May 28, 1904. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
453 
Warren, Hayes Common, the junior division. The exhibits at 
this meeting were confined to bunches of flowers, which were to 
be sent to the inmates of the Royal Berks Hospital after the 
meeting. The response to the invitation was a large one ; over 
500 bunches were staged, comprising Narcissi of leading varieties, 
Arums, Schizanthus, Veronieums, Cineraria stellata, Primula 
obeonica, Lilac, Amaryllis, Spiraea, Anthuriums, Wallflowers, 
Azaleas, Acacia, Cydonia japonica, Crown Imperials, Polyanthus, 
Hyacinths, Laurustinus, Anemone, Violets, Primroses, Tulips, 
Jonqu Is, Pansies, Fuchsias, Geraniums, Magnolias, Mignonette, 
Deutzia, etc. These were contributed by Messrs. Barnes, Boxall, 
Bailey, Butcher, Carter, Cox, W. F., D., and E. J. Dore, 
Durrant, Exler, Fry, Foster, Hinton, Hall, R. A. Hatton, Judd, 
Lever, Lees, Loader, Moody, Marchant, Murby, Nash, Neve, 
Powell, Price, Pembroke, Slvfield, Tunbridge, Turnham, W. 
Townsend, Viner, Wilson, Weston, Wheeler, "Wicks, and C. 
Woolford. 
Cherries are Cheat. —Immense quantities of Asparagus and 
Cherries are arriving daily at Folkestone Harbour for the London 
markets. The Cherry crop in France is described as magnificent. 
* * -a * 
Gat;dex for Prestatyn S"hool. — The Prestatyn School Board 
has allotted plots in the school grounds for gardening lessons, 
in accordance with the code, and a practical expert has been 
engaged as instructor. 
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Nosegays ox the Bexch. —At the opening of the Old Bailey 
Sessions on the 16th | inst. the Lord Mayor and other civic digni- 
.taries, as usual in the summer months, carried nosegays of 
choice flowers, and on the desks on the bench sweet-smelling 
herbs were sprinkled—a relic of the days when gaol fever was 
rife. 
AS * 
Business Transaction by Cable. —A well-known firm of 
Glasgow florists received a cable on May 19th from, the leading 
florist in New York, asking them to send a wreath to a funeral 
in Cathcart, thus showing that distance is no barrier toj such a 
transaction. A lady died in Cathcart, and the' announcement 
was cabled to a relative in New York. Not being acquainted 
with Glasgow, the relative called upon the leading New York, 
florist, who at once cabled to the Glasgow firm, who were able 
to complete the transaction in a few hours. 
■)>' ~.i vc 
Gold in Potatos. —The demand for seedling Potatos at extra¬ 
ordinary prices has not yet become exhausted. Al.r. E. W. Cross., 
a nur. erynian, of Wisbech., has just purchased for no less than 
£4 an Eldorado Potato plant, which up to the present is a. record 
for any kind of Potato plant. The' shoot was one of ten from 
a tuber presented as a birthday gift to- the infant son of Mr. A. W. 
White, of Spalding. An Eldorado banking account has already 
been opened on behalf of the fortunate youngster, and it is ex¬ 
pected that by the time Master White is a year old the original 
gift will have brought, him in £120. Half a stone of these famous 
Eldorados have also been sold for autumn delivery at £24 10s. 
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Valuable Palm in Madagascar. —The marrow of a Palm tree, 
the Satromabe, is eaten by the Sakalaves of Ambongo, in Mada¬ 
gascar. The tree, which appears to be the Medemia nobilis, 
is common there by the side of the sea and rivers. After beating 
the trunk, which contains two to five kilograms of marrow, the 
oakalaves extract the marrow, then dry and powder it. AI. 
Jumelle, of the Laboratory of Industrial Chemistry of the 
acuity of Sciences, Marseilles, finds it to contain over 60 per 
cent of starch, nearly 13 of cellulose, over 10 of albuminoid 
matter, over one of fatty matter, and over eight of mineral salts. 
e c uef salts are sulphate of potash, chloride of sodium (com¬ 
mon salt), and phosphate of lime, but there is. also a little 
lagnesia and protoxide of iron. The important point is, how- 
^ r ’ • le mchness of the Palm flour in albuminoids, it being 
the T 101 ^Matos, Manioc, or Cassava, the Sweet Potato, and 
ne 3 0 g ^ ame ’ for these only contain respectively over 6, over 3, 
of +V a and *? ver 7 per oent - of nitrogenous matter. The fecula 
to +w ,5? su Perior in quantity, is inferior in quality 
to that of the other tubercles, H J 
Countryside Beauty. —The countryside is now very beautiful, 
tho Chestnut, Lilac, and Laburnum trees being in full bloom, 
while the orchards are, masses of beauteous blossom. The foliage 
everywhere is of that delightful fresh green typical of spring. 
Grass is growing strongly, and in the woods there are extensive 
patches of Bluebells. 
* as 
A Japanese Garden. —Leicester is having a Japanese garden 
laid out in one of its principal parks. It will contain miniature 
mountain ranges, clumps of Bamboo, the dry bed of a mountain 
torrent, and a lake with an island in the centre. There will 
also be a number of stone lanterns, without which no garden in 
Japan would be considered complete. 
■x- *• * 
Cheap Asparagus. —Quite recently the enormous consign¬ 
ments of Asparagus to the London market created a glut which 
brought down prices to an abnormal figure, and so plentiful ivas 
the supply that even the hawkers carried what in ordinary cir¬ 
cumstances may be regarded as an aristocratic vegetable into 
the unfamiliar regions of the East End. Again, large quantities 
of Asparagus have been received at Covent Garden during the 
last few days, and prices are consequently down. Although 
much of the Asparagus is French, a good half is English, with 
the bright green stalks and delicate flavour beloved of the 
epicure. 
* As * 
Harbinger or Summer.— As the Campion gives its Latin name 
Lychnis to various moths that feed on it in their caterpillar 
state, so Lady’s Smock gives a Latin name—<Cardamines 
—to that exquisite butterfly the Orange Tip, which some 
of the old writers on insects used to call the Wood Lady. The 
Orange Tip is perhaps the. fourth butterfly—-setting aside the 
eight hibernated butterflies—Small Tortoiseshell, Large Tor¬ 
toiseshell, Peacock, Red Admiral, Camberwell Beauty (very 
rare), Sulphur or Brimstone, Comma, and possibly the Painted 
Lady—to appear in the English spring. The Holly or Ivy Blue 
come first, and at about the same time the Cabbage White and 
the Large White butterflies. Next will come the Orange Tip, 
and with it early summer days. 
* * * 
Derby Gardener’s Claim.— At the Derby County Court, on 
May 18th, Julge Lindley heard a case in which a gardener named 
Samuel Fowkes, of Cowley Street, Derby, claimed £10 damages 
from the Chemical Union Company, Ipswich, for illegal distraint. 
The case for the plaintiff was that having purchased some 
chemical manure from defendants and delayed payment, he was 
served with a County Court summons for the amount of the pur¬ 
chase, £1, with costs. He forwarded £1, which the defendants 
agreed to accept in full settlement, but a month later two bailiffs 
levied an execution on his goods for £1 8s. He subsequently 
wrote to the plaintiffs, and they refunded him the £1 8s. and 
offered him £2 as damages^ but he refused to accept that, his 
trade having suffered in -consequence of the action of the bailiffs. 
The defendants considered £2 damages a reasonable sum, but 
judgment was given for the plaintiff for £3, with costs. 
■X* -X* -X - 
Canada’s Gre at Trees. —As far north as Alaska (we read in 
an official statement just issued of the “ Forest Wealth ” of 
British Columbia), the* coast is heavily timbered, the forest line 
folloivin.g the indents and river valleys and fringing the mountain 
sides. Logging operations so far ha.ve extended to Knight’s 
Inlet, a point on the coast of the mainland opposite the north 
end of Vancouver Island. Here the Douglas Fir, the most im¬ 
portant and widely dispersed of the valuable trees, disappears 
altogether, amd the Cypress, or Yellow Cedar, takes its place. 
North of this, Cedar, Hemlock, and Spruce are the principal 
timber trees. It will be of interest to know that Douglas Fir 
(Pseudotsuga. Douglasii) was named after David Douglas, a noted 
botanist, who explored New Caledonia in the early twenties of last, 
century. It is a very widely distributed tree, being found from 
the coast to the summit of the Rooky Mountains, and as far 
east as Calgary and 1 as far north as Fort McLeod. On the coast 
it attains immense proportions, is very high, and clear of imper¬ 
fections, sometimes towering 300 ft. in the .air, and having a. base 
circumference of from 30ft. to 50 ft. The best averages, hoAvever, 
are 150 ft. clear of limbs and 5 ft. to 6 ft. in diameter. This is 
the staple timber of commerce, often classed by the trade as 
Oregon Pine. It has about the same specific gravity as Oak, 
with .great strength, and has a wide range of usefulness, beinv 
especially -adapted for construction work. It is scientifically 
described as standing midway between the Spruce and the 
Balsam, and, in the opinion of Professor Macoun, the Dominion 
naturalist, is a valuable pulp-making tree. 
