332 
THE GARDENING WORLD . 
April 23, 1904. 
paradoxical as it may seem, the Dutch growers are amongst the 
larger buyers, taking away many tons to replenish tlieir stocks. 
* * * 
Death of a Hampton Court Palace Gardener. —On April 
13th the funeral took place at the cemetery of the late Mr. George 
Pitt, whose death occurred at Spring Gardens on the previous 
Sundav, after a short illness. Deceased had been employed in 
the Royal Gardens at Hampton Court Palace, and was highly 
esteemed by his fellow-workmen. 
* * * 
The Conservatories at Schonbritnn. —The beautiful conser¬ 
vatories at the Emperor of Austria’s palace, Schonbrunn, are 
being very carefully attended to at present, and all the choicest 
buds’ and blossoms are being spared, so that there may be a fine 
show of flowers for the banquet to be given in honour of the Prince 
and Princess of Wales at the Hofbo-urg. 
-X- dt dv 
A Valuable Orchid. —An Orchid valued at £1,000, and for 
which an even larger sum is said to' have been refused, was an 
interesting curiosity at the spring show of the Manchester 
Botanical Society, opened on the 14th inst. in the Town Hall. 
Only experts can be expected to grow enthusiastic over this ex¬ 
hibit. The uninitiated stand before the plant and wonder ho.v 
its value can possibly run into four figures. It is, of course, rarity 
that makes it so prized. The variety is known as Odontoglossum 
ardent issimmn j and its fortunate possessor is Mr. A. War burton, 
of Haslington.’ The flowers are blotched with chocolate on a 
white ground, and formed with wonderful regularity. As a 
curiosity, the plant proved a great attraction to the show. It 
was, of course, awarded a Gold Medal. 
* * * 
Fruit Prospects. —'Fruit growers in Kent are very hopeful 
with regard to the prospects of the coming season. According 
to the blossom on the trees there will be a general and good crop. 
There is “ many a slip between the cup and the lip,” and though 
the blossom buds may be abundant, the fruit may be scanty. This 
might be due to bad weather at the time the trees are in bloom. 
Sometimes, however, the fine show of blossom does not give the 
results we expect, and we explain this by saying that the wood 
for some reason or other did not properly ripen the previous 
autumn. The great amount of rain last autumn may not have 
had any deleterious effect ; indeed, we think otherwise in the 
case of the more hardy fruits, at least. Trees make a deal of 
growth at. the roots in autumn, and to enable them to- effect this 
properly plenty of moisture is necessary. European trees do 
not require so much sunshine to ripen them as the Peach and 
Apricot, which ripen earlier than Apples, Pearls, and Plums. 
Droitwich Experimental Garden. —The Worcestershire Union 
of Workmen’s Clubs and Institutes has issued its annual report 
of the work accomplished during 1903 at the experimental garden 
established by the organisation at Droitwich eight years ago. This 
garden is two acres in area* and some idea of the high state of 
cultivation attained may be gained from the following list of its 
contents: 78 varieties of Apples, 47 of Plums and 1 Damson, 
35 of Pears, 12 of Gooseberries, 10 of Strawberries, 11 of Currants, 
9 of Raspberries, Parsley-leaved Bramble, Japanese Wineberry, 
the Logan Berry (hybrid between Raspberry and Blackberry), 
Strawberry-Raspberry. The gardening instruction of the county 
is still committed to the union by the County Council. During 
the past twelve months there have been given fifty-seven lectures, 
at which the average attendance has been thirty-six. Twenty-two 
classes have been held, and sixteen demonstrations given in graft¬ 
ing and pruning, besides which four pupils have received instruc¬ 
tion at the experimental garden. 
* * * 
Gardens in Holywell Street.— The early history of this re¬ 
cently-destroyed or demolished London street, was very different 
from what it'is to-day. On April 13th, 1576, the ground at Holy- 
well was let by Giles Allein to James Burbadge, an actor-manager, 
for the purpose of erecting the first theatre or playhouse there. 
The building of this house was a, means of improving the locality. 
In more distant times there had been a “ sweete, wholesome, and 
cleare welle of water,” but the locality had become decayed and 
marred by the deposit of filth placed there for the purpose of 
heightening the ground for garden-plots. Before the days of the 
Norman invaders (1006) a villa.ge existed, but so old was it that 
it was known to the Saxons themselves as the “ Aldwych ’ that 
is, the old village. Before the recent County Council commenced 
demolishing this neighbourhood for the purpose of making; a, wide 
thoroughfare, a street running nearly parallel with Holywell 
Street was . named Wych Street. Thus we had, until recently, 
memorials of an old Saxon village 'and the well of clear water 
that, once existed, though it seems nothing commemorated the 
garden-plots. 
A Large Floral Map. —A floral map of the United States will 
be exhibited by the U.S. Bureau of Plant Industry at the Sc. 
Louis Exhibition. It will cover six acres of a sloping bill, and 
every State will be outlined by a cinder path. Plants grown in 
the different. States will be represented in the map either put of 
doors or under glass. A school of gardening will be held beside 
it, and there will also be a model school garden provided by the 
Government. School gardens are becoming popular in the States. 
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 
The Editor invites enquiries for reply in this column. These 
enquiries may cover any branch of gardening. Questions should be 
put a s b.iefly as possible, and written on one side of the paper only ; 
a separate slieet of paper should be used for each question. 
Readers are also invited to g ve their fellow gardeners the benefit 
of their experience by sending supplementary replies. 
Replies cannot be sent by post, even if a stamped, addressed 
envelope is enclose!, and the return of specimens cannot be undertaken. 
Anonymous communications are treated in the usual cdiioi icd manner. 
Address letters: The Editor, “The Gardening World,” 37 and 
38, Shoe Lane, London, E.C. 
Palm Leaf Dying. 
I am in a slight trouble for a Palm which we have in a large 
conservatory. I have taken the liberty to ask your opinion about 
it, and am sending one of the fronds by this, post for your inspec¬ 
tion. This is the only one that Iras gone like the sample, and 
it stands right in the middle of the house. I should be very 
much obliged if you could tell me if you think there is anything 
wrong, or is it just the old fronds, dying off ? (J. Cotttts.) 
We inspected the Palm leaf, but failed to find anything really 
the matter with it in the way of fungus or insects. The leaf is 
dvino- off, but it seems to be dying earlier than it should. VVe 
think it was a question of treatment during the timei it was 
bein')- developed. The temperature must have been a little too 
low when that leaf at least was coming up, and for that reason 
the leaf did not become properly developed. The spaces between 
the ribs are too. short, thus, preventing the folds from lying 
flat One half of the leaf, therefore, shaded the other, so that. it. 
did not get the full advantage of light. The plant being m 
the middle of the house, it was probably in the coolest place, and 
more or less shaded by the other plants when making its young 
oTowtli. All that we should advise would be for you to place the 
Palm in a stove or other warm house, if possible, when making 
its young growth. Palms to grow properly really want a warm 
moist place just when their young leaves are being produced. 
As far as we could see the leaf was perfectly free from enemies. 
Carnations and Wirtworm. 
The garden here is very much infested with wireworni, which 
do a deal of damage to many things, especially Carnations. 1 
have a fine lot of seedlings coming on, and would like to know 
if I could do. anything to clear the soil of them before planting 
the Carnations. ' An answer in your next issue would oblige. 
(A. M. D.) . , n ., 
It seems that the only thing you can do now is to dig the soil 
twice over if it. has not been already prepared. During the 
operation you should keep an eye upon the wireworni m the soil 
and destroy all that you can find? At the last digging use a 
o-oorl quantity of well-decayed manure. If this has already been* 
done all you can do is to fork over the upper soil, taking out all 
the wirewormi you can find. You can, of course, set traps all 
over the bed after planting the Carnations. Pieces of Carrots 
or Potato® may be used and stuck upright into each of them, 
so that when buried in the soil you may know where to look for 
them in order to pick out the wireworni which go to feed there. 
It, would be well to dig all oyer the vacant ground in August, 
because then or about that, time the wireworni goes into the 
pupa stage to. undergo its transformations. By disturbing the 
soil at that time and breaking up all the clods you will do the j 
wireworni a great deal of damage, as it is most easily hurt y 
being disturbed at that time. You can, of course, pick up ai 
specimens that you can find at. that time. If the weather is diy 
and the soil in the same condition, it will be so- much to your 
advantage and to the disadvantage of the wireworni. 
Vine Leaves and Shoots Eaten. 
I send you some leaves and shoots of our Vines to show how 
they have been gnawed by some insect or other animal, an< 
would be obliged if you can say what is the cause and reme< y. 
(J. B. H.) 
