October 29, 1904. 
the gardening world 
877 
Old English Garden at St. Lotus. —An early intimation has 
reached Messrs. James Carter and Co. from their representative 
at the St. Louis Exhibition to the effect that the grass seeds, 
seeds of annual flowers, Lilies, Gladioli, etc., sent out by their 
house, have been largely planted in the Old English Garden, 
and that it lias been awarded the Grand Prize as the best garden 
in the exhibition grounds. 
* * * 
Apples in Worcestershire. —A correspondent who has 
travelled through the fruit-growing districts of Worcestershire 
this week states that the Apple crop is so abundant that in some 
of the orchards there appear to be almost as many Apples on the 
trees as leaves, and it seems probable that a great quantity of 
fruit will practically remain ungathered. 
* * * 
Essay on Early-flowering Chrysanthemums. —Quite re¬ 
cently we announced the results of the competition at Tamworth 
for early-flowering Chrysanthemums. At the same time prizes 
were offered for the best essay on the subject, and the essays 
sent in have since been judged. Mr. J. H. Prince, F.R.H.S., 
Loughborough, Leicester, and Mr. D. B. Crane, Archway Road, 
Highgate, London, have been adjudged equal first. 
* * * 
The New Mayor of Reading. —Mr. Martin John Sutton, of 
Messrs. Sutton and Sons, Reading, has been selected as Mayor 
of Reading for the next municipal year. Reading had pre¬ 
viously honoured him by making him a Freeman of the Borough. 
Hitherto it seems that the Mayor of Reading has generally been 
elected from among the Council, but there has "been a desire 
on the part of many citizens that Mr. Sutton should hold an 
official and closer position with regard to them than he has done 
in the past. 
* * * 
Beautiful Rose Gardens. —Roses are the chosen cult of many 
well-known women. The Countess of Warwick’s garden at 
Easton is a dream of beauty, and has for its motto the words 
“Pen de clioses, niais Roses.” Her sister, Lady Algernon 
Lennox, possesses a charming garden at Broughton Castle that 
displays several hundreds of Tea Roses. Viscountess Fal¬ 
mouth has a long line of Rose-covered pergolas at Mereworth 
Castle, and Viscountess Downe makes a record success of her 
Rose garden at Dingley, near Market Harborough. 
* * * 
When is a Banana Ripe? —This was a question which the 
Yarmouth magistrates were asked to decide on October 20th, 
when a charge of exposing for sale Bananas which were unfit 
for food was tried by them. After hearing the evidence of 
several medical officers and others, the Bench dismissed the case, 
for the opinions expressed were conflicting. Among them were : 
“ Bananas were bad when the skins were black and the fruit 
fermenting.” “ Bananas were ripe only when the skins were 
black and the fruit pulpy.” “ The fruit is fit to eat only when 
it can be scooped out with a spoon.” 11 Bananas will keep sound 
six weeks.” 
* *• * 
The London Parks. —Chrysanthemum shows were held 
during the present month in the following parks under the 
control of the London County Council:—("Battersea, October 
12th; Finsbury, October 15th; Victoria, October 15th; and 
Waterlow, October 15th. Surplus bedding plants were also 
distributed. At the principal parks the dates were :—Brock- 
well, Dulwich, Myatt’s, and Victoria Embankment, October 
13th ; Waterlow, Peckham Rye, and Battersea, October 14th ; 
Victoria, Southwark, and Finsbury, October 19th ; Avery Hill, 
Kennington, and Ravenscourt, October 20th. Distributions 
also took place in smaller open spaces and churchyards on 
October 17th. 
* * * 
The Selborne Society. —Mr. Wilfred Mark Webb, F.L.S., 
who has been identified with the nature-study movement for 
the last five or six years, has accepted the honorary secretary¬ 
ship of the Selborne Society. This flourishing association has 
at the present time nearly 1,500 members scattered over the 
whole of the United Kingdom, and it is interesting to chronicle 
that at a general meeting, held a short time ago, the promotion 
of the study of natural history was made the first object of 
the society. Influence is, however, still being exerted to pre¬ 
serve from needless destruction such wild animals and plants 
are are harmless, beautiful, or rare ; to discourage the wearing 
o furs and feathers of creatures that are in danger of being 
exterminated ; and f;o protect places and objects of natural 
oeauty and antiquarian interest from ill-treatment or destruc- 
lon. The office of the society is at 20, Hanover Square, and 
all communications should be sent to the “Secretary of the 
Selborne Society,” at that address. 
* x- * 
British Flowers at the St. Louis Exhibition.—W e are 
pleased to note that Messrs. Sutton and Sons, of Reading, have 
been awarded by the jurors of the St. Louis Exhibition the 
“ Grand Pnx ” for their collection of bulbous and annual flower¬ 
ing plants. This is the only “ Grand Prix ” awarded for flowers 
m the British section. In addition, Messrs. Sutton receive the 
only Gold Medal given in this section for Grass seeds. The 
bowling green and the various lawns sown down with Sutton’s 
lawn seeds were a great success and much admired. 
* * * 
Poisoned Abple Tree. —One of the strangest cases of at¬ 
tempted poisoning ever known in Switzerland occurred the other 
day in the little town of Loarracli, near Bale, on the Swiss- 
German frontier. A married couple named Krecher, who lived 
in a farmhouse to which an orchard was attached, fell seriously 
ill after eating an Apple pie. As the doctors found traces of 
arsenic, an inquiry was held, when it was discovered that nearly 
all the Apples in the orchard contained artificial holes, in which 
arsenic had been inserted. Suspicion fell on the father-in-law 
of the wife, a man named Kulz, aged 64, with whom she had 
had strained relations for some time. Kulz has been arrested, 
but refuses to speak. 
* * . * 
Motor Lorries for Fruit, etc.— On the 11th inst. an im¬ 
portant experiment was commenced by the North-Eastern Rail¬ 
way Company with the view of testing the possibilities of col¬ 
lecting and distributing heavy goods in remote agricultural- 
districts. It was no less than an attempt to serve the same 
purpose as light railways are usually constructed for. An 
agreement has just been entered into by the railway company 
an 1 the Agricultural Organising Society on behalf of another, 
and, we presume, affiliated society. The railway company 
undertakes to provide a service of motor-cars between Tollerton 
and Brandsby, a distance of 12 miles. The local company will 
provide at its own cost a depot, with shed, platform, and yard. 
The motor lorries will be put at the service of others, as well 
as for members of the society. Each lorry is capable of carry¬ 
ing five tons, and a trailer may be linked on, to carry another 
three tons. 
* * * 
Honour for Mr. George Crispin. —At the autumnal meeting 
of the Institution of Heating and Ventilating Engineers (In¬ 
corporated), held at the Holborn Restaurant, London, Mr. 
George Crispin (of the firm of Messrs. James Crispin and Sons, 
F. R.H.S., heating, ventilating, and domestic engineers and 
horticultural builders, of Nelson Street, Bristol), was unani¬ 
mously elected as president for the forthcoming year. The sum¬ 
mer meeting of the institution will therefore be held in Bristol 
in July, at the invitation of the president, and it is expected 
that the major portion of the members (numbering over 220) 
will then be present. The Institution of Heating "and Venti¬ 
lating Engineers is composed of the leading engineers in the 
trade throughout the United Kingdom, and Mr. George Crispin 
is to be congratulated on being selected to fill such an honour¬ 
able position. 
* * * 
Strawberries from Queensland. —The range of climate in 
Australia enables much to be done in regard to the interchange 
of commodities. Fruits, it is pointed out, which are only pro¬ 
duced in summer in Sydney and Melbourne, are now ripening 
in Northern Queensland, and rapid transit is enabling them 
to be transferred to' the southern cities. An instance of this 
is afforded by the Strawberry traffic. Three years ago statistics 
showed that the production in Queensland was 30(L000 quarts, 
but it is asserted that double that quantity will be produced 
this season, and inquiries are being made in the southern 
markets for the disposal of Strawberry pulp by the ton. The 
business is one that is commencing to form an appreciable 
item of traffic in the railway returns, and at present it is lnovinu- 
fairly strongly, as many as 700 boxes being transferred at 
Wallangarra by one train. The chief point of supply is at 
present from the Gympie and Blackall ranges, which are very 
fertile. The fruit almost grows wild, and the yield is said to 
be prolific. This example set by our cousins at the Antipodes 
might well be more systematically carried out in this country 
than it is at present. The fact that the season is a month 
later in the North of Scotland than in the South of England 
shows that the interchange of fruit could be carried out to "great 
advantage. 
