444 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
May 27. 1905. 
-Dutch Horticultural and Botanical Society. —At the 
Floral Committee meeting of April First-class Certificates were 
awarded to Odontoglossum harryannm x crispum, shown by Mr. 
AY. C. Baron van Boetselaer, at Maartensdyk ; Cypripedium 
Felix Putheys, shown by Mr. H. C. Ha eke, of Baarn; and 
Lycaste Skinneri Johanna Smit, staged by Mr. C. J. Kikkert, 
of Haarlem. On the same occasion Certificates of Merit were 
accorded to Primula polyanthus Velvet Queen, as a new plant, 
from Mr. V. H. C. v. d. Elst, of Dedemsvaart; to Cypripedium 
Charles Canham aurea, from Mr. H. C. Hacke, of Baam ; to 
Brasso-laelia Mrs. Gratrix, from Mr. H. C. Hacke, of Baarn ; 
to Pteris AYimsetti tremula, as a new plant, from Mr. A. C. 
Dikker, of de Steeg ; to Ada aurantiaca Royal Prince, from Mr. 
P. G. van Tienhoven, of Haarlem; and to Primula acaulis 
Pompadour, from Mr. B. Ruys, of Dedemsvaart. A botanical 
Certificate wasi accorded to Odontoglossum puldhellum, from 
Mr. E. de Langen, of Amsterdam. An Honourable Mentioning 
was accorded to Primula polyanthus Bruno, as a new plant, from 
Air. A. M. C. van der Elst,"of Dedemsvaart; to Beilis perennis 
Alice, from Mr. B. Ruys, >f Dedemsvaart; and to Oncidium 
leucoclnium, from Mr. E. de Langen, of Amsterdam. A Cul¬ 
tural Commendation went to- Cyrtopodium punctatum, from Mr. 
C. W. R. Scholten, of Amsterdam. A Silver Medal was awarded 
to a collection of 12 Astilbes of varieties, from G. F. Hemerik, 
of Leiden, as first prize. A Bronze medal went to a collection 
as above, from Mr. AY. van A r een, of Leiden, this being the second 
prize. __ 
The Weather in AA'est Lothian. —The week ending A1 ay 19th 
has been very dry. Hot sun and cold north-east winds have 
been very trying to vegetation. Thermometer, highest reading 
?ldeg., lowest 37deg. 
* * * 
Henp.y Eckford Testimonial. —The contributions received on 
behalf of this fund to Saturday evening, May 20th, are as 
follows :—Previously acknowledged, 703f-s. ; Aliss Boose-y, Is. ; 
Ylr. F. J. Clark, 2s. ; Rev. Henry Cowling, 2s. ; Mr. E. C. 
Devine, Is. ; Miss Dundas, 2gS. ; Mr. H. Low, Is. ; Mr. Jas. 
McKellar, 2-gS. ; Mr. AY. J. Smith, Is. 
Imports of Fruit and A^egetables. —The returns giving the. 
imports of agricultural produce into the United Kingdom in 
the week ending Alay 13th, 1905, contain the following items : 
—Apples, 45,019 cwt. ; Bananas, 115,051 bunches ; Cherries, 
1,459 cwt. ; Gooseberries, 549 cwt. ; Grapes, 116 cwt. ; Lemons, 
13,910 cwt. ; Oranges, 63,844 cwt. ; Pears, 477 cwt. ; Straw¬ 
berries, 10 cwt. Vegetables included 157,218 bushels of Onions, 
64,536 cwt. of Potatos-, and 17,583 cwt. of Tomatos. 
* * * 
Strawberry Prospects at Catshti.l and Dodford. —The 
prospects of the Strawberry crop in the neighbourhood of Cars- 
hili and Dodford are very bright this season if only the weather 
does not play the havoc with the fruit which it did last year. 
The Bromsgrove crop, which consists largely of the Paxton 
variety (a sort that is grown principally on account, of its firm¬ 
ness- for carrying purposes), is a week or two later than the 
Strawberries from the Vale of Evesham. The acreage under 
cultivation is about the same as last year, but the yield is 
expected to be much larger, owing to the fact that much of the 
fruit of 1904 was prevented from maturing in consequence of 
the long drought experienced in .June and early July. 
* * * 
To Destroy the Oodlin Moth.— The fruit growers of America 
are hopeful that at last the parasite of the Codlin moth has 
been discovered, and that the doom of one of the most serious 
fruit pests is sealed. ^ Mr. Elwood Cooper, State Commissioner 
for Horticulture at Sacramento, states that, having received a 
large shipment of Codlin moth parasites from Mr. Compere, they 
are now breeding them out in the San Francisco office, and have 
already distributed some very large colonies. Careful observa¬ 
tions seem to prove that the true parasite of the Codlin moth 
has been discovered, and an insect likely to be the most valuable 
known. It is a rapid breeder, and in confinement nearly every 
Codlin moth pupa is parasited by it. 
Crystal Palace Rose Show.— At the Palace Rose Show on 
July 8th next no less than £225 in money and fourteen medals 
will be at the disposal of Rose growers. The trade is well 
catered for, while the classes for amateurs have been prepared 
on a lavish scale. The small grower is not forgotten, for there 
are three classes for those cultivating 500 plants, and three for 
those with only 200 plants. Entries must be made by July 1st, 
and Mr. G. Castletoni, superintendent of gardens, Crystal 
Palace, will be pleased to forward schedules to all who annlv 
for them. J 
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 
The Editor invites enquiries for re-ply in this column. Th.es * 
enquiries may caver any branch of gardening. Questions should be put 
as briefly as possible, and written on one side of the paper only; a 
separate sheet of paper shoidd 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 AYorld,” 37 and 
38. Shoe Lane, London, E.C. 
Native Country of the Shallot. 
Some discussion took place at -our mutual improvement society 
concerning the native country of the Shallot, and a member sug¬ 
gested that it was a native of Ascalon, in Palestine, while the chair¬ 
man said it was merely a cultivated variety -of the Onion. Which 
of these statements is right? (W. S.) 
The botanical name of the plant would indicate at least that it- 
Wets brought to this country from Ascalon, in Palestine, where it 
is, oi was, largely cultivated. It has -been found apparently wild 
in Palestine and other parts of Asia Man or, just- in the same way 
as various cultivated plants run more or less wild in this country 
alter years of cultivation. Botanists are very -doubtful, however, 
Whether it is really native to those parts, the Shallot has been 
cultivated for ages, and hi all probability is merely a form of the 
Onion, that-originated in cultivation and was adopted by the cul¬ 
tivators as a convenient form of the Onion easy to cultivate and 
give a supply of that article. Decandolle, Who wrote a book on the 
“Origin of Cultivated Plants,” was of this opinion. In the early 
days botanists were satisfied in regarding' the place from whence they 
had it, without considering whether it was native or not, so that 
both members of yo-ur society may have to some extent been correct. 
For instance, it might, have originated at Ascalon or some neigh¬ 
bouring part -o-f Palestine, and if it originated from the Onion" it 
would have no other native country. It is usual, however, in such 
case to say that the variety or plant was of garden origin. 
Planting Out Tomatos, 
How soon, would it be safe to plant out Tomatos in the open? 
I have a fine batch of plants in 48-s-ize pots, but we have had some 
frosty nights lately. I do not. want to- get. my plants destroyed. 
(Alexander Henry.) 
The end of Alay or the beginning of June is usually the time 
to plant out Tomatos if they have been thoroughly hardened off 
previously. Since you wrote we have had a repetition of north 
and_ north-east winds, with a, low temperature, so that, it might be 
advisable to 'delay the operation of planting out until the wind 
moderates. In the meantime, if you have them in 48-size pots you 
can keep the plants- growing gently by having them in a situation 
v here they get sheltered from wind even when the lights are entirely 
off during the day. It, is not advisable that the plants should receive 
any severe check by the damage to the foliage which would un¬ 
doubtedly lie caused by the ool-d winds at the present time. You 
can, however, plant as early in June as possible, provided the 
wind moderates, and likewise the intensity of the cold. 
The Origin of Polyanthuses. 
There is an opinion here that the garden Polyanthus originated 
by hybridising the Oxlip and the Cowslip. Do you think they 
originated in this way? If so, we might, get some fresh strains bv 
going back to the originals. (T. B. W.) 
- AVe think the idea originated as a plausible supposition rather 
than from, any known facts. In the wild -state hybrids are some¬ 
times obtained between the Primrose and the Cowslip. To this the 
name of English Oxlip has sometimes been given, but plants pro¬ 
duced in this way are -entirely different fro-m the wild and true 
Oxlip (Primula elatior), which is found only in four mf the eastern 
counties. It is now getting generally believed that the Polyanthuses 
of gardens are merely Primroses with an elongated common foot 
stalk to the umibel of flowers. The old florists no- doubt seized upon 
this development, and have simply continued to propagate it by 
seeds until we have am endless number of varieties in gardens 
throughout, the country. You can find a pretty good example of 
What we state in t-he blue Polyanthus, which originated from the 
blue Primrose. Many years- ago the original strain from which the 
