126 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
February 6. 1904. 
The Bo Tree atAdmiradhapura, Ceylon, which was planted 
dose to a Buddhist shrine 245 n.e., is now 2,148 years old. 
•X - "X" 
Railway Carriage of Apples.— It costs very mud, more to 
send a ton of Apples from Kent into London than it does to 
send the same amount to London from C^ifomia, #d a gn 
of Pears will come from Flushing at just half tin- o 
is made when they start from Queenborough. 
■X* ■X - ^ 
The Leek.— This vegetable was for many years confined to 
Scotland and Wales, but English growers have awakened to its 
value as a table vegetable, and some very hue types are now 
available. Leeks are now greatly favoured by most people, and 
may be grown to a large size and of fine quality by being treated 
in the. same way as Celery. 
•Wr vv 
Veoet able Cancer in Ferns.— In discussing that artificial 
production of vegetable cancer in Ferns, which has thrown so 
much light upon that terrible disease, it is only J u ',j to ref “ 
in tbe work of Messrs. Farmer, Moore, and M alker. They we 
led to the same line of investigation by the st udy of the •extent to 
which all animals suffer from cancer, and of the conditions who i 
are common to those different forms of life. 
* * * 
A Luminous Fungus.— “ The Diario de Rebeirao,” Preto, 
directs attention to a little-known plant found m Brazil m the 
neighbourhood of San Paulo, and which would appear to possess 
some curious properties. During the night it is stated to emit 
luminous rays of such brilliancy as to admit of the ord + 1T1 ^y 
print of a newspaper being read by its light. It belongs o . 
same family as the Mushroom, though not similar to it m form. 
The Four National Emblems.— At a meeting of the St 
Peter’s U.F. Church Literary Society, Peterhead, Zeld in 
the Church Hall—Rev. James. Halliday, presiding—Mr. A M D 
Reid M.A., delivered an, interesting and instructive lecture 
on “ Some Quaint and Curious Legends from FloweHand . The 
origin of the four national emblems—the Rose the Thistle the 
Shamrock, and the Leek-was explained and illusfcated1 by 
reference to the legends of flower lore. Numerous othei flowers 
and plants were similarly dealt with. Several of the membeis 
expressed their views on the isn'bjedt, and at the close Mr. KeU 
was cordially thanked for his lecture. 
° At 44 -X- 
The Fruiterers’ Company.— The Feast Day of the Conversion 
of St. Paul, the patron saint of London, was celebrated on the 
26th ult., according to custom, by the Fruiterers’ Company the 
members of which dined together, under the presidency of the 
Master (Mr. Rowland E. Whitehead), at Skmners Hall, Dow- 
cratei Hill The Lord Mayor submitted the toast of flie 
Master ” his Lordship alluding to the close relationship between 
the Master and Sir James Whitehead, who served the citizens 
in the capacity of Lord Mayor with great distinction. Ihe 
Master acknowledged the toast, and reminded those present ot 
the labours, of the company in the promotion, of fruit culture 
in Great Britain. 
German Potato Cultivation. —The. farmers of Germany are 
noted for their adoption of scientific methods, particularly in the 
cultivation of Potatos, which is their great speciality. To avoid 
the effects of in-breeding, the scientific German farmer rarely 
plants seed Potatos from his own fields. He either gets new 
varieties from the experimental stations, or exchanges with his 
neighbours, whose farms possess soil differing from that of his 
own farm. An interesting fact is that. Potatos grown on high 
hill slopes' produce best when planted in valleys, and that 
Potatos from the heavy, wet land make the best seed for use in 
light, dry soils. * „ 
Bigarpellary Fruits of French Bean.— At a meeting of the 
Limnean Society of London, on 21st January, 1904, Dr. Erie 
Drabble, F.L.Si, exhibited a lantern slide showing diagrams of 
bicarpellary fruits of the French Bean. The specimens of 
Phaseolus vulgaris, Savi, were obtained from a garden on the 
Middle Coal-measures of North Derbyshire. In the simplest 
case there is present on, the posterior aspect of the normal carpel 
a second smaller carpel with reversed orientation and without 
seeds. In other cases the second carpel attains to at least one- 
half the size of the normal anterior one, and is fused with the 
latter proximally in such a manner as to give rise to a unilocular 
fruit with parietal placentation, the carpels being free from one 
another in their distal portion. In other cases the two carpels 
are of approximately the same size, and both bear seeds. They 
are completely fused below to form a unilocular ovary, while 
above they divaricate from one another. It was pointed ou' 
that although the Leguminosae are typically monocarpel Ian 
certain members of the order are bi- or even poly-carpellary 
but in these cases the polyearpellary fruit is of an apocarpou 
nature. It would appear, therefore, that the specimen 
described in some sense revert to ancestral conditions, in so f; 
as their bicarpellary nature is concerned, but, that their synca 
pons nature is anomalous. Comparison with related order 
e a the Connaraceae, confirms this opinion. 
’ * * * 
Transit or Fruit, etc. —Railway companies are awakenii 
to the advantages to be derived by them from a resuscitation 
the fanning and market garden industries, and are offering ten 
for the conveyance of goods that should have a fostering infl 
e n,ce. From a revised statment of rates just issued by t 
London and South-Western Railway Company it appears tli 
a hamper weighing 241b., and containing, say, cream, egi 
poultry, meat, fruit, vegetables, etc., is carried a distance of 1. 
miles for 9d. and delivered free. Special rates are also giv. 
for all kinds of farm produce.’ 
* * * 
Flowers in Radium. —Flowers are now entering into the fid 
as centres of radio activity. It is known, says the “ Birminglia 
Daily Post,” that selenium is strangely affected by light, al 
becomes, in fact, an electric conductor, permitting a current i 
pass under the influence of light, and stopping it on the li t 
being removed. Certain flowers have been found to have je 
same” influence on selenium as light. If Pelargoniums, Si- 
flowers, and Vervaine are brought into proximity to seieniu 
which has stopped an electric current, the selenium at once cs- 
plays unmistakable signs of “ perceiving ’ the presence of e 
flower or its odour, and, becoming a conductor, permits e 
electric current to pass. 
* * * 
N-Rays in Flowers. — M. de Lepinay finds that. N-rays 'e 
produced by sonorous vibrations. He employed a tuning fu, 
gong, and a suspended steel struck by a hammer to vilnate id 
yield the rays. Sulphide of calcium was used to detect the r s, 
and the relative positions of it and the vibrator were kept ri¬ 
al t-ered in the tests, so as to avoid the effect of any permaint 
emission of rays due to tempering, not vibration. The air itdf 
vibrating in a siren also yelded the rays. M. Meyer has so 
found that plants and Vegetables emit N-rays. The enharid 
brightness of the fluorescent, or phosphorescent, material w.ch 
reveals the presence of the rays was less marked at the Acts 
than at the leaves, branches, and roots. A lively Limine tv 
is observed with Onions or vegetables deprived of chloroplll. 
and Mushrooms. 
* * ■* 
A Tree-planting Day for the Midlands.— The secret;ies 
of the Midland Reafforesting Association visited Stourbige 
a few days ago to explain to the members of the Old Edwar.au 
Club the aims and objects of the reafforesting movement; lie 
association promises more than a mere landscape improvennt 
desirable as this certainly is.. In course of time the tirnh ot 
the woods, which, the association affirm, can be grown ion 
the pit mounds, would become an appreciable commercial ab't: 
while at a much earlier date the residential value of the lus 
adjoining the timber plantations would become greatly enha-e l. 
A suggestion was thrown out. at the meeting that a Tree-pla: my 
Day, such as is in vogue in Switzerland, might be establ lie 
in certain localities, when the children of the elementary scion 
could sally forth to* plant tiny trees over such pit mount in 
their district as might be, most suitable. As the trees uml 
be obtained at the rate of 35s. per 10,000, the cost of sin. an 
expedition would not. be prohibitive, and if only small rmlh 
accrued, the active sympathies of the children would at ea*t 
be enlisted. 
* * * 
Future of the Botanical Gardens, Manchester.- Tin 
future of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Old Trafford, was like 
over at the annual meeting of the Botanical and Horticu uva 
Society in Manchester on the 28th ult. The Lord Mayo san 
the present state of things could not go on. Lately the galem 
had been offered to Stretford. No doubt the District Cjnci 
thought the conditions were favourable, and would he aoptec 
by their constituents, hut by a vote of the people the offehad 
been declined. It was a pity that a society like the oya 
Botanical should be allowed to lapse, and no one would >e n 
in the end more than the people of Stretford. Though the ha 
failed with Stretford, he hoped the committee would be a.e tc 
make some' arrangements to preserve the place as an openpact 
and pleasure ground for the people. He could not suggei any 
