December 12. 190 J - 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
1021 
DECEMBER 12, 1903. Gardening World. 
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EDITORIAL NOTES. 
Vogue for fhe Cactus- 
About six or seven decades ago the 1 Cactus 
family was at the height of its fame or 
popularity. Since then, its cultivation has 
settled down to normal grades of cultivation ; 
that is, a certain proportion of them are 
grown in collections of plants, but they bear 
a due ratio in proportion to their utility, 
lliey never reach a, very great vogue except 
in the hands, of the specialist, and in pro¬ 
portion as specialists multiply so. may the 
Cactus be regarded as popular. A daily 
contemporary says that it has found its way 
into favour again, but from what source the 
information is derived we are unable to say. 
We know that a good many of the culti¬ 
vators have taken up Cacti, or, at least, a 
certain section, of them, but these cultivators 
are not particularly numerous, nor do they 
fill the whole of any cultivator’s houses in 
the same way a-s Chrysanthemums or Orchids 
would. In the early, Victorian, era it is 1 
stated that 30 guineas was no* uncommon 
price for an Echinoeactus. That is, of course, 
a. much smaller price than would be obtain¬ 
able and frequently asked for certain 
Orchids, or even for Potatos at, the present 
time. We know also- that 50 guineas is; 
sometimes' asked for a. bulb of some choice 
new Daffodil. In any case, we shall wait 
calmly for the advent of the Cactus in the 
same vogue as those flowers we have named. 
A Proliferous Pine- 
It seems that a very interesting specimen 
was sent by the late Comte de Paris in 1894 
to Sir W. T. Thiselton Dyer. This cone 
belonged to the Stone Pine (Pinus pinea) 
which in the South of Europe is used as ai 
market commodity, the seeds being edible. 
The cone in this country is 3 in. or 4 in. 
long, but is said to attain a, length of 6 in. 
in the South of Europe ; but the cone in- 
question, according to “Knowledge,” was 
only 3 in. long, the diminution in size being 
due to the smaller number of scales. When 
discovered it was lying on the ground with 
a shoot growing out, at the apex of the cone. 
This terminal shoot was already 6 in. long, 
and was taken, home by the Comte de Paris, 
who left it on a, table for a month. During 
all this time the shoot continued to grow 
until more than a foot in length, with three 
branches. The axis must then have been ex¬ 
hausted, for the shoot ceased to grow' and 
died in spite of eveiy attention. Prolifica- 
tion is a very frequent phenomenon amongst 
plants, but it would seem that this is the 
only case in which it has been recorded in. a, 
Pine cone. We have, however, seen short 
growths made from the apex of the cones of 
Cryptomeria japonica, and believe it is not 
uncommon in that species. 
— o— 
Potato Growing Tests. 
During the past season Mr. A. S. Lear- 
month, of Balderston Farm, Linlithgow, 
made a special trial of twenty-nine varieties 
of Potatos. The idea was to place the tubers 
under identical conditions as to treatment. 
During the last autumn 20 tons 1 per acre of 
farmyard manure were spread on the 
stubble and ploughed in. At planting time 
an artificial manure was applied at, the rate 
of 7-1, cwt. per acre. Sixty whole sets 
weighing 20 oz. each of the different 
varieties were planted, one row each of 60 ft. 
in length. The tubers were lifted at the be>- 
ginning of November, in order to prove their 
capabilities for resisting disease. The variety 
Evergood came out on the top of the list 
with 10 tons 3 cw r t. of first-class Potatos, 
2 tons 13 cwt. 2 lb. of second quality, 13 cwt. 
2 lb. of very small tubers, and not a, single 
pound of diseased, that being the only ex¬ 
ception to the twenty-nine varieties used on 
this occasion. Other varieties that turned 
out well in, the order of merit were Farmer’s 
Glory, The Factor, Up toi Date, Main Crop,. 
British Queen, Sutton’s Abundance, Market 
Favourite, Dobbie’s Improved Kidney, and 
Royal Kidney. Fanner’s Glory, being 
second best, gave 9 tons 3 cwt. of first-class 
tubers, 1 ton 12 cwt, second class, 1 ton 3 
cwt, third class-, and 1 ton diseased. Royal 
Kidney, for total weight of produce, dropped 
down, to 9 tons 7 cwt. 16 lb., of which only 
7 cwt, 2 lb. were diseased. The others 
tried did not give so good results' as those 
we have named. 
—o— 
The Garden City Scheme- 
Quite recently Mr. Ebenezer Howard, the 
originator of the. Garden City scheme, de¬ 
livered a lecture in the Foresters Hall, 
Dundee, before a large audience. The lec¬ 
turer said that the subject-was of the 
greatest national concern on account of the 
overcrowding of great cities and the depopu¬ 
lation of rural districts. Many parts of the 
island, lie said, were becoming absolutely 
unproductive, because there was not a suffi¬ 
cient number of people on the soil. Men 
and women, who lived all their lives in great 
cities were unfitted and disinclined for agri¬ 
cultural work. Something, however, must 
be clone to attract people back to the land, 
and the only way clear to 1 him was to create 
attractions in, new areas which would cause 
people to come out from the cities. His 
plan was to make it possible for an indus¬ 
trial population to be able to carry on their 
vocation and earn a living in these less 
crowded districts. The plan was to buy a 
large tract of land and to build a. model town 
upon it as it ought to be. The city would be 
confined to a small area and be surrounded 
by its own belt of land, which would never 
be crowded with buildings. There was to 
be plenty of space, and the buildings not 
huddled together, and no cottage would 
occupy less than one-tenth of an acre of 
ground. The land formerly valueless would 
become highly valuable, and he considered 
that the people who created this value should 
enjoy it. The manufacturers would be 
attracted to the new areas, where they could 
build factories in a more or less isolated 
position, with their workers in the immediate 
neighbourhood. 
— 0 —• 
Grape Reine Olga de Wurtemberg. 
There is a fine Vine of this variety on a 
wall in the nursery of Mr. Will Tayler, Hamp¬ 
ton, Middlesex. Last year it carried 146 
bunches of Grapes, and a similar number 
this year. 
