748 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
July 20, 1901. 
it has been recorded. The same weight of 
manure applied to plot 3, with the addition 
of 1^ cwt. of nitrate of soda, 2 cwt. of 
superphosphate and 2 cwt. of kainit, gave 
5 tons 10 cwt. of Up-to-Date, and 3 tons 19 
cwt. 32 lb of Windsor Castle, this being a 
profitable increase in both cases. Plot 4 
had the 20 tons of farmyard manure per 
acre, plus a double dose of the above named 
artificials, resulting in 4 tons 12 cwt. 16 lb. 
of Up-to-Date, and 3 tons 15 cwt. 80 lb. of 
Windsor Castle. Here again the results 
are somewhat inexplicable at least to those 
not initiated into the circumstances and 
conditions of the case. Plot 5 was treated 
to a double dose of artificial manures alone, 
namely, 3 cwt. nitrate of soda, 4 cwt. super- 
phosphateand 4 cwt. of kainit. Up-to-Date 
gave 5 tons 2 cwt. 56 lb. of Potatos, and 
Windsor Castle 4 tons 6 cwt. 8 lb. This 
is the most successful and the most re¬ 
munerative of all the four trials and the 
check or unmanured plot. The price of 
the artificial manures in plot 5 was £2 8s., 
while with the addition of farmyard manure 
at the rate of 20 tons per acre in plot 4 cost 
£7 8s. Much has yet to be learnt and 
demonstrated with regard to these manures. 
We should have thought that the farmyard 
manure would have had a telling effect by 
reason of its making the^andy soil more 
retentive of moisture. 
- .i»- 
Her Majesty Queen Alexandra has been graciously 
pleased to appoint Mr, T, Jannoch, of Dersingham, 
Norfolk, “ Florist " to her Majesty. 
The National Herbaria.—The committee which 
was recently appointed to consider the advisability 
of uniting the Herbarium at the British Museum 
with that at Kew has issued its report in the form 
of two Blue-books. They recommend the union of 
the two herbaria and that they should be united 
at Kew, but the fossil plants and botanical objects 
exhibited to the public at the Natural History 
Museum they think ought to remain where they are and 
be extended and developed as much as possible. 
American Fruit.—The total exports of apples from 
Canada for the fiscal year ended June 30th, 1900, 
were 956,458 barrels, valued at $2,578,233; the 
exports from the United States for the same period 
were 526,636 barrels, valued at $1,444,655. The 
exports of dried apples from Canada were 4,181,038 
pounds, valued at $210,892 ; from the United States 
34,694,010 pounds were exported, valued at 
$2,247,851, showing that the trade of the United 
States is chiefly in dried fruit, and by a process 
which seems to pay, too. 
Mosquitos.—For those who are interested in this 
tiny terror, the book just published by Professor 
L. O. Howard, chief entomologist of the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, ought to prove interest¬ 
ing reading,as it tells how they live, how they carry 
diseases and how they may be destroyed. This last 
item ought to be well worth knowing, for at present 
the only sure way of extermination is by treating 
each one individually to a pinch between the fingers. 
We are not troubled with them to the extent which 
America is, but what few we do possess make their 
presence felt in a very undesirable manner. London 
just now seems a meeting place for them and there 
are many who look as though they had indulged in 
the youthful fun of poking a wasp's nest. 
Eggshells as Flower Pots.—We have heard of 
many strange articles being used for the cultivation 
of plants, and the number of salmon tins we have 
seen fulfilling this mission is legion, but to utilise 
eggshells seems a fresh advance in horticulture, for 
it is not the mere idea of an amateur who uses them 
because he has nothing better, but they are used 
with a large amount of success by some French 
growers. They are only used for those seedlings, 
etc., which have very sensitive roots in their young 
stage. The eggshells are filled with soil and placed 
in boxes of fibre, and the seeds sown in them. When 
they require potting on there is no necessity for the 
tapping out process which is generally the cause of 
injury as the shells are simply broken gently and 
the compact little ball of soil remains perfectly 
intact. 
African Cucumber.—The New Zealand gardeners 
are stated to be growing the African Cucumber in 
some quantity. This member of the Cucurbitaceae 
was originally imported from Rhodesia. The fruit 
when fully grown is 6 in. long, of a bright orange 
colour, and covered with spines. It is eaten as a 
fruit, and is also used for ornamental purposes. 
Eaten with sugar, the flavour is similar to a Rock 
Melon. 
A grave Mistake.—A Dutch journal reports where 
a chef, more experienced in the art of valet than that 
of Linnaeus, desiring to adorn a plate, had replaced 
the traditional Parsley with the scarlet inflorescences 
of Poinsettia (Euphorbia) pulcherrima. Those who 
ate of the part of the meat in direct touch with 
these flowers, were, it appears, gravely indisposed. 
The result need not astonish anyone seeing that the 
Euphorbias furnish a most violent emetic. 
Roses at Brentwood.—Whilst driving through 
Brentwood on Friday last, we were pleased to see 
the attractive style in which Mr. John Russell’s 
High Street Nursery was decorated with Roses and 
Lilies. On enquiry we found that these flowers were 
now being extensively grown at his Old Nurseries in 
the same town, and that in addition to extending the 
growth and propagation of Roses, Mr. Russell has 
now a large stock of fruit trees, the appearance 
of which is very satisfactory. 
Played with and Lost.—Many a cat plays with 
a mouse until it loses it, and in the same way the 
S.E. & C.D. Railway have played with the fruit 
transport until it has slipped from their grasp, and 
in a very short time the tons of fruit will be rushed 
into Covent Garden on motor lorries. The heavy 
lorry has a great future before it in this direction, 
especially after the satisfactory trials recently made 
by bringing Tomatos from Waltham Cross by 
means of a petroleum motor. In three hours two 
and a half tons of fruit were loaded, conveyed 
sixteen miles and deposited in a Covent Garden 
warehouse. The price, including the return journey, 
was under 5s. What would our charming bone¬ 
shakers have charged after they had been a day at 
the job and reduced much of the fruit to a pulp ? 
More American Decorations. — The church at 
which a society wedding was held recently was 
elaborately decorated with trees of White Birch 
and Oak, many of the specimens being over 20 ft. 
high. On these were hung 4,000 Snowball blooms. 
There were also large groups of Rhododendrons, 
Irises, Weigelas, Palms, Asparagus, etc. Another 
elaborate but vulgar piece of decorative (?) work 
was seen at the funeral of the Chief of Police in 
one of the large cities. It was a large placque 
standing over 5 ft. on which the regulation shield 
was worked out in Joost Carnations. The inscription 
was worked diagonally across and at the lower 
corners were worked the club and handcuffs. The 
American papers describe it as a fine show, we 
think that is hardly what is aimed at in Great 
Britain when flowers are placed round the bier. 
A Catalogue from Australia. — We have just 
received a large and interesting illustrated catalogue 
from Messrs. Smith and Menzel, Aldgate, South 
Australia, and a glance through its pages shows how 
they patronise the flowers of the old country, 
especially the new varieties raised by British 
nurserymen. At a general glance through the cata¬ 
logue one would not think it was a catalogue of 
plants from the Antipodes but merely an ordinary 
catalogue of general nursery stock from a British 
firm. A deeper look into the book will soon point 
out a vast difference, for it will be seen that it is a 
hardy plant catalogue only. It is not, like our 
home catalogues of hardy plants, confined to her¬ 
baceous plants, alpines, etc., but includes amongst 
its hardy climbers such plants as Bougainvilleas, 
Solanum Wendlandi, etc. The hardy bulb collection 
contains Freesias, Amaryllis and several kindred 
genera,while in the ornamental foliage and flowering 
plants Begonias, Humeas, Justicias, Acalyphas, etc., 
are priced. What an ideal place for gardening 
Australia must be, at least when it is properly 
irrigated. Let British gardeners picture their 
favourites passing through the winter season without 
the necessity of fire heat and without the sun being 
hidden for weeks together, what a paradise they 
would live in! Besides cultural details the book con¬ 
tains some very good recipes for various purposes 
connected with plant growing. 
Royal Warrant for Messrs Wood & Son, Ltd. 
—Messrs. William Wood & Son, Ltd., Wood Green, 
London, have been appointed, by Royal Warrant, 
Horticultural Specialists to his Majesty the King. 
Figs at Aldgate Ward Schools.—Fruitculturists 
will be sorry to hear that the whole of the twenty- 
five Figs which were rapidly developing on the tree 
in the courtyard of the Aldgate Ward Schools have 
fallen off through the very dry weather and the 
high winds. Curiously enough, the leaves have 
increased in size—so much so that some mystics of 
the Higher Criticism think that Aldgate may really 
be the site of the original Garden of Eden. 
NoYel Rent Paying.—It is not often that rent 
has to be paid for a church, but when it is so small 
as that of the Zion Lutheran Church, Manheim, Pa., 
it does not need a very big collection. Baron H. W. 
Stiegelt, a German nobleman, who founded the 
church, stipulated that a red Rose should be paid 
annually as rent. The ceremony of paying the rent 
is a very attractive one and draws visitors from all 
parts. The quaint ceremony was recently performed 
for the past year with great solemness, Miss 
Annie Boyce, a lineal descendant of the Baron,taking 
the rent. 
The False Acacia Flowering in Scotland. — 
Robinia Pseudacacia is not very often planted in 
Scotland, and the tree more rarely flowers. It 
requires a higher mean temperature than the 
climate of Scotland enjoys in order to ripen the 
wood and flowers. We recorded an instance the 
summer before last, and again the beginning of 
this month we learn that a tree 40 ft. high and 
growing upon the lawn at College Buildings, 
Crieff, was ia full bloom. This is a good - sized 
tree for this part of Britain, where the Lombardy 
Poplar does not attain any great height north of 
Forfarshire. 
To make Walls Waterproof.—There is often a 
difficulty, especially in the fruit room, with damp 
walls. With very little trouble and very little 
expense they may be made perfectly impervious to 
water. The only two ingredients necessary are 
soap and alum, both of which must be perfectly 
dissolved in water before using. Before the walls 
are dressed they should be washed quite clean and 
allowed to dry. The first dressing should be soap 
and water in the proportion of ilb. to the gallon. 
When this has dried perfectly, it should be followed 
with a dressing of half a pound of alum to four 
gallons of water. The soap dressing should be laid 
on quickly, but thoroughly while boiling. The 
temperature of the alum solution should be about 
the same as that of the surrounding air. After a 
few alternate dressings of this kind the pores of the 
wall become filled with an insoluable compound of 
soap and alum and will be as waterproof as india- 
rubber. 
What Determines Flower Buds?—Mr. J. M. 
W. Kitchen, M.D , has an interesting theory on this 
subject in American Gardening. "I think," writes the 
learned gentleman, "it would be sound teaching to 
state that from a physiological point of view the 
flower bud has its origin whenever the vegetable 
cell which starts a new growth receives a sufficient 
supply of adequately elaborated sap as a nourish¬ 
ment. If this initiatory cell gets a full supply of 
unelaborated sap directly from the roots a leaf 
growth follows, but when this sap has gone through 
the metabolic changes it undergoes in the leaves and 
reaches newly starting growths, its especial richness 
in carbonaceous elements and its comparative lack 
of nitrogenous matter has the effect of modifying the 
growth from leaf forms to flower forms. The con¬ 
ditions which among others seem to tend to this 
changed supply of nourishment are : the location of 
the embryo cell on the plant, the density and size cf 
the wood tissue conducting sap from the roots; 
relative high atmospheric temperature conducing 
superactivity of metabolic processes in the leaves 
and distance from the roots, with intervention of a 
large area of leafage between the root and the 
flowering-point.” The main teaching which this 
theory points out is that one does not want to feed 
heavily with nitrogenous manures if flowers and 
fruit are wanted Mr. Kitchen says that since 
accepting the theory he has found considerable 
practical benefit from it. 
