744 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
August 29. 1903. 
NEWS OF THE WEEK. 
Tree within a Tree.— At Moulton, South iLiiucolnshire, 
there is a Willow tree which, in consequence of having been 
beheaded, and having reached an old age, has become hollow 
and rotten. From a seed which has dropped into the hollow a 
healthy Sycamore tree has grown to a height of 10ft. 
* * * 
The Recent Hurricane in Jamaica. —Sir Alfred Jones, inter¬ 
viewed recently on the Jamaica disaster and the Banana trade, 
spoke hopefully of the future, andi said lie was formulating a 
scheme for a planters’ assurance association on co-operative 
principles, so that loss would not bring financial ruin on busi¬ 
ness. All planters would be expected to contribute to the 
association. Although the damage had been tremendous, it 
would not take long to put things right, the Banana and all 
kinds of vegetables growing rapidly in Jamaica. 
* * ' ■* 
Potatos as Penwipers.— A big hotel in the metropolis uses 
bushels of Potatos a year for penwipersi on the tables in the 
writing-rooms. Every morning a large Potato is put in a com¬ 
partment of the pen box, and after twenty-four hours it is 
removed and another put in. Pens in penholders are stuck into 
the Potato half a dozen at a time, giving it the appearance of a 
porcupine. It is claimed that a Potato is the best preservative 
against rust and mildew available for pens. 
. * * * 
Accident to Mr. John A. Laing. —The other week, while 
cycling home from a flower show, Mr. John A. Laing, of Forest 
Hill, met with an accident that might have been more serious 
than it was. The roads were slippery, and his machine skidded, 
resulting to himself in a slight abrasion of the leg, but his 
machine was very much damaged. Some months ago Mr. Laing 
met with an accident that nearly cost him his life, the mishap 
occurring after darkness had set in. 
* * * 
The Gardeners’ Reception and Dinner.— The date of this 
interesting gathering, September 29th, is fast approaching. For 
that reason I ask your kind leave to draw the attention of those 
readers of The Gardening World who may purpose attending 
the dinner to the need of securing tickets early, as they are 
being rapidly taken up, and the number is limited. The 
function bids fair to be one of exceptional interest, and all 
sections of horticulturists, including, we trust, the fair sex, 
will be well represented. Amongst others, the veteran Dean 
Hole, of Rochester, has promised to attend, and we look for 
others eminent in horticulture to be there and support our 
esteemed chairman, Leopold de Rothschild, Esq. Now that 
it is so evident the end of the Chiswick Garden as such is near, 
all who can should take advantage of the fruit and vegetable 
show there on the 29th to see it once more, then to the dinner. 
Applications for tickets should come direct to me at 62, Rich¬ 
mond Road, Kingston-on-Thames. Alex. Dean. 
* * * 
Enclosure op Stonehenge. —With reference to the enclosure 
of this ancient monument, the Right Hon. G. Shaw Lefevre, 
chairman of the Commons and Footpaths Preservation Society, 
has addressed a letter to Lord Edmond Fitzmaurice, the chair¬ 
man of the Wilts County Council. In this he sets forth two 
decisions of the said Council appearing in the local papers. 
One of these was that it declined to contribute to the cost of 
the legal proceedings about to be undertaken by the society 
to .vindicate the right of public access to the monument. The 
other was that the Council agreed to forward to the Government 
the offer of the owner to sell his interest in the monument and 
eight acres of land for £50,000. On the other hand, the appeal 
of the society for support from the general public met with such 
a response that the society found themselves in a position to 
undertake the necessary steps to determine the question of right, 
and they instructed their solicitors to commence legal proceed¬ 
ings. However, as some time must elapse before the end of 
the Long Vacation, there will be ample time to negotiate with 
the Government, the owner, and all others concerned. The 
society thinks, however, that the existing fence should be re¬ 
moved, whatever protection it may be necessary to make for 
the preservation of the monument afterwards. The society also 
thinks that the legal issues involved in this case will have a 
great bearing on other cases of a similar kind in other parts of 
the country. The society also thinks that unless the owner’s 
terms of purchase are much more reasonable than those now 
offered, it would be much more to the interests of the public 
that the right of access to the monument should be determined 
in the first instance. 
Rate Blackberries. —A fine bunch of ripe Blackberries was 
gathered on the 8th inst. by Mr. A. Lower, in his garden at St. 
Mawes, Cornwall. On the 12th inst. Mr. Clifford, Behenna, 
picked ripe Blackberries at St. Just, Cornwall. The harvest is 
progressing northward, for I gathered ripe Blackberries on the 
outskirts of Guildford, Surrey, on the 25th inst.—G. C. 
* * * 
The Hampton Court Vine.— Despite its quite respectable 
antiquity, the famous Vine at Hampton Court continues to 
flourish, and this year is bearing 1,000 bunches of grapes, 
which will be fully ripe in a month's time. Half a century ago 
the average yield was 2,400 bunches, but lately, as the result of 
advancing age, the clusters have considerably thinned. The 
Vine was planted when George III. was King, in the year 1767. 
* * * 
Fruit Crop at Nottingham.— A Nottingham fruiterer the 
other day stated that he expected the nine acres of land which 
he devoted to the growing of fruit to yield this year a distress¬ 
ingly small harvest! so disastrous has been the effect of the 
weather this season. He has been in the trade for many years, 
and he declared he has never known worse conditions to prevail. 
What little fruit was left until recently has since been blown 
from the trees by the rough winds or destroyed by the heavy 
rain. 
* * * 
Death after Eating Melon.— The death of a schoolboy 
named Tonner, residing with his parents at Little Drummains, 
near Mollinsburn, N.B., occurred on the 16th inst., under 
extraordinary circumstances. Tonner, while at Auchinstarry, 
near Kilsyth, was given a piece of Melon. After eating part 
of the fruit lie was seized with violent sickness. Tonner was 
taken into a house by the wayside, and, after attention, was 
, removed home. His death is being inquired into by the 
authorities. 
* * * 
Heavy Tolls at Covent Garden. —Messrs. Wyld and Robins, 
market gardeners, who claimed £9,604 in the Westminster High 
Bailiff’s Court, on the 4th inst., in respect of pre¬ 
mises at 19, James Street, Covent Garden, which are 
being acquired by the Great Northern, Piccadilly, and 
Brompton Railway, said their shop was peculiarly valu¬ 
able, as it was free from the Duke of Bedford’s market tolls, 
which varied from gd. to 4d. on each package sent in. A wit¬ 
ness stated that the toll on half a bushel of plums was gd., 
whether the value was Is. or 25s. The tolls more than doubled 
the rent in some cases. The jury awarded £5,435. 
* * * 
Pests in the Trees.— The fine trees in the park avenue from 
Palmerston Road to- Hanover Buildings, Southampton, have 
been attacked by blight and also by a host of caterpillars, which 
have destroyed the leaves and buds, and threatened to kill the 
trees themselves. With a view of exterminating the insects, 
Superintendent Johnson brought out the new steam fire engine 
recently, and with the assistance of the men of the brigade 
ran out the hose the full length of the avenue, and commenced 
to play upon the trees. For something like two hours the men 
were thus employed, and thousands of insects were dislodged, 
the park railings and the grass around being literally covered. 
The trees were afterwards sprinkled with a specially-prepared 
solution, and the bark painted with it, the authorities hoping 
that this would prove effective. The novel sight of the fire 
engine and men being thus employed brought hundreds of 
people to the park during the morning. 
* * ■* 
Fruit Famine in Cambridgeshire. —The general scarcity of 
home-grown fruit this year amounts to almost a famine in the 
famous Greengage and Plum growing districts of south-west 
Cambridgeshire. So complete was the destruction of the crop 
by the spring frosts that in some orchards there are absolutely 
none, while in others two or three on a tree are all that can be 
seen. Only two years ago, of Greengages alone the consignments 
from the villages of Meldreth and Melbourn from the little 
station on the Great Northern Railway which serves the two 
villages amounted on two’ days to 30 tons each day, and! one 
week’s return was 140 tons of Gages from this small station. For 
the occupiers of small homesteads with orchards attached, of 
whom there are quite a number in the villages hereabouts, the 
present scarcity is a serious loss indeed. In a fruitful year an 
orchard will pay nearly the whole year’s rent of a homestead, but 
this year it will mean £100 rental for a house worth in itself 
£20, and no produce from the orchard. 
