668 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
June 15, 1901. 
Fruit Trees are greatly benefited by mulching 
their roots duriog hot weather. 
A Smoking Tree is one of the natural wonders of 
Ono, Japan. It smokes in the evening only, just 
after sunset, when the smoke may be seen issuing 
from the top of the trunk, the whole tree being 6o ft. 
high. 
Royal Counties Show.—The annual show of the 
Royal Counties Agricultural Society was held at 
Weymouth last week. Over £2,000 were offered in 
prizes and a large number of entries were made in 
consequence. The show was favoured with brilliant 
weather throughout the four days and attracted 
crowds of visitors 
Artificial Flowers in Churchyards.—Many of the 
papers have started on a crusade against the bell- 
glass disfiguration of our graveyards, and their efforts 
are praiseworthy ones, but we cannot agree with 
H. N. E.,” Bitton Vicarage, Gloucestershire, in a 
contemporary, when he advocates the vicar exercising 
his right to forbid them. That is not the way to 
encourage art, no arbitrary measures must be used, 
persuasion and education are far better weapons 
than coercion. 
The Island of St. Helena, famous as the prison 
of Napoleon the Great, and, later, of Cronje and 
his compatriots, is infested with rats and rabbits. 
From time immemorial rats have been a source of 
great trouble on the island, devouring the crops and 
almost everything else. There seems a compensa¬ 
tion in the fact that the young rabbits fall an easy 
prey to the rats and are thus kept under to some 
extent. So omnivorous is the St. Helena rat that it 
eats its own young, otherwise the island would be 
almost uninhabitable. At the present time there is 
a serious plague of these pests. A recent visit to a 
patch of Indian Maize showed that not one single 
cob in the whole patch had been saved from the 
voracious rodent .—The Fruit Grower. 
Phosphate of Lime.—This valuable manurial 
agent is obtained from a variety of sources. Doubt¬ 
less the bulk of it now in the market comes from a 
queer little island in the Pacific Ocean, known as 
Christmas Island. The supply is practically in¬ 
exhaustible, the island being covered with thick 
layers of it. At one time the island was the resort 
of myriads of birds, and in the coarse of ages it 
became coated with a thick layer of dung, which has 
become fossilised. This is dug up, and when treated 
with sulphuric acid produces the well known arti¬ 
ficial fertiliser, superphosphate of lime. The annual 
export reaches many thousand tons, and the lonely 
little stretch of land, which was uninhabited as 
recently as 188S, is now the home of hundreds of 
busy wotkers. 
Fruit Prospects in Cheshire.—The anticipations 
of a large fruit harvest are often blighted by cold 
winds and late spring frosts destroying the sets. 
This year the outlook seems very favourable so far. 
The spring being late, the trees were not stimulated 
into premature growth, which is often the cause of 
so much damage from the following frosts. The 
reports from the fruit districts in Cheshire for the 
coming season are very encouraging; all the trees, 
both standard and bush, are bearing heavy crops. 
Strawberries last week looked in an unpromising 
condition owing to the drought, but the recent rains 
have stimulated them into vigorous growth again, 
and they bid fair to produce an abundance of fruit. 
Currants and Gooseberries, according to reports to 
hand, are bearing exceptionally good crops. 
America Again Before Us.—Although gardening 
as an art has been practised in England for a much 
longer period than it has in the United States, yet 
they are far before us in many branches. One of 
the latest advances is that of a new hall for horticul¬ 
tural exhibitions in Boston, Massachusetts. It is 
built on a large and magnificent scale, and judging 
from the photograph is a very striking building. 
The Massachusetts Horticultural Society is one of 
the pioneers of horticulture in the United States, 
and has had an incalculable influence in stimulatiog 
high-class culture of fruit, flowers,and vegetables. Its 
first exhibition was held in a dining-room in 1829. As 
the society grew it built itself a hall, but this soon 
became inadequate, and on May 29th last the new, 
large hall was formally opened, and stands as a 
memorial of the progress of agri-horticulture in 
America. 
Antidote for Mosquito Bites.—Professor Voges 
who is controller of the National Board of Health at 
Buenos Ayres, recommends naphthaline for neutral¬ 
ising the poison innoculated by mosquitos, even when 
much inflamed it is effective, he says, if well rubbed in 
This ought to prove a valuable bit of advice for 
many people in England, for there were many com¬ 
plaints of bites from these poisonous little wretches 
last summer. 
Survival of an Old Custom.—In this busy, up-to- 
date age many of the old religious ceremonies have 
been abolished. One very interesting and picturesque 
function is still performed at Castleacre, a small 
Norfolk village. It is known as “The Blessing.” 
On Ascension Day the parishioners assemble at the 
church where a procession is formed, which, with 
the vicar and choir at the head, parades the vil¬ 
lage and then visits the fields and blesses the crops, 
singing hymns and chanting suitable psalms. The 
spectacle is unique and a very fascinating one, judg¬ 
ing from the size of the procession and the number 
of visitors who attend the ceremony. 
Cyanide of Potassium for Fumigation. -This is 
being used largely in America for the destruction of 
the dreaded San Jose scale. No trees are allowed 
to be brought into Canada until they have been 
properly fumigated. Fused cyanide is one of the 
most deadly of poisons, and requires the most 
scrupulous care in handling, as a piece even as small 
as a pin's head would prove fatal if swallowed. It 
has been tried with varying results in this country, 
but has been abandoned because of the expense. It 
is evident that our fruit growers did not manage the 
matter properly, for according to an American fruit 
farmer he has used it for many years with the 
greatest of success, and it does not cost more 
than 1/- per 1,000 trees, of course nursery stock 
size. 
Soft-Fruit Glut.—There has been such a glut of 
fruit on the market during the past week that the 
prices have been exceptionally low, and the competi¬ 
tion has been very good for the buyers. Strawberries 
have been pouring into the market in tons during 
the past week from France ; enormous quantities of 
Grapes have been brought over from Belgium, Man¬ 
goes and Bananas have arrived from Jamaica in 
shiploads; Apples, Pears, Grapes and Peaches are 
arriving at frequent intervals in shiploads from 
Australasia ; and these, with the output from home 
sources, have stocked the markets to overflowing. 
Two boats the other day brought to Plymouth 16,000 
packages of Peas and Strawberries. This being the 
condition of affairs, how can we wonder at Straw¬ 
berries being retailed at 3d. a lb. the first week in 
June ? 
Ousting the Sterner Sex. — We poor male 
creatures are face to face with a grave difficulty. 
There is ever an increasing superfluity of women, 
and they must live somehow. Law will not allow 
us to take more than one wife at a time, and 
certainly if it did many of us would not 
want to. Women are now successful competitors 
in upwards of thirty trades. Forty years ago if any 
one mentioned the weaker sex in association with 
these trades they were met by a storm of derision. 
One of the latest trades to be invaded by the 
feminine worker is that of linotype work. Instruc¬ 
tion imparted at the Horticultural College, Swanley, 
has shown what women can do and are doing, and 
students are so quick at grasping the subject that' 
good appointments are following as a natural 
sequence. 
Larceny.—It takes a clever man to be an expert 
thief, but the following charge of larceny brought 
against a New Jersey farmer shows how up-to-date 
this particular way of earning a living is. It has 
been frequently demonstrated that electricity is con¬ 
ducive tj the forcing of certain plants. This 
ingenious farmer has been sued by the Border Town 
Trolley Company for larceny of their electric 
current When the matter was investigated, it was 
found that the patch of ground, about 300 ft. by 200 
ft, on which he grew his remarkable crops of 
radishes, was a complete network of wires just below 
the surface. If he had supplied his own current to 
this arrangement, no one would have objected, but 
he contrived to obtain it in a cheaper manner by 
tapping one of the company’s main feeders and con¬ 
necting on his system, thus getting a very cheap 
stimulant for his crops. 
Tobacco. — The various manufacturers who 
examined the Tobacco grown in Ireland last year say 
it is a decided improvement on previous efforts. 
Hailstorms and Destruction of Crops in France. 
Early on Monday morning last a terrific storm broke 
over parts of France, creating considerable alarm 
and doing great destruction to property. The River 
Cerou flooded the valley of Carmaux. Elsewhere 
much damage was done to the fruit trees. Much 
damage to the crops was also caused at Limoges. 
The crops and gardens have been destroyed at Niort 
by a terrific hailstorm, the hailstones being so large 
that hundreds of birds have been killed in the open. 
Trees were torn up by the roots at Gap, and two 
men were seriously injured by a large branch falling 
upon them. 
Hedges of Agaves.—The American Agave is one 
of the most useful of any of the Amaryllidaceous 
plants, and can be applied to many purposes. It is 
cultivated in America (Mexico) for the sake of the 
sugar it yields, and this gives, after fermentation, an 
alcohol called puljue. One of the most original uses 
to which the Agave has been put is that of form¬ 
ing hedges. An illustration of one of these hedges 
appears in the Revue de VHorticulture Beige for 
January. The picture depicts a hedge of Agaves on 
the road from Tacoronte to Orotava is the island cf 
Teneriffe. Besides being charming in its general 
aspect, this sort of hedge constitutes an impenetrable 
barrier to man or animals. The Agaves also yield 
large quantities of fibre for commerce. 
Fragrant Fountains.—A writer in the Daily Mail 
recently brought forward the suggestion of having 
scented fountains in our parks. He argued that the 
sense of seeing was catered for by arrangement of 
flowers and plants, hearing by the engagement of 
bands, but smelliDg was a neglected sense. He 
proposes Rose or Violet scented fountains as a 
remedy. We know of another sense that is neglected, 
too, which would, we have no coubt, be more accept 
able than supplying grateful odours to the olfactory 
nerves—we refer to free refreshments to satisfy taste. 
Perhaps after the Council has successfully accom¬ 
plished the scheme of breeding butterflies for the 
parks, which was proposed recently, we may have 
our wish. 
The Hamilton and District Gardening and 
Forestry Association had their monthly meeting in 
the Mining Institute on Tuesday evening, the 4th 
inst. The Rev. F. B. Paterson, the president, oc¬ 
cupied the chair. There was a great attendance to 
hear Mr. Graham, late of Coltness Gardens, Wishaw, 
give a most instructive and highly practical paper on 
" The Cultivation of Hardy Fruit Trees in Pots.” 
Mr. Graham can speak on this subject with much 
ease, being a first class cultivator and grower when 
at Coltcess for over eleven years. He put most 
stress on Pears and Plums, the construction of 
houses for success, timing, and attention to water¬ 
ing and disbudding, &c. He also counselled the 
audience to be most particular about insects which 
are most injurious to orchard house fruit trees. 
After some discussion Mr. Graham was awarded a 
most hearty vote of thanks. The next lecture is by 
Mr. Hogg, of Woodside Gardens, Paisley, on “ The 
Cultivation of Orchids,” July 2nd.— J. M. 
Wholesale Lettuce Growing.—If anyone wishes 
to grow Lettuces properly, they cannot do better 
than take a trip into one of the market growing 
districts round London, especially the Mortlake 
side, and make a few observations of the various 
methods employed. The labour and cost incurred 
by the attention to details is surprising at the first 
notice, but when treated generously Lettuces pay for 
the trouble bestowed on them. To produce Let¬ 
tuces with firm hearts and in prime condition they 
must be provided with a well drained, and thoroughly 
worked soil, with ample food in it in the form of 
well decayed stable dung. Although they like a 
well drained soil it must not be inferred that they 
delight in a dry one, but just the opposite, for if too 
dry at the root they produce tough leaves and run to 
seed prematurely. To walk through some of the 
gardens now in the Mortlake district makes one 
picture crisp refreshing salads for the hot days, as 
the Cos varieties are just in their prime and are 
being rushed into the markets daily by waggon 
loads. 
