902 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
October 24. 1903. 
Lavender, and Eucalyptus—have proved powerful antiseptics, 
and flowers of delicate perfumes quiet the nerves of invalids. 
Flowers harmful to the sick, we are told,, on the other hand, 
are the Violet, Lily of the Valley, and Carnation. 
* * * 
Big Mushroom. —A Mushroom measuring 30 in. m circum¬ 
ference, and weighing 16 lbs., has been gathered at North 
Walsham, Norfolk. 
* * * 
Successful Potato Growing. —Eleven Fctatos of the Scottish 
Triumph variety, planted by Mr. George Bugg, Helpringliam, 
have produced four stones of sound tubers. 
* * * 
Big Potato. —The other week, a monster Potato, measuring 
20 in. in diameter and 11 in. long, was raised in the garden of 
Mrs. Jones, of Plasnewydd Buildings, Abergele. 
«■ * * 
Raspberries and Strawberries are still growing in the gar¬ 
den of Ludie Castle, near Dundee, Mrs. J. D. Adams having 
pulled some well-developed specimens of each on the 14t,h inst. 
Large Potatos. —There is at present to be seen in the shop 
of Mr. N. Smith, of Blackburn, Aberdeen, 12 Potatos grown by 
Mr. Jas. Maitland, Scotsmill, Kinaldie, which weigh 15 lbs. 
7 ozs. 
* * * 
Bulbs for West Bromwich. —Messrs. Bakers, seedsmen, of 
Lichfield Street, Wolverhampton, have secured the contract for 
the supply of bulbs for the West Bromwich parks during the 
current year. 
* * * 
Death of Mr. W. H. Turner. —On the 16tli inst. the remains 
of Mr. William Henry Turner, florist, of 2, Parker Street and 
the Greenhill Nursery, Garston, Liverpool, were laid to rest in 
the Smithdown Road Cemetery. 
* * * 
Potato Northern Star. —At Doncaster, on the 17th inst., 117 
lots of Northern Star Potato grown by Mr. Thos. Frost, of 
Doncaster, at Crowle, were sold, the price realised being from 
30s. to 48s. per stone (72s. per pack of 21 lbs.), and the average 
made 38s. Tier stone. 
* * * 
Trees in Liscard Park, Wallasey. —The inhabitants of Wal¬ 
lasey, or the sporting section of them, are greatly concerned 
about the trees round the lake in Liscard Park, which prevent 
a free current of wind, and therefore spoil the sailing contests 
by the Wirral Mdclel Yacht Club. They say that another 
season’s growth of the trees and shrubs on the banks will com¬ 
pletely spoil the lake for model yacht sailing. Some of them 
desire the Parks Committee to remove the daily-increasing mass 
of shrubs and trees. We hope the committee will consider the 
matter well before spoiling the trees for the sake of yacht 
racing. 
° * * * 
Home-coming Festivities. —On the 3rd inst. Messrs. J. Cheal 
and Sons, of Lowfield Nurseries, Crawley, Sussex, entertained 
all their employees, with their wives and families, in honour 
of the home-coming of Mr. Ernest Cheal with his bride ; also 
as a welcome to Mr. and Mrs. Annett, on their return from 
Ceylon, where they were married last March, Mrs. Annett being 
the eldest daughter and Mr. Ernest Cheal the eldest son of Mr. 
J. Cheal, the senior member of the firm. The firm had arranged 
for various sports in a meadow in the afternoon. The Temper¬ 
ance Band, composed almost entirely of the employees of the 
firm, under the leadership of Mr. C. W. Chantler, the foreman 
of the nurseries, added much to the enjoyment of the afternoon. 
An adjournment was made at five o’clock to a large marquee, 
wdiere over 200 sat down to a substantial tea. Mr. J. Cheat 
afterwards alluded to the occasion which had brought them to¬ 
gether, and the family felt that they would like all the em¬ 
ployees to share in the rejoicings over the double event, and 
it gave them much pleasure to meet together in this social 
manner. Mr. C. W. Chantler voiced the feelings of the em¬ 
ployees. Mr. Ernest Cheal replied, saying that he and his wife 
were gratified to receive such a hearty welcome. Mr. Annett 
also suitably responded on behalf of himself and his wife. The 
tent was then quickly cleared, and arranged for a magic lantern, 
and Mr. J. Cheal gave an interesting account of a recent visit 
to the United States and Canada, illustrated by a number of 
slides prepared from photos taken by himself. Mr. Annett 
followed with a selection of slides illustrative of Ceylon scenery 
and life. 
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 
The Editor invites enquiries for reply in this column. These 
enquiries may cover any branch of gardening. Questions should be 
put as briefly as possible, and written on one side of the paper only ; 
a separate sheet of paper should be used for each question. 
Readers are also invited to give their fellow gardeners the benefit 
o+ their experience by sending supplementary replies. 
Replies cannot be sent by post, even if a stamped , addressed 
envelope is enclosed , and the return of specimens cannot be undertaken. 
Anonymous communications are treated in the usual editorial manner . 
Address letters: The Editor, “The Gardening World,” 37 and 
38, Shoe Lane, London, E.C. 
Carboline for painting hot-water pipes. 
We are making some inquiries, and hope to be able to tell you 
something definite in next week’s issue. 
Varieties of Vegetables. (H, Jone.3.) 
Your letter was sent too late to give us time to make in¬ 
quiries, hut you may consult next week’s issue. 
Carbide of Calcium as a manure. (Ayrshire.) 
Carbide of calcium consists chiefly of hydrated calcium; that is, 
lime and water, being something like slaked lime. It should be 
fairly pure, however, and for that reason very strong, so that you 
should use it in moderation. It is somewhat similar to gas lime, 
but does not smell so offensively. We should advise you to use it 
much in the same way as gas lime by applying it to the ground 
a couple of months previous to sowing or planting anything on 
the same. It need not be applied in such large quantities as 
that usually is, but it much depends upon the richness of your 
soil and the quantity of decaying vegetable matter in it as to the 
results you will get by applying carbide. We should not apply it 
except for some specific purpose to light sandy soils, but you will 
he safe to use it on heavy clay loams and black soils containing 
much decaying farmyard manure or other vegetable matter. 
Burning Clay. (C. E. W.) 
The process is just as you describe it, namely, by lighting a heap 
of coals and then placing a layer of clay over it, and then another 
of coals, and so on. We believe that wood is sometimes used for 
getting the necessary heap of fire, but that will depend upon your 
convenience. When once you get a good body of fire it would be 
quite possible to succeed in burning the clay by putting on an 
extra layer occasionally. After you get a considerable body of 
burning material the heat is great, and the fact of placing clay 
over it prevents the heat from escaping, so that it does more work 
before getting exhausted. It is chiefly a. matter for your dis¬ 
cretion, however, and when you have plenty of fire in the heap 
you can lay on clay liberally, but should the fire get much 
reduced it will be necessary to apply more coals. A little practice 
will soon let you see what amount of clay you can put on with 
safety at any given time and expect that it will burn properly. 
The fire will have to be closely watched until it has made a good 
start, after which you can leave it for longer or shorter periods. 
Malignant properties of Primula obconica. (James Bethel.) 
We are not aware whether any experiments have been made 
to 1 determine the chemical causes underlying the malignant pro¬ 
perties of Primula obconica. In the case of the Nettle the pain 
is caused by the presence of formic acid. In various other cases 
the poison would be due tc some principle or other peculiar to 
any given plant, and possibly its allies. In this case we scarcely 
think the poison is present in any quantity, because very few 
people are really injured by it, although the plant is grown in 
thousands in various parts of the country. The mere fact that 
some people are injured by it and 01110115 receive no harm would 
simply indicate that it is largely a question of constitution. Even 
the same person might be injured at one time by it and not at 
another. This, of course, would point to the same thing. In the 
case of Primula obconica the poison resides chiefly in the glands 
upon the leaves and flower stalks, which you can see with the 
naked eye. 
Principles of Rotation (F. D.) 
This consists principally in classifying plants that are allied, 
and never allowing them to be sown or planted two years in 
succession upon the same piece of ground. The reason for this is 
twofold, one being the question of plant food. Certain plants 
absorb certain mineral elements in greater or less quantity from 
the soil, thus leaving it poorer in those constituents. Other 
plants would absorb a greater quantity of some other elements of 
plant food, so that if sown or planted on the same ground next 
year the soil would not be able to supply a sufficient quantity of 
these elements to enable the plants to make good growth. It is 
