needs. The bottles 
and corks must be sterilised before being used. The 
experiments in this connection were executed by 
Mr. F. T. Bioletti aid Mr. A. M. dal Paz. 
Pecan Nuts.—The growing of Pecan Nuts is a 
steadily growing industry in the Southern United 
States. 
The Apple Market.—As with English growers, 
they in America who depend on the culture of fruit 
for their living, are grumbling at the low prices this 
year. The Apple crop in the United States and 
Canada has been unusually heavy and prices are 
correspondingly low. But it is a significant sign 
when one hears of the speculators buying up all the 
Apples they can secure. Speculators do not buy on 
a falling market. Prof. Waugh, of Vermont Experi¬ 
ment Station, thinks that the crops have been over¬ 
estimated while the market has been underestimated. 
Gardeners in Petticoats.—In answering a question 
Concerning lady gardeners, the horticultural editor of 
The Queen newspaper writes: " In fact, so many 
ladies are now aware of the great advantage of a 
knowledge of practical horticulture (in directing 
their gardeners in their own homes, where not 
required to earn their living) that Swanley is crowded 
with pupils. For practical work in a private garden 
the teaching under a lady gardener may suit.” We 
fancy some of our readers will smile when they read 
the clauses between the brackets ; others may possibly 
feel angered. All the same we think that good garden¬ 
ers of the male persuasion will always hold their own 
in public or private gardens worth the holding. 
Devon and Exeter Gardeners’ Association.— 
One of the surest ways of spreading knowledge by 
an association such as the above, is by means of 
printed digests of the papers which the various 
specialists are good enough to read at the fortnightly 
or monthly meetings, as the case may be. The 
Devon and Exeter gardeners have taken a step in 
this direction by having bad Mr. F. W. E. Shrivell’s 
. lecture on ■■ Chemical Manures and Garden Crops,” 
printed for their perusal. Mr. Shrivell, F.L.S., 
lectured before this association last year, and we 
remember the wish which was at that time expressed 
about its being printed. It shows an up-to-date 
policy on the part of this southern society to have 
preserved to themselves this scientific yet very 
practical lecture. 
Scotch Florists and Gardeners in America.— 
In the Scottish-American, New York, of September 
26th, J. Arnot Penman, popularly known in the 
trade as “Jim the Penman,’’ of Dictionary of Gar¬ 
dening fame, furnishes an article on the above sub¬ 
ject, in which is given a'list of Scotchmen, past and 
present, engaged in the florist and seed industries in 
America, together with a similar list of Scotch pri¬ 
vate gardeners and superintendents of parks. The 
list, though unavoidably incomplete, is a very exten¬ 
sive one, and includes the names of many of the 
best known men in the floricultural world in this 
country, a glance at which will demonstrate the im¬ 
portant part played in the management and develop¬ 
ment of the industries in question by the men who 
hail from the “Land o’ Cakes." The writer has 
also mentioned the birthplace of the'majority of the 
parties named, as well as their present position and 
location. The article should prove of much interest, 
especially to those whom it more particularly con¬ 
cerns .—The Florists' Exchange. 
--5—- 
DAHLIAS GROWING IN HARD SOIL. 
To those who grow these for garden ornamentation 
it is most disappointing to see the blooms hidden by 
the foliage. Some kinds are so prone to this that 
they are scarcely worth growing. Others throw 
their blooms well out of the leafage. The Cactus 
types, many of them, have this tendency ; amongst 
them Countess of Radnor may be named, Juarezi, 
and many others. So disappointed was I some years 
ago that I resolved to try growing them in somewhat 
pbor, hard soil, and not feeding them with liquid 
manure. The results justified the change, and now 
many kinds that formerly were disappointing are 
most attractive. Charming Bride, Annie Harvey, 
and others, are a mass of bloom, and well above the 
foliage. Some of the nice pompon kinds have the 
same drawback. Kinds like Ernest Cannell, 
Matchless, &c., are the types for garden decoration, 
and raisers should work in this direction. Some 
may say I do not get large blooms. I do not plant 
them for exhibition ; I prefer a mass of nice even 
blooms, and they are far more useful for cutting. 
J. C„ F„ Chard. 
