636 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
glorious smoke that reminds her of the bon¬ 
fires of her early life—a feeling, we may 
say, which clings to all those who have 
been brought up in those parts of the 
country where the fires of the Druids and 
sun-worshippers of centuries ago still lin¬ 
gered on in the bonfires of Halloweven. 
On the ioth of the same month, two kindly 
days of a grim winter brought “ thrillings 
after long grass and green shadows.’ Ap¬ 
parently she had already forgotten the couch 
grass, or was thinking of the same weed 
under different circumstances, that is, where 
grass was in its proper place. This latter 
is evidently the case, for a little further on 
she speaks of the “ long heath, brown 
Furze, anything ” as having “ potentialities 
of beauty and interest.” She reckons that 
gardeners just now, professionals and 
amateurs alike, are in a state of indecision, 
and that they may be marshalled in two 
ranks mutually destructive, one school, 
following Nature servilely, developing a 
good deal of picturesque disorder, the other 
regarding the garden as a battle-ground 
where they may test their own valour by 
shaping and manipulating species and 
hybrids to their own particular liking. 
By March 3rd the author felt a choking 
in the throat at nothing less than that her 
faithful and indefatigable Cuttle had felt it 
necessary to resign his charge. He felt 
unable to keep charge of the kitchen and 
flower garden, and the lane leading to his 
home was four miles long. Improvements 
went on apace, however, as the spring 
advanced, for on March 26th the author 
was rejoicing over a brand-new view that 
had been opened in the copse looking 
towards the Dorking downs. 
Of the 245 pages of text, 184 are taken 
up with the work, observations and re¬ 
flections that were made in or about the 
garden, &c., from September till April. 
The remaining five months of the year, 
from May to September, constituting the 
live-long summer, only furnishes 61 pages, 
which might mean that the long hours of 
work in the open prevented a fuller record 
of the same by the pen. The flowers and 
various other things, animate and inani¬ 
mate, coming under observation at their 
own proper time are taken into account, 
though not so fully as we should have liked. 
The actual work and the experiences 
gained are likewise lightly dealt with, 
though pleasantly entertaining in the 
author’s own particular style. The book is 
printed on good paper v/ith broad margin, 
and the type used is large and clear. 
The Shipment of Fruit from Tasmania last year 
surpassed all previous records. It amounted to 
218,546 bushels. 
The visitors to Kew Gardens on Whit Monday 
were estimated to number over 80,000. The number 
on Sunday was also very great; and on Tuesday the 
number seemed greater than ever we witnessed 
before for the day after Bank Holiday. Only 30,000 
passed the turnstiles at the " Zoo.” 
Peat Coke.— A French invention noted by the 
Coal Merchant and Shipper should do something to 
popularise the use of peat as fuel. M. Vilen, the 
inventor, takes ordinary peat turf, which he heats 
to 518° Fahrenheit, after which he lowers the tem¬ 
perature to 126°. The carbonisation is not in large 
retorts, as formerly, but in comparatively small 
cyclinders of ordinary iron plates embedded in 
brickwork. By the Vilen method the turf possesses 
6,000 units of heat, whereas peat turf proper has 
only 2,514 units. Analysis has proved that coke 
obtained by this method contains nearly fifty-nine 
per cent, of combustible matter, and the gases more 
than twenty-eight per cent., in all more than eighty 
seven per cent. This fuel will cost 13s. 6d. to 16s 
per ton. 
Education —America is again to the fore with a 
very praiseworthy scheme, viz., a Summer School 
of Nature Study. It is to be conducted by the 
School of Practical Agriculture and Horticulture, 
New York. 
Conserving Moisture. — The moisture of the land 
may be retained by (1) deep tillage, (2) mulches, (3) 
rotation of crops to increase humus, (4) under drain¬ 
age, (5) lessening the influence of winds, and (6) by 
applications of salt, &c. 
Marechal Niel Roses in America.—In California 
this beautiful Rose is budded on to stocks of Rosa 
laevigata. When thus treated it makes a vigorous 
climber, and in many parts of that wonderfully 
diversified state where the weather is congenial, it 
reaches the tops of the houses and blooms almost 
perpetually. 
Journal of the Department of Agriculture of 
Western Australia.—The April number of the above 
journal is as usual full of interesting matter. There 
is an article on the cultivation of Macadamia terni- 
folia, the Australian Nut. A beautifully illustrated 
paper on insectivorous birds is given by Mr. Robert 
Hall. The report of the Royal Commission which 
has been appointed to inquire into the rabbit pest 
supplies some useful information and advice. A 
paper on Orange and Lemon packing and curing is 
written in a very attractive manner by Mr. A. 
Despeissis. Theissue also contains the ninth annual 
report of the Conference of Producers. 
National Rose Society’s Show at Richmond.— 
This show is to be held in the Old Deer Park on 
Wednesday, June 26th. The schedule issued shows 
a large number of classes, and many good prizes to 
be competed for. The committee announce that 
after this year only Rose boxes of the following 
dimensions will be recognised at the society’s 
exhibitions : — 
24 blooms 
.. 3 ft. 6 in. x 
1 ft. 6 in.\ 
18 „ 
. . 2 ft. 9 in. x 
1 ft. 6 in 
12 
. . 2 ft. — X 
r ft. 6 in. 
Height 
9 >• 
. . 1 ft. 6 in. x 
1 ft. 6 in. 
L iQ 
front 
6 
.. 1 ft. — .X 
1 ft. 6 in. 
8 trebles 
.. 3 ft. 6 in. x 
1 ft. 6 in. 
4 in. 
6 „ 
,. 2 ft. 9 in. x 
1 ft. 6 in. 
4 
.. 2 ft. — X 
1 ft. 6 in. 
Chestnut 
Sunday.—Londoners made their annual 
pilgrimage Sunday,May 19th, to the famous avenue in 
Bushey Park. The trees could not have looked 
better, and the whole surrounding country was in 
such a beautiful condition that the pilgrimage was 
fraught with more than usual delight. It is a most 
beautiful drive from London. On either side of the 
road are floweriDg trees and shrubs of every descrip¬ 
tion. The sweet Lilac was conspicuous all along 
the road, its strong scent pervading the air for a 
considerable distance. Those who went on the 
wheel had their enjoyment somewhat marred, as they 
travelled from Hyde Park rner to Hammersmith, 
for it would be difficult to find a road in worse con¬ 
dition, even in the depths of an agricultural district. 
Nature Study.—The County of Essex Technical 
Instruction Committee have again organised a holi¬ 
day course for teachers for field studies in natural 
history. Nature study is now recognised by the 
Board of Education as a most desirable subject for 
the intellectual training of children in rural elemen¬ 
tary schools, and the main objects of the present 
series of demonstrations is to encourage such teach¬ 
ing. The committee have arranged for a ten-days' 
course of Nature study to be held in the New Forest, 
Hampshire, during August. The following are 
observations to be made by the collector: Name of 
plant, both scientific and common; generic and 
specific characters ; habit or form of plant as a whole, 
conditions of life, whether a wild plant proper, a 
weed of cultivation or a cultivated plant ; habitat, 
nature of rooting, medium and relation of roots to 
moisture aspect or the plant’s relation to light, shelter 
and humidity, if a weed of cultivation whether in 
cornfield, fallow, meadow, etc. ; character and 
duration of stem and leaves ; period of flowering and 
general character of flowers ; fertilisation, if by 
insects note their names ; character of fruit whether 
dry or succulent ; if the fruits or seeds are edible 
give names of birds, &c., that seek them ; method of 
seed disposal ; variations from normal type, cause, 
&c. 
June 1, 1901. 
Mr. Alexander McPhail, for the past six years 
gardener to Sir Robert Dick Lauder, of Grange 
House, Edinburgh, has been appointed gardeDer to 
Mrs. Head, of Inverailort, Lochailort, Inverness- 
shire, on whose estate extensive alterations are being 
made. We wish Mr. McPhail every success in his 
new appointment. 
Special Rose Show.—The Royal Horticultural 
Society has arranged to hold a Rose show in con¬ 
junction with the National Rose Society at the Drill 
Hall, Westminster, on Tuesday, July 2nd. The 
schedule of prizes issued shows some substantial 
awards to be offered, and the show ought to be a 
success. The tickets of the National Rose Society 
will admit to this exhibition at one o'clock. 
Notes from Hamilton.—In your timely footnote 
to an exception taken to the terms " bloomer 
friends ” by a hypercritical correspondent, I wish to 
convey to you my sincerest thanks. In that note 
you have entirely anticipated my position in relation 
to the use of the term "bloomer” which is a 
popular designation as everyone almost knows of the 
absurd dress sometimes adopted by the sisterhood. 
It is too absurd to attribute any other sense to the 
text, and I think the context is sufficiently clear 
from any thing which would justify any person to 
consider at all ambiguous.— Gamma. 
Gardeners’ Education. — We hear much of 
cramming young gardeners with too much theory, 
&c., and encouraging too high education to fit them 
for hard work, but how is this from a practical 
gardener in answer to an advertisement ? " Dear 
Sir I saw in the-paper" (both names without 
a capital) "a gardeners place a stong aktive lad, 
that what ime arter I want situation now hope you 
will oblige me for that place from-." We have 
both the advertisement and the above letter. The 
situation ] vacant was an improver's, indoors, in a 
first class establishment. In addressing the envelope, 
bothy was used as a Christian name. Why send 
missionaries to China ? 
High Cultivation.—Kew has the credit of pro¬ 
ducing many strange plants and overcoming 
numerous cultural difficulties, but one of her newest 
objects came as a bit of a surprise to all. When un¬ 
packing a Wardian case received from the West 
Coast Territory, Africa, it was discovered that the 
pots in wh ; ch the plants were growing were coming 
into leaf, several of them having produced shoots 
4 in. or 5 in. long. When the pots were further 
examined it v»as easily understood. They were 
made from sections of Dendrocalamus stems, a large 
growing species of the Bamboo tribe. With the 
warmth and moisture, the eyes at the base of the 
pots had started into active growth, producing the 
remarkable sight of a growing flower pot. 
The National Rose Society.—We have before us 
the annual report of the above society. It is quite a 
bulky publication of over 100 pages. It is full of 
useful information and has been carefully compiled. 
The balance sheet shows a good financial condition, 
although the expenses incurred by extra printing, 
&c., have been heavy. The audited accounts show 
a balance of £1 14s. at the bankers, but /105 which 
was due from the Crystal Palace Company has been 
received since the balance sheet was made out. There 
is a steady increase in the roll of members ; at the 
present time there are 584. The publication also 
contains the bye-laws of the society, regulations for 
exhibitions, rules authorised by the society for 
judging at Rose shows, method of judging, defini¬ 
tions of blooms, list of affiliated societies, list of 
members, hon. local secretaries, winners of medals 
in 1900, list of donations, contributions, &c , trophy 
winners, &c., also schedule of Richmond Rose Show, 
schedule of the exhibition to be held in the Temple 
Gardens, also of the show at Todbush Park, Ulver- 
ston. At the show to be held in the Inner Temple 
Gardens on July 4th, no trouble or expense is to be 
spared in order to make this the most attractive 
Rose show the society has yet held. Several novel 
features in the way of exhibits are to be introduced. 
Charges for admission will be as follows : —From 12 
till 4 p.m , 5s.; from 4 p.m. till 5 30 p.m., 2s. 6d.; 
from 5.30 p m. till 7 p.m., is. The secretaries are 
Rev. H. Honywood D'Ombrain, V.M.H., Westwell 
Vicarage, Ashford, Kent ; and Edward Mawley, Esq., 
Rosebank, Berkhamsted. 
