732 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
July IB, 1901. 
Irritability.—Archotis aspera and A. calendulacea 
have irritable styles in the same way as the column 
of Stylidium, and are doubtless concerned in the 
function of pollination. 
Royal Warrant for Messrs. Sutton & Sons. — 
The Times of July 6th, announced that Messrs. 
Sutton & Sons who have been seedsmen to the 
Crown for many years, have now been appointed 
by Royal Warrant seed merchants to his Majesty 
King Edward VII. 
Crystal Palace Fruit Show.—Schedules of the 
eighth annual fruit show to be held at the Crystal 
Palace, Sydenham, on October ioth, nth, and 12th 
are now ready, and may be obtained on application 
to the Secretary, Royal Horticultural Society, 117, 
Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W. Applicants 
should enclose a stamp. 
National Carnation and Picotee Society.—It has 
now been definitely fixed that the annual show of 
this society will be held on Friday, July 19th, at the 
Crystal Palace. Entries must be sent in at least 
four clear days before the day of the show, to Mr. 
G. Caselton, Superintendent of Gardens, Crystal 
Palace, Sydenham, London, S.E. 
An M.P. and his Orchids.—As we announced last 
week the action brought by Mr. John Rutherford, 
M.P., against L'Horticole Coloniale, Brussels, was 
not finished as we went to press. This was a breach 
of warranty of a plant sold to plaintiff as Odonto- 
glossum crispum Rambouillet, for which he gave 
/80. When it bloomed four years ago it proved 
to be a variety not worth £5. Verdict for plaintiff 
for £114 and costs. 
Lily Show and Conference.—The Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society will hold an exhibition of Lilies in 
their gardens at Chiswick on Tuesday and Wed¬ 
nesday, July 16th and 17th. The committees will 
meet at ri a.m., and plants, &c., for certificate will 
be placed before them as at the usual meetings in 
the Drill Hall. The gates will be opened at 12 noon 
on July 16th, closing at 7 p.m.; at 11 a.m. on Wed¬ 
nesday, closing at 6 p.m. Fellows admitted free on 
showing their tickets. A conference on Lilies will 
be held at 2 p.m. 
Gardener’s Royal Benevolent Institution. — The 
annual report and balance sheet for the year ending 
December 31st, 1900, has just been published and 
affords some interesting matter, including the 
account of the proceedings at the anniversary dinner 
at which His Grace the Duke of Portland, K.G., 
P C., G.C.V.O., presided. There is a long list of 
subscribers but nothing nearly long enough consider¬ 
ing the large number of gardeners there are and the 
good aims of the institution. For instance, in Kent, 
the home of gardeners, there are only ninety-two 
subscribers. Surrey has the largest number of 
subscribers, the total being 194. 
Motor Cars and Strawberries.—It will doubtless 
be of interest to purchasers of the luscious “ English- 
grown ” Strawberries from Messrs. Keartland Mole 
to learn that the fruit, which finds so ready a sale at 
the well-known fruiterers in the Crescent, is con¬ 
veyed direct to the shop from Farndon day by day 
in a motor van. The utilisation of this new means 
of conveyance for the carriage of such a perishable 
product as ripe Strawberries is the best possible 
proof of the wisdom of the contention of automobil 
ists that for moderate distances from great centres 
the motor van, car, or waggon is invaluable, serving 
the purpose to which it is put most effectually. By 
the system adopted with regard to the transportation 
of the Farndon fruit direct to the city distributor, 
the Strawberries avoid the injurious handling necessi¬ 
tated by railway conveyance, and what this means 
can be understood by remembering that the fruit 
would be loaded on to carts, wheeled to the station, 
unloaded direct into the railway waggon or on to 
trucks prior to being stowed on the waggon, run 
through with the incidental jars of a railway 
journey, unloaded from the railway van into carts or 
trucks, which in the latter case necessitates extra 
handlings, and finally arrives at the store to be sold. 
As it is, the baskets are loaded on the motor car at 
the Strawberry beds, and are delivered into the 
hands of the shopkeeper. This trial will doubtless 
lead to a wide adoption of the system throughout 
the district.— Liverpool Journal op Commerce. 
The Force of Swelling Seeds.—Dr. D. T. 
MacDougal has, after careful experiments, ascer¬ 
tained that the pressure exerted by Peas on being 
wetted is equal to eight atmospheres or 120 lbs. per 
square inch. 
A Remarkable Settle.—A large swarm of bees 
while passing over a road suddenly selected a mail- 
cart, in which two children were seated, as a settling 
place ; the most remarkable thing is that the children 
were not stung although they were much frightened. 
Emigration.—This is the best season of the year 
to emigrate to Canada, where there is a good 
demand for competent farm labourers in nearly all 
parts, except British Columbia. There is a good 
demand for female servants everywhere, but persons 
having no particular trade or calling should not 
emigrate to Canada unless they have means of their 
own. The Emigrants’ Information Office who 
supplied us with this information also warns all 
persons against going to South Africa at present In 
search of work, for unless they have ample private 
means to meet the very high cost of living they will 
not be allowed to proceed up country. 
Boycotting.—We often hear of instances of preju¬ 
dice and boycotting through political differences, but 
none seems more ridiculous than the recent changing 
of the name of a Cypripedium in France. Until 
lately it has been known as C. chamberlainianum but 
so distasteful has this name become in sunny France 
that it is unbearable, and nurserymen have found it 
the best policy to change the name to obtain a sale 
for the plant, and hence in the future it will be 
known as C. punctatum, a name suggested by its 
foliage. If our nurserymen retaliate by altering the 
names of flowers in their nurseries which bear politi¬ 
cal meaning the result will be confusing, especially 
if they do not all bear the same political views. 
A Warm Day.—It was unnecessary to consult the 
thermometer on Friday the 5th inst. in order to 
know that it was the hottest day we have had in 
London this year. To be brief, we may state that 
the thermometer registered 84° in the shade, just 
14 0 higher than the maximum on the previous 
Tuesday, after which it continued to rise till Friday 
as stated. Curiously enough the same figure was 
reached on the same date at Hamilton, N.B., which 
a correspondent describes as terrific heat. We 
know that 8o° is high enough for Scotland with its 
moister atmosphere. At London we may yet have 
90° to 96° in the shade. On the same date as above 
(5th inst.) the temperature at Leeds was 85° in the 
shade. 
Death of a Veteran Strawberry Grower.—Mr. 
John Sim, well known to a wide circle of friends in 
the counties of Aberdeen and Kincardineshire, died 
at his residence, West Cults, Aberdeen, on the 24th 
ult. in the 77th year of his age. He commenced his 
career as a gardener, and like many enthusiastic 
Scotchmen of that period, gave much attention to 
the study of botany, embracing both flowering and 
flowerless plants, particularly sphagnum, for which 
he had a great liking. He went further than many 
do, and published a complete flora of Scotston 
Moor, in the vicinity of Aberdeen. Early in the 
sixties he commenced work of a more utiliarian 
character, settling down at Gateside, Strachan, up 
Deeside, where he made plantations of Strawberries 
for market purposes, increasing them as the demand 
grew. The venture was a remarkable success, and 
induced many of the local farmers and crofters in 
the district to imitate his example, so that the 
remarks of the late Mr. W. E. Gladstone were not 
far-fetched when he referred to the possibilities of 
Strawberry culture and jam making in Aberdeen¬ 
shire. Twenty years later, Mr. Sim purchased a 
small property known as The Temple, Drumlithie ) 
Kincardineshire, where he also grew Strawberries 
and florists’ flowers for market, and kept a green¬ 
grocery of his own in Stonehaven, the capital of the 
county, where he retailed some of the produce of 
The Temple. Mr. Sim had several sons, some of 
whom attended to the business on Deeside. He 
himself lived much at The Temple till quite recently, 
and we have met him going about his business at 
Stonehaven. He was a genial-hearted and active 
business man and enjoyed much respect at the 
hands of those with whom he came into frequent 
contact. Two of his sons are in the Forestry De¬ 
partment, South Africa. 
Britain only grows enough grain to make enough 
bread to last her ten weeks. 
A Royal Honour.—We learn that the King has 
been graciously pleased to grant Messrs. James 
Carter & Co., High Holborn, London, the Warrant 
of Appointment as seedsmen to his Majesty. We 
congratulate the Messrs. Carter upon their success, 
and hope they will long enjoy the well-merited 
honour. 
Royal Horticultural Society. — At a general 
meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society, held on 
Tuesday, July 2nd, thirty new fellows were elected 
(making 614 since the beginning of the present 
year), amongst them being Lady Margaret Boscawen, 
Lady Bickersteth, Lady Tennant, Lady Whitehead, 
and Surg.-Col. Arthur Sanderson, A.M.C. 
Curious Transformation.—In a recent number of 
the Berichte der Deutscher Botanischen Gessellschaft, 
there is an account of an interesting transformation 
of the root of Crocus vernus into a leaf. Prof. R. A. 
Philippi received some bulbs from Holland, and as 
they did not show signs of growth after having been 
in the pots for some time they were turned out. On 
one of the corms a piece of root had grown, this 
the professor took off and planted it partly above 
and partly below the soil. After several weeks the 
side of the root which received the most light began 
to develop into a leaf-like body which carried on the 
function of assimilation perfectly. When this took 
place new roots were formed, and subsequently four 
more leaves. 
Accident in the Cricket Field.—Mr. Thomas 
Button, for some years a departmental foreman in 
the establishment of Mr. James Walker, Ham 
Common, Kingston-on-Thames, met his death on 
June 25th, while having a turn at batting on the 
common. He was not a regular cricketer, but 
having finished his dinner, went on to the common, 
where some of his assistants were playing, and wish¬ 
ing to try his hand at batting, was served with a few 
balls, one of which struck him behind the ear as he 
was turning his head on one side. He fell and very 
soon expired, causing great distress amongst his 
assistants, but particularly to the bowler. At an 
inquest a verdict of accidental death was given. 
Deceased was thirty years of age and leaves a wife, 
but no family. 
A Sparrow-Hawk’s Speed. —" The sparrow-hawk 
does not more than any other like a long • stern 
chase,’ but prefers to attack with the advantage of a 
surprise when darting from a tree or around the 
corner of a wood, or when stooping with splendid 
speed from a poise several hundred yards above the 
grounds." So writes Mr. C. A. Witchell in the 
current number of Knowledge, under the heading, 
“ The Relative Speeds of some Common Birds," and 
he goes on:—" We, seeing a finch or a starling 
taken in a moment, often do not weigh the fact 
that the victim was hardly on the wing, and 
probably rising, when the bird of prey came like a 
whirlwind and overwhelmed it. Even if the hawk 
discovers its prey when traversing the country 
at a lower elevation, it has still the power of a 
fair momentum to take full advantage of the chance 
of a swooping rush at the prey, which is probably on 
the ground. Of course, when a rook is watched 
chasing a sparrow-hawk across the sky, there is 
nothing to show that the latter is seriously trying to 
fly at speed. On the contrary, it generally seems in 
such a case that the hawk is relying mainly on its 
soaring powers to avoid the attack. And it is 
remarkable indeed with how little apparent effort 
the hawk will soar up and up from the rook, which, 
all the while, is obviously exerting itself frantically. 
On the other hand, it is generally to be seen that 
when the birds are flying at a level, the rook has no 
difficulty in overtaking the hawk, who, after a turn 
or two, begins to go up, as already stated. The 
kestrel seems more often to evade Its enemies by a 
turn of speed, though it also takes to the soar 
readily. Last autumn I saw a fine female kestrel 
harried by two peewits, which swooped at it alter¬ 
nately very prettily and with surprising persistence. 
At last the hawk, seemingly tired of * putting out ’ 
(as a falconer would say) these active birds, went 
straight ahead, apparently as hard as it could ; and 
then one could see that the peewits were not able to 
overtake it, though they followed to some distance. 
The same thing happened with the crow : the latter 
chased the hawk, but was at last outflown in a sheer 
straight flight." 
