THE QARDEN! ISO WORLD, 
September 10, 1904. 
736 
bar© throughout the following summer, the ground being still 
sufficiently impregnated with salt water to prevent seeds ger¬ 
minating. # * * 
WHITE Melilot and Foxglove, Produce of.— At the meeting 
of the R.H.S. Scientific Committee, on August 9th, Mr. Henislow 
mentioned an instance of a seedling plant which accidentally 
appeared in his garden. It grew to a height of 5ft., and boie 
some 300 racemes of various lengths. These were arranged into 
seven groups according to- length, and the average number of 
the one-seeded pods in each group was ascertained by counting 
them on some half-dozen or more racemes taken at random. The 
total number of seeds was then found to be about 15,660. Each, 
plant required an area of three square feet, as the longest 
branches spread over a circle with a diameter of 2ft. ; so that 
this one plant would have supplied enough seed for 1 acre' and 
580 square yards. In the case of a gigantic plant of Fox¬ 
glove, the number of seeds was approximately a million and a 
half. 
* * * 
Plant Names. —The Bilberry and the Blackberry are merely 
corruptions for Blueberry, a name applied to Vaccinium 
Myrtillus. Whortleberry is sometimes contracted to Whortle, 
and that again, to Whort. By a similar process of degradation 
the word is further shortened to Whurt and then to Hurt. Those 
unacquainted with native usage would scarcely recognise that 
Hurtwood and Whortleberrywood were one and the same word, 
yet such is the case, and more than one wood in Surrey are 
known by the name of Hurtwood. The Gooseberry has no con¬ 
nection with a goose, the name being a corruption from gorse- 
berry, the berry borne by a prickly plant, like the gorse. Some 
may also remember that grozet and grozert are applied to the 
Gooseberry, and come from the French groseille. Some might 
even imagine that Gooseberry was a corruption of the latter 
name by losing the r. The Cranberry (Oxycoccus) is so named 
owing to the curved stalk of the flower resembling the neck of 
a crane. Mulberry comes from the Latin morum, and that from 
the Greek moron, a Mulberry tree. Sycamore is derived from 
sukon, a Fig, and moron, a Mulberry, that is, the Mulberry 
Fig, from the Bhape of the leaves resembling those of Ficus 
sycomorum. 
• * • 
The Legend of the Peach. —The Japanese claim to have been 
the first to discover the luscious Peadh, .and cherish a quaint 
legend telling how they became possessed of it. The story is 
this : There was a pious old couple who, having become stricken 
with years, had fallen into poverty, and were forced to endeavour 
to obtain a living by begging. While going along the highway 
one day the old woman found lying on it a most beautiful fruit 
unknown ito her. Although almost famished with hunger, she 
was not so selfish as to eat it a.lone, ibut took it to their poor 
home to share it with her husband. Taking a knife to divide 
it, as it cut through the luscious fruit the latter divided in two 
and a lovely infant sprang forth, who told the surprised pair 
that he was the god Shim To, and that he had fallen accidentally 
from the orchard of the Japanese heaven while at play with a 
number of other gods and goddesses. For extricating him from 
the Peach, Shim To gave the poor Japanese beggars the seed to 
plant, and told them that its produce would make them wealthy. 
* «• * 
Apples Falling. —Mr. Dunlop, of Lougbgall, writes as 
follows to tire secretary of the R.H.S. Scientific Committee on 
August 9th : “ With regard to- the great dropping of Apples, some 
kinds were very heavily ‘ set,’ but very few remain, especially 
Royal Jubilee, which hitherto always set well. Other kinds have 
fallen elsewhere, e.g., Lord Derby, but it is -good here. The 
Queen has also gone terribly, but that is their habit. It was 
noticed that bees were very scarce in the brightest days; would 
that have anything to do> with the Apples f alling off ? Is there 
any list known accurately of self-fertile Apples- in this country ? 
Is it true that some sorts fertile in one! season might yet b© 
sterile in another ? ” In reply to these questions Mr. Chittenden 
observed that from his experiments with both Apple® and Pears, 
as a general rule they require to be fertilised by insects, but 
Stirling Castle is- usually self-fertile!; it was not so this year. 
With regard to> Pearls it was the same-, but Conference and 
Dui'oncleau are both self-fertile. As tire Apples referred to as 
dropping appeared to have been formed, it wias thought that 
the great heat, acting upon heavy crops in an immature- state, 
was the probable cause. It was not stated whether seeds were 
forming in the Apples or not. 
Napoleon’s Willow. —In various parts of the country are 
Weeping Willows said to have been raised from the tree which 
grew over his grave at St. Helena. One of these may be seen 
in the garden of Mr. Terry, New Road, Rochester. Various 
names have been given to the species, including Salix neapoli- 
tana and S. japonica. The former name would indicate that 
it came from Naples, and the latter from Japan, which is 
correct so far as the native country is concerned. Linnaeus 
had previously given it the name of S. babylonica, which, being 
the oldest name, must be regarded as the correct one. If 
Linnaeus was under the impression that it was the Willow of 
ancient Babylon, on which the Jews hung their harps, he was 
probably mistaken, as no Willows are said to grow on the 
banks of the Euphrates at the present day. S. babylonica 
comes from Japan, and is also recorded from the Caucasus. It 
has, however, been planted in many parts of the globe, where 
it can be made to grow. Such names as S. napoleona and S. 
napoleonis have also been sanctioned by different botanists, 
and would' mean the Napoleon Willow and Napoleon’s Willow 
respectively, but the names are of too recent- origin to be re¬ 
tained. 
* ■* * 
Smoke to Ward off Frost. —In some of the fruit-growing 
districts abroad, where the frost does much damage among the 
orchards, there exists a. curious mode of protecting the treesi 
from frost. A cart is packed with wet straw, and at the bottom 
is a kind of stove filled with burning tar and fitted with a re¬ 
volving fan to regulate the draught. As the cart moves along 
a dense smoke is caused by the heat from the tar passing 
through the wet straw. The vapour thus created rolls out in 
huge volumes, and clings to the neighbouring trees. The frost 
is thus thawed from the branches, and the fruit is saved from 
injury. The check on radiation may even be more effective in 
saving the fruit than the actual thawing effected by the smoke. 
As the sun gains in power the temperature rises, and this 
effects the- thawing, while the smoke prevents the sun from 
shining directly on frozen blossom or fruit. The expedient is 
not new, having been practised many years ago by old-fashioned 
gardeners in this country in glasshouses where frost has gained 
an entrance during the night. 
Society & Association Notes. 
A Blaze of Dahlias. —Dahlias of all colours and types will 
be on view in the Princes Hall of the Italian Exhibition, Earl’s 
Court, on September 15th and 16th, when the Annual Exhibition 
of the London Dahlia. Union will b-e held. This is the only show 
of Dahlias held in the centre of the great Metropolis and within 
reach of all Suburbia. A great dea-1 has been written of late 
about the value or otherwise of the Cactus Dahlia for gardeu 
decoration. In order to test- this as fully as possible, Mr. F. G. 
Gledstane-s is offering valuable special prizes for vases of cut 
blooms of varieties! best adapted for general decorative purposes. 
This will result in an easy and instructive competition, especially 
as special general lines have been laid down upon which the 
flowers are to b-e judged. Mr. Richard Dean, Ealing, W., will 
act as secretary for the display. 
* * * 
The Midland Daffodil Society.— We are pleased to note 
that the sixth annual report of this society is already pub¬ 
lished and being distributed amongst the members. The' report 
also contains the schedule for the next- season,' so that those 
inteiested will have plenty -of time for making preparations 
for the next exhibition. The balance-sheet shows that the 
society is in a sound position financially, and that in itself 
should warrant an accession of members. The report is also 
interesting from the fact that it contains an account of the 
classification and culture of Narcissi which were discussed after 
the luncheon in connection with the show of April 26th last. 
Those who took part in this discussion included Professor Hill- 
house, Sir Josslyn Gore-Booth, Mr. Van Waveren, Mr. J. D. 
Pearson, the Rev. iS. E. Bourne, Mr. F. W. Burbidge, Mr. 
Robert Sydenham, the Rev. J. Jacob, Mr. W. P. Wright, and 
Mr. de Graaff. The secretary of the society is Mr. Herbert- 
Smith, Tenby Street, Birmingham, who will be pleased to send 
a copy of the schedule to any of our readers who may be 
interested. 
