812 
August 17, 1901. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
The Old “Early to Bed” proverb,among many other 
old acquaintances, has been changed. It should 
now read " Early to bed and early to rise, would 
do no good if you don’t advertise." 
Dictamnus Fraxinella received its common name 
of Burning Bush not from the colour of its flowers, 
but from the inflammable gas which they give off. 
It flares up when a match is applied to the blooms 
on a calm evening. 
Cow Birds.—The cow birds which have just been 
placed in the Zoo, resemble the cuckoo in the 
manner of their breeding habits, only the cow bird 
goes one better or rather worse, by first clearing out 
and destroying all the eggs of the unfortunate host 
and hostess instead of merely placing a single egg in 
their nest. 
United Horticultural Benefit and Provident 
Society.—The usual monthly meeting of this society 
was held at the Caledonian Hotel, Adelphi Terrace, 
Strand, on Monday evening last. Eight new mem¬ 
bers were elected and one nominated. The amount 
paid to sick members since the last meeting was 
£39 is. The treasurer reported having £499 9s. 4d. 
in hand, and was instructed to invest £400 in the 
best available corporation stock. The secretary 
was asked to make the usual preliminary arrange¬ 
ments for the annual dinner, which will take place 
early in October. 
Trees for the Strand.—London's roads or road 
menders are always creating a nuisance somewhere, 
and at present these miniature earthquakes are at 
frequent intervals, especially in the busiest of the 
streets. If they do as it is proposed in the front of 
the Law Courts, where the road has for some time 
had the appearance of a military earthwork, viz., 
plant a row of trees, London people will forgive 
these disturbers of comfort and roads this time, and 
perhaps every other time when they add a piece of 
foliage to the monotonous walls of brick and stone. 
No doubt, in time, we shall see our London up to 
date, if the other cities will wait for her, with rows 
of trees down the streets, more tree-planted squares, 
and subterranean passages to convey the numerous 
pipes and wires along instead of turning up the road 
in all directions for repairing gas, water, sewer 
mains, or some of the endless number of wires. 
West Australian Poisonous Plants.—In the early 
part of July, 1895, the Bureau of Agriculture of West 
Australia suggested to the Premier that a full 
inquiry should be made into the poisonous plants of 
the colony. At the end of July, 1898, a circular was 
sent out by the Agricultural Department requesting 
farmers and others to forward a supply of the 
poisonous plants growing on their lands in order 
that samples might be sent to Professor Stockman, 
of the University of Glasgow, through the mediatory 
offices of Professor Bayley Balfour, of Edinburgh 
Botanic Gardens. Whether or not the plants were 
grown from seeds in the botanic gardens at Edin¬ 
burgh and the plants afterwards sent to Glasgow, 
the journal does not say. Professor StockmaD, 
however, fully investigated their toxic action on 
frogs and rabbits, the effects of which he details in 
the journal of the West Australian Agricultural 
Department for December. 
The Deadly Hemlock.—We have many plants in 
our native flora which are very poisonous, and it 
would be a fulfilment of a national duty if every 
child that attends school was made to recognise 
those which are dangerous. If this was done there 
would not be the long list of deaths from misadven¬ 
ture caused through eating various parts of plants. 
The Educational Department is morally responsible 
for all these deaths which take place, but probably, 
now that they are advocating the more extensive 
teaching of botany, children may learn more about 
the properties of plants which they find in their 
rambles. There was a painful instance of death 
from Hemlock poisoning last week. The Slatefield 
Industrial School, whose boys were encamped at a 
place called Lowmont, has lost one of its brightest 
boys through the mistake, and over twenty others 
had narrow escapes. The boys, during a halt in the 
march out, mistook the Hemlock for an edible 
plant and ate some of it. The number of deaths 
would doubtless have been far greater if an emetic 
had not been promptly administered by the super¬ 
intendent. 
Carpet Bedding in Germany.— Moeller's Deutsche 
Gartner-Zeitung recently contained some plans 
and paragraphs of well executed designs of carpet 
bedding as practised by German gardeners in Hom- 
burg and other towns. Some of the plans are really 
pretty designs, but we think they would take a deal 
of time, care, and expense to execute them 
properly. 
London’s Trees.—There is nothing like rivalry 
for stimulating a thing, and it is a pity that London’s 
citizens do not more fully realise what their French 
rivals are doing in the way of tree planting in Paris. 
In that city half a million of trees have been planted 
within the last decade, and /20,000 is spent annu¬ 
ally to keep them in order and to plant new ones. 
Every street of a certain width is entitled to a row 
of trees on either side, while every street of a 
certain greater width gets a double row. Why 
cannot London follow suit; is she asleep, or are we 
broke? Surely some of her widest streets would 
look better if embellished with a few trees ; White 
hall, for instance. 
America Again,—Shall we ever learn to wake up 
in this country and come to the fore again as pro¬ 
ducers of new things, or at least writing about 
new things, or are we to still tell the truth 
in our newspapers and be considered behind the 
times ? Americans are always to the front, and 
certainly their motto must be the familiar one of 
" Push." This time the hero is a scientific horticul¬ 
turist hailing from Chicago. He has succeeded in 
crossing the Scotch Thistle with the Carnation (?) 
He has a score of the progeny now in bloom in his 
garden, and has named the novelty Centura. We 
should like a specimen, or at least a photo of a plant, 
and we are sure Kew would be grateful for a speci¬ 
men. The plant partakes of the characteristics of 
both parents, so it is claimed. Mr. Morton, the 
raiser, says he would not change places with 
President McKinley. The Morning Leader wishes 
to know who would, with the exception of Mr. 
Bryan. 
The Casual Gardener. — The Morning Leader 
recently had an amusing article, a column in length, 
on observations on the casual gardener. We should 
like to give them all, but space will only allow of a 
few. *' He spends a good deal of time looking for 
work, and when he has found it he spends a good 
deal more time looking at it. . . . There is time for 
everything, and let everything bide its time is his 
maxim. . . . Go slowly and surely is his motto. 
. . . Like a certain well-advertised article he recom¬ 
mends himself. . . . When he has walked around 
your demense several times and taken his bearing 
generally he settles down to work. While you are 
about he continues at it steadily. When you retire 
he does likewise. . . . He is so proud of every per¬ 
ceivable advance, and not a few that are un per¬ 
ceivable, that he pauses periodically to gaze lovingly 
upon what he has accomplished. The more he 
does the longer he pauses, for the simple reason that 
there is more to survey.” The article is cleverly 
written and speaks highly of the professional. 
Table Decorations.—Under the heading of Obiter 
Dicta in our contemporary the Midlands Counties 
Herald, we always expect to find something good. 
This witty writer recently had the following para¬ 
graph in that column:—" And now for a gentle lilt 
at many kind friends and good hostesses. I for one 
strongly object to a superfluity of dinner table floral 
decorations. I like a little of this sort of thing, but 
I rarely see a little. Consequently I can hardly 
move my knife and fork without running the risk of 
upsetting some glass top-heavy with flowers. This 
arrangement might be endured to a limited extent, 
but I do most vehemently protest against the strik¬ 
ing of big plants and even trees on a dinner table, 
and in such a manner that I cannot possibly see my 
opposite neighbour. . . I must further add that 
when I go out to dine I do not go to see a table 
flower show. I know such a flower show is often 
very pretty, and often furnishes opportunities for 
the display of a nice taste in schemes of colour and 
arrangement." In the next paragraph he betrays 
his carnal weakness for creature comforts, and 
suggests that some of the money wasted in excess of 
flowers should be utilised to procure a better brand 
of wine. This, of course, in more senses than one, 
is merely a matter of taste. 
The New Horticultural Hall at Massachusetts. 
—The photograph which the American Florists' Review 
reproduces in a recent issue is not likely to 
give a good impression of the interior arrangements 
of the hall. It looks like a crypt, and both the posi¬ 
tion and the light are badly chosen. 
Encroachments.—-It is well known to all those 
who study geology or geographical botany that at 
one time, in ages long past, our island was joined to 
the mainland. This separation did not take place 
in a few years, but has been a slow process and may 
be seen at work at the present time, especially on 
the east coast. All along the Yorkshire coast, and, 
in fact, with the exception of a few miles in the 
neighbourhood of Lowestoft, the sea is making vast 
encroachments all along the coast, and buildings, 
which within the remembrance of living people were 
some distance inland, are now washed by the waves, 
and in many instances destroyed altogether. 
Terrific Hailstorm at Hawick and District.— 
The south of Scotland was visited by the most 
disastrous thunderstorm within living memory. 
Untold damage has been done to property, gardens, 
crops, &c. The storm was accompanied by hail or 
rather lumps of ice, many of the pieces being over 
2 in., which lasted for about ten minutes. The 
nurseries of Mr. John Forbes at Hawick appear to 
have got the full force of the storm ; over 4,000 
panes of glass were broken, while in the grounds 
plants and flowers have suffered to an alarming 
extent, so that Mr. Forbes’ well known exhibits will 
be absent from many of the leading shows this 
autumn. Luckily the newest range of houses which 
fortunately contained the new Begonia Caledonia 
escaped with but slight damage. The storm lasted 
over five hours, during which time the rain fell in 
torrents and the thunder and lightning hardly ever 
ceased. 
The Scotch Arboricultural Society.—This well 
known society is again on its annual tour, and 
this year making a survey of the land of Burns. 
Leaving Edinburgh they journeyed to Ayr via 
Glasgow where their number was greatly augmented, 
and by additions at various intermediate stations the 
party numbered quite a hundred by the time they 
reached their headquarters, which was about 8 p.m. 
Later in the evening the party dined together at the 
“ Ayr Arms,” Mr. D. P. Laird, Pinkhill Nurseries, 
Murrayfield, presiding. In spite of the unpromising 
appearance of the weather the party turned out in 
full force in the morning. Amongst those present 
were Lord Mansfield, the president of the society ; 
Mr. Munro Ferguson, of Novar, the hon. sec.; Dr. 
Farquharson, M.P., of Finzean; Mr. Edward 
Tennant, The Glen, Innerleithen, and many other 
well known gentlemen interested in the good work 
of the society. Mr. D. P. Laird filled his usual post 
of director-general, and, as before, he proved the 
right man in the right place. The first place of 
interest visited was “ Allowa's auld hauntit kirk.” 
While in this district they visited the cottage in 
which Burns was born and the museum of relics of 
Scotland’s great poet. The party were deeply 
interested in all they saw, as indeed is every man 
who visits this place if he is a lover of the works of 
Burns. The party next visited the estate of Miss 
Catbcart, Auchendrane, and were rewarded with the 
pleasure of seeing many fine specimens of timber. 
One of the most unique features to be seen in this 
neighbourhood was the Union Avenue, which was 
planted in 1707 to commemorate the union of Scot¬ 
land with England. It is composed of Silver Firs 
and many fine specimens are to be seen. The girth 
of one which was measured by members of the party 
was 15 ft. 9 in. After a pleasant tour of this estate 
the party drove to Culzean Castle the seat of the 
Marquis of Ailsa. Here they were cordially re¬ 
ceived and entertained to luncheon. The party 
finished out their first day here and were conducted 
round the place and shown the principal items of 
interest by Mr. Smith, the factor, Mr. Paget, 
forester, Mr. Dalziel, forester, and Mr. David 
Murray, the head gardener. They arrived back at 
Ayr in time to hold the annual dinner of the society. 
Lord Mansfield presided and arrangements were 
afterwards made for the coming year. Norway 
is to be visited next year, and a committee was 
formed to make the necessary arrangements. We 
have not yet any accounts to hand of the other days' 
excursions. 
