August 1, 1903. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
667 
kitchen garden and glass-houses the visitors were able to see 
growing some of the charming Pelargoniums, Coleus, and Cala- 
diums with which Mr. Birkbeck is usually successful as an 
exhibitor at our Norwich shows. Fruit trees here, as is the 
case at most local gardens, are but poorly bearing this year, 
but the bush fruits and Strawberries were well covered, 
especially some plants of the latter of the Waterloo and Latest 
of All varieties. It was at Stratton Strawless Hall that Mar- 
sham, the great arboriculturist and horticulturist, devoted much 
time to planting trees in the 17th century, and the specimens 
pointed, out by Mr. Birkbeck—of which, by the way, he is 
justly proud—showed the care taken by this old gardener to 
select good, clean, long stems for the production of the best 
timber. Beeches seem to have adapted themselves best to the 
soil, though some very tine Oaks are to be seen, and a Cedar, 
“ the pride of the place,” takes four men to reach round it, 
and has a clear stem of over 40 ft. Before departing, a hearty 
vote of thanks was accorded to Mr. Birkbeck. The party drove 
on to the Cross Keys, St. Faith’s, where tea was partaken of, 
after which bowls, etc., were indulged in. At a short meeting 
which followed all expressed themselves satisfied with the enjoy¬ 
able day’s outing. 
NEWS OF THE WEEK. 
Correction.— On Page 641, in the top line of the second 
column, for “A. Pinsajo,” read “A. Pinsapo.” 
* * * 
Strawberries at A uchteiimuchty.— A quantity of Straw¬ 
berries, of the variety Royal Sovereign, were pulled in the 
garden of Bailie Pratt the other day. One of them, on being 
weighed, turned the scale at If ounces. 
* * * 
Mr. James Moir, late head gardener for the past seven and 
a half years to Sir John Watson, Bart., of Earnock, Hamilton, 
N.B., has been appointed head gardener and manager for J. A. 
Shepherd, Esq., lessee of Delvino House, Murthly, Perthshire. 
* * * 
Lilium Auratum at Bournville.— The Golden-rayed Lily of 
Japan has been behaving erratically again, on this occasion in 
the garden of Mr. John Coppage, 20, Elm Road, Bournville, 
Birmingham. The plant stands 4g ft. high, and carries 66 
flowers, forming one large cluster. Originally there were 71 
blooms on the stem. He bought the bulb for Is. 3d., and gave 
the plant no special treatment. 
* * * 
Journal of the Horticultural Society of Japan. —No. 133 
of the above journal, for June 16th, 1903, has reached us. It 
contains an article on the “ Culture of Chrysanthemums,” by 
Y. Murakami; also “ Villa of the Ancient Daimiyo de Shira- 
kawa,,” by B. Uzuwa, and “ Japanese Plants for the Foreigner,” 
that is, for exportation to other countries, by S. Yoshida. Other 
articles are “ Commercial Situation of Alliaria Wasabi, Prantll 
at Tientsing ” ; “ Exportation of Mushrooms (Shiitake) of 
Fouchou,” and “ The Employment of Peat for the Packing of 
Lily Bulbs.” The exportation and importation of horticultural 
products is another subject discussed. We are afraid, however, 
that our readers will not be able to make much of this journal, 
owing to its being printed in Japanese characters, 
* * * 
Stourbridge Public Gardens Opened.— Mrs. Isaac Nash re¬ 
cently performed the ceremony of opening the public gardens 
in Greenfield Avenue, Stourbridge, the site of which was ac¬ 
quired by the Stourbridge Urban District Council in the spring 
of 1901. The purchaser of the land had a double object in 
view the opening of a long-needed road between Worcester 
Street and Loughlands, while the area of land left afforded 
the desideratum of a public recreation ground. The profits 
f fl 6 8 asw ? r ^ s afforded the necessary sum for the purchase 
wncnv in question, a little over four acres, the cost being 
i^,U59. For laying out the gardens, as they are to be called, 
generous assistance has been given by a number of gentlemen. 
Mr. W. S. Foster has given £250, Mr. I. Nash, Mr. A W 
Worthington, and Mr. R. Priest £100 each, Mr. Watson Smith 
bnn^i° ge i^ er v ^ 50 Mr ’ Walter Jones gives a handsome 
andstand (which there has not yet been time to complete), Mr. 
of fr P mrtLo Wl il lamS ^ 1VeS a dls P la Y fountain, and a number 
g ntiemen have given seats for the grounds. There was 
fcot Sr Ha "' »*» ** Ve“ 
Wistaria chinensis is already flowering for the second time 
this year in Surrey gardens. 
* » * 
Royal Warrant for Messrs. Metiiven and Sons. —We are 
pleased to note that Messrs. Thomas Methven and Sons, of 
Princes Street, Edinburgh, have had the honour of receiving from 
the Lord Steward a warrant of appointment to His Majesty the 
King. They formerly held a warrant from her late Majesty 
Queen Victoria. 
* * * 
The Honeysuckle and the Bee. —Another popular legenl 
has been exploded. Mr. Travers Jenkins, in his address to the 
Swansea Teachers’ Association upon Nature study, remarked 
that although they had all heard of the “ Honeysuckle and the 
bee,” immortalised in popular verse, as a matter of cold, hard, 
scientific fact, the Honeysuckle was never frequented by that 
industrious insect 1 
* * * 
Mr. James Bolton, for many years second in charge of 
the gardens at Cambridge Lodge, Kew, has. now been appointed 
head gardener, on the resignation of Mr. Dunkirk. For many 
years Mr. Bolton served as second gardener when the estab¬ 
lishment belonged to the late Duchess of Cambridge. At the 
death of the latter the place passed into the hands of His Royal 
Highness the Duke of Cambridge. The Duke was so highly 
pleased with Mr. Bolton that he gave him an excellent character 
for devoted attention to duty and earnestness in work, and 
offered him the appointment of head gardener, which Mr. Bolton 
accepted. 
* * ■* 
Giant Peaches. —President Roosevelt was recently the re¬ 
cipient of an immense box of unusually fine Peaches. These 
were sent from Elber, near Carlsbad, New Mexico. This fine 
fruit was gathered from a tree of the Elberta variety growing 
in the orchard of Mr. R. M. Love. The product of these trees 
is out of the ordinary, and this particular tree is the largest 
and most prolific in the orchard. The fruit was lOin. in cir¬ 
cumference, and averaged “ one peach to a pound,” and was 
grown under irrigation. 
* * * 
Chinese and Japanese Cabbages. —According to Professor 
Maumene, the only Japanese Cabbages meriting the attention 
of European growers are the China Cabbage (Brassica sinensis), 
the Mitsuna, and the Takana. The first is already cultivated 
in Europe, under the name of Pe-tsai. There is more than one 
variety of this rather open Cabbage. The Mitsuna is sown in 
marshy land in autumn, and cut in springtime. The Takana, 
or tall Cabbage, has long narrow leaves, which are salted and 
eaten like the German sauerkraut. Another Japanese vegetable 
is Chinese Mustard, resembling the white Mustard of Russia. 
The Soja, another plant, yields a seed from which a nourishing 
gelatine and a sort of marmalade are made. 
* * * 
Banana Opening. —Apropos of the proposed construction of 
light railways or tramways in British Honduras, it may be 
noted that the Colonial Secretary at Belize in his communica¬ 
tion stated that, in the event of the proposed lines being carried 
into effect, a Banana plantation started on the line and gradually 
developed into a Rubber and Cocoa estate would, it is believed, 
if worked by anyone possessed of the necessary capital, energy 
and. general knowledge of the business, prove a great success 
and yield a large profit. 
* * * 
The Potato as a Source of Wealth in Germany. —The 
American Consul-General in Berlin takes occasion, by a re¬ 
cent technical exhibition there, to report on the cultivation 
and economic uses of the Potato in Germany. The cultiva¬ 
tion on a large scale dates from the latter part of the 18th 
century. In 1901, out of the whole area of arable land in the 
empire, 12^ per cent, of the whole was under the Potato. For 
every 10,000 inhabitants 160 acres were planted with Potatos, 
against 98 acres in France, 31 in Great Britain and Ireland, and 
34'8 in the United States. In 1901 the total production in 
Germany was over 48^ million metric tons (2,204 lbs.). The 
sandy plains of Northern and Central Germany are well adapted 
by nature to the cultivation, and elaborate experiments in scien¬ 
tific fertilising and cultivation have increased the production 
per acre by about 38 per cent, in the last ten years. The result 
has been, that the crop reached the danger point of ever-pro- 
duction in 1901, and accordingly there was in that year an 
enormous increase m Potato alcohol, and the market was glutted 
with raw spirit. In February, 1902, there was an exhibition 
in Berlin to illustrate and promote the use of denaturalised 
