February 4, 1905. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
105 
Proposed Amalgamation of FruIt-GRoWing Societies.-— 
During recent years the cultivation of fruit, but especially 
Raspberries and Strawberries, has been gradually extended 
in the Blairgowrie district of Perthshire. The fruit farms arc 
stimulated or supported in a co-operative way by associations 
and societies. There is some rumour at present that the Blair¬ 
gowrie and Rattray and Stormont Fruit-growers’ Society are 
®oin«- to amalgamate, and thus fortify their position by. work- 
in 1 ' harmoniously together. The local opinion is that the com¬ 
bination would also be of general advantage to those concerned. 
Railway Rates fok Home and Foreign Produce. —For some 
time past a considerable amount of correspondence has passed 
between the Board of Agriculture and the railway companies 
respecting the charges for agricultural and garden produce as 
compared 0 with charges for similar foreign produce. Lord 
Onslow has appointed a Departmental Committee of Inquiry, 
whose object is to inquire into the rates charged for the carriage 
of foreign and colonial dairy and market garden produce from 
tl u . ports on arrival to the principal urban centres, and to report 
whether any preferential treatment is accorded such produce. 
At a public meeting of the (Lincolnshire farmers and fruit 
growers an influential committee was appointed to lay their 
case before the Commission. One of them said that they hail 
lost the southern markets owing to the fact that foreign pro¬ 
duce can be delivered in southern towns at less than it costs from 
Lincolnshire. A tax of something like 15s. per acre on Potato 
growing land, owing to the expense of carriage, had to be paid 
partly by the producer and partly by the consumer. 
*• * * 
Something like a Meeting. —As a rule the horticulturists of 
this country limit the number of papers to be read during any 
specified time at their meetings, but we have evidence of a 
great zeal for work or a desire to accomplish much in a short 
period by the Iowa State Horticultural Society, which held its 
meeting on December 13th to 15th last. The representative of 
“ The We-stem Fruit-grower,” St. Joseph, Missouri, attended, 
and after briefly recording about 30 of the papers, with discussion 
thereon, had to leave by an early train without being able to 
follow out the programme for the evening of the third day. 
Most of these papers related to fruits of various kinds and 
other matters bearing upon the same. One man present at a 
meeting suggested that fruit-growers should not pay much 
attention to new varieties, but to work with the older sorts. 
Mr. Phil ips, the delegate from Wisconsin, dissented from that 
view. Their society, he said, had planted a test orchard in. 
which they had planted the varieties recommended by the best 
growers. Of a list of 18 varieties only four were known as far 
back as 1873, thus showing that most of the varieties recom¬ 
mended in that State are of comparatively recent introduction. 
They did not want to shut out the newer sorts, but should keep 
an outlook for better things than they had. The hint might 
be taken by home growers, who are always complaining about 
the loilg list of varieties in cultivation. 
* * * 
Some Weather Signs.— Of all people, the gardener stands 
most in need ot a pre-knowledge of the kind of weather in store 
for him in the next twenty-four hours. The man in the street 
is too sceptical to admit the possibility of such a knowledge, 
and is generally too unobservant to believe anytliing until it 
actually takes place. Nevertheless, many people, from long 
experience, couple with the experience of others carried down 
from ages, have some faith in certain signs which prognosticate 
the changes of weather. The “ airt ” from which the wind blows 
is. as would be expected, a main source for foretelling the 
weather. The barometer is another, though not infallible, and 
a capital one, and no gardener’s house or bothy should be 1 with¬ 
out one of these useful instruments. The behaviour of certain 
plants and birds, insects and animals is another source from 
which much can be learned. Indeed, as most of us know, the 
human body itself is sensitive enough to fairly indicate the 
coming change of the next twenty-four hours. There also is 
world-wide knowledge in the kind of sky which presents itself 
at sunrise and sunset, the former for the weather of the day, 
the latter for that of the-' next morning, and so forth, with 
countless old and well-tried observations, and which to the 
shrewd and tactful man stand very excellent friends indeed. 
Winds : It will be observed that the wind very, very rarely, 
when blowing from any point, veers back again against the course 
cf t.ie sun. It usually shifts' from east do south to west round 
oy north to east again. Keeping this in mind, we can often, 
} knowing the course it-will likely take, tell what weather we 
may expect. All people can say something about the weather 
likely to succeed when, the wind blows from east or west, and so, 
with a little more observation, about the intervening points. 
South-west is rainy, north-west cold, dry, with a cloudy sky, 
but which seldom breaks in rain. Very high winds seldom 
carry rain, but as soon as it subsides rain almost invariably 
follows Sun setting : If the atmosphere is calm, with a cloudy 
sky with a bright band of a beautiful red stretching across the 
horizon, the next day is sure to be fine. If the sun sets in a 
crapy sky, the atmosphere being as above, the following day 
is certain to be wet. Again, after a spell of rain, if the smoke 
from chimneys comes down to the earth instead of ascending, 
though it is a fine day, more rain will follow. D. C. 
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 
The Editor invites enquiries for reply in this column, Thes° 
enquiries may caver any branch of gardening. Questions should be pul 
as briefly as possible, and written on one side of the paper only; a 
separate sheet of paper should be used for each question. 
Readers are also invited to give their fellow gardeners the benefit 
of their experience by sending supplementary replies. 
Replies cannot be sent by post, even if a stamped, addressed 
enve'ope is enclosed, and the return of specimens cannot be undertaken 
Anonymous communications are treated in the usual editorial manner 
Address letters: The Editor, "The Gardening World,” 37 and 
38, Shoe Lane, London, E.C. 
Carnations not Hardy. 
I should think most probably that “ Dianthus ” has been 
coddling bis Carnations too much and been too free with the 
water-can during the cold dull days we have been having of late. 
Carnations will not stand either of the above things ; they are 
not stove plants by any means. I should advise him to remove 
the mats off the frame every morning by 9 a.m., unless it is 
freezing very hard, and give them air early. I think if 
“ Dianthus ” will refer back'to The Gardening World issue for 
August 13th, 1904, page 646 (W. C. H.), he will find something 
to his advantage. My advice is to give them all the air you can 
on all favourable occasions, and keep the water-can a fair dis¬ 
tance from them. Carnations do not like water hanging about 
them during the winter months. The best thing “ Dianthus ' 
can do is to pick out all the strongest and best plants, and burn 
the remainder ; most likely he has the rust very bad. llien give 
the frame a good dressing of soot, then stand the best plants a 
fair distance apart, and give them a light spraying of Veltha, 
which is a very good remedy for rust. Give them plenty of air 
top and bottom. Weather permitting, remove the lights off on 
all fine days. I have between 300 and 400 Carnations at the 
present time in 7 in., 6 in., and 5 in. pots in the punk of condi¬ 
tion in a cold frame ; they only get covered when very severe 
frosts set in.—W. C. H. (High Leigh Gardens). 
Hanging Basket Plants. 
I have been growing in hanging baskets, outside, in the spring 
and summer, for several years Ivy-leaved Geraniums, white 
Daisies, and Nasturtiums in each basket. Could you suggest 
anything to make a change and yet look bright and attractive? 
Am facing east, but climate good. (R. G. H.) 
We are aware that. Ivy-leaved Pelargoniums succeed admirably 
in the Channel Islands, and that they even live out of doors all 
winter against a wall. You could get a little variety by adopt - 
ing named sorts of different colours, but as you desire a radical 
change, we should advise you to try some of the free-flowering 
Fuchsias, which succeed admirably not only in the Channel 
Islands, but everywhere on the south and west coasts. For 
instance, in the centre of the baskets you could use a gooil- 
sized specimen of some such Fuchsia as Wave of Life (purple 
and red), Rose of Castile (white and mauve), or Lord Beacons- 
field (pale orange-red). These are merely suggestions as to 
varieties, because you might go into the market or into a nursery 
and see varieties for yourself. We should advise you to select 
those of drooping habit in preference to upright ones, as they 
are more suitable for basket work, and look down at you when 
so grown. A variation upon the white Daisies, as you call them, 
would be yellow Daisies, or. more properly, yellow (Marguerites 
(Etoile d’Or). In the way of hanging plants a better subject 
for the common Nasturtium or Tropaeolum would be Tropaeolum 
Ball of Fire, which produces stems of great length, that hang 
down gracefully, bearing a profusion of orange-scarlet flowers. 
The variegated Ground Ivy (Nepeta Glechoma variegata) suc¬ 
ceeds admirably, either under glass or out of doors, and being a 
British plant, is perfectly hardy. The Creeping Jenny 
(Lysimachia Nummuiaria) would afford a graceful hanging 
plant, with green leaves, which is very popular about London. 
