358 
THE OAR DEN I NO WORLD 
May 23, 1908. 
A New a tt f _ t f V 
Use for fllprpol. 
For some time “Alphol” has been suc¬ 
cessfully used for the destruction of such 
garden pests as slugs, woodlice, wireworm, 
ants and maggots of various kinds with 
which most garden soils r •: more or less 
affected. Indeed, any sail which con¬ 
tains decaying vegetation acts as a har¬ 
bour for these pests, which are ever ready 
to prey upon cultivated plants when thus 
brought in the soil. It is a dry, non- 
poisonous powder, which may be used for 
a dressing over the surface of the ground, 
and does not injure plants, even should 
the leaves get coated. It is intended 
chiefly, however, to come in contact with 
the enemies above-mentioned, and for 
that a light sprinkling over the surface 
of the ground is sufficient. In the case of 
enemies which hide away beneath the soil 
and under clods during the day, such as 
wireworm, eelworm and millipedes, it is 
necessary to dig the powder into the soil, 
so as to bring it in contact with these 
enemies and thereby effect their destruc¬ 
tion. On heavy land this may be used at 
the rate of 5 cwts. per acre, or 28 lbs. for 
250 square yards. On light, sandy soil 
R Colour Gf?art 
For Flowers. 
A Suggestion for the R H.S. 
In an open letter addressed to the hon. 
secretary of the National Sweet Pea 
Society,’Mr. Stanley Brook, of York, sug¬ 
gests that there should exist “a scientific 
standard erected by competent and recog¬ 
nised judges, which would enable the tyro 
and the expert alike to accurately de¬ 
scribe the colours of his blooms—in other 
words, a standard colour chart, produced 
under the authority of the National Sweet 
Pea Society.” He refers to the difficulty 
which is experienced in the Sweet Pea 
world, and the disputes which arise, when 
it is wished to name or describe a colour. 
Some conditions which disturb the true 
judgment of colour are pointed out such 
as colour-blindness and partial colour¬ 
blindness, the way in which colour is 
effected by other colours placed in juxta¬ 
position, either harmonising or contrast¬ 
ing, and the fact that the eye, when 
fatigued, or whenever any given colour 
has been under observation for some time, 
loses much of its normal nicety of judg¬ 
ment. He recognises the difficulties of 
preparing a colour chart, but maintains 
that the N.S.P.S. should not be turned 
from so desirable a project on the mere 
score of the many obstacles to be sur¬ 
mounted, and thinks that in dealing with 
the question of colour in a firm and un¬ 
biassed manner, the society would be fore¬ 
stalling and dispersing the great danger 
of the over-multiplication of varieties that 
are no varieties, and the consequent rea¬ 
sonable disgust on the part of all growers, 
amateur and professional alike. The 
difficulty of agreement on the question of 
colour names could, he suggests, be over¬ 
come by the easy plan of numbering the 
lhades of colour instead of naming them, 
a heavy dressing is necessary. In the case 
of potting soil, compost heaps, etc., which 
the cultivator wishes to disinfect, it may 
be used at the rate of 7 lbs. to 14 lbs. per 
ton of the compost. 
A great many modern cultivators of 
gardens, especially those in towns and 
their suburbs, find the cat nuisance al¬ 
most as destructive as any other kind of 
pest in the garden. Even if they are not 
scraping up newly planted subjects, seed¬ 
lings, etc., they are beating down the 
ground by their daily parading till seed¬ 
lings can scarcely germinate in those 
parts of the garden which make their 
highway to some other desired place. A 
cultivator while using “Alphol” for the 
destruction of the more common garden 
pests, found that the garden cat could be 
driven away. The “Alphol” is scattered 
over the ground in the usual way for the 
pests above mentioned, and cats walked 
over the ground for a time as usual, but 
did not follow the usual antics of scrap¬ 
ing up the seeds, and finally got disgusted 
with the garden entirely. This insecti¬ 
cide is sold by the Boundary Chemical 
Co., Ltd., Cranmer Street, Liverpool, in 
packets of various sizes to suit the re¬ 
quirements of cultivators with gardens of 
different sizes. 
a course which would render agreement 
on the nomenclature unnecessary, and 
thus prevent clashing with preconceived 
ideas. Other objections to the proposed 
chart are mentioned and discussed, and 
suggestions offered for the manner in 
which the chart should be printed and ar¬ 
ranged. The production of such a chart 
would, admits Mr. Brook in conclusion, 
be a long and arduous undertaking, but 
the resultant gain would be great and out 
of all proportion to the effort necessary 
to attain the object. Finally he proposes 
that a small committee be appointed to 
deal with the matter, and that a special 
fund be opened and placed at its dis¬ 
posal. 
Mr. Charles H. Curtis, the hon. secre¬ 
tary of the National Sweet Pea Society, 
in reply, refers to the fact that the ques¬ 
tion of a colour chart has been discussed 
at some length in committee by the 
N.S.P.S., but without any decision being 
arrived at. Ways and means are the 
chief .stumbling-block, for the production 
of a fine colour chart would be costly, 
whereas it ought to be published at a 
price to bring it within the means of every 
flower lover, certainly of every member of 
the N.S.P.S. and kindred societies. 
While Mr. Curtis would like the N.S.P.S. 
to have the honour of bringing out such 
a colour chart, yet he is of opinion that 
such an undertaking should be the work 
of a combination of the Horicultural 
societies. “What a splendid thing it 
would be,” he says, “if for, say, 5s., we 
could have a colour chart that was at 
once the colour law for the Rose, Dah¬ 
lia, Carnation, Chrysanthemum, Sweet 
Pea, and other National Societies.' If the 
matter is beyond such a combination, 
then might not our splendid Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society produce such a chart at 
a moderate price ?” 
This, we think,' is an eminently good 
suggestion, and one which the Council of 
the R.H.S. might well consider. The 
society commands great resources and 
great influence, and with the co-operatior 
of other leading societies, the difficulties 
in the way could surely be surmounted 
By undertaking the task, our premier 
horticultural society would place the flori- 
cultural world under a further indebted 
ness, and add to their many well-deservec 
laurels. 
-- 
Rose Grower^ at Law. 
The hearing of the case of Alexander 
Dickson and Sons, Ltd., v. Alexandei 
Dickson and Sons, was resumed and con 
eluded on the qth inst. The plaintiff 
company, the well-known Rose growers 
Alexander Dickson and Sons. Ltd., earn¬ 
ing on business in Dublin, Belfast. New- 
townards and elsewhere, claimed an in 
junction against Mr. Alexander Dickson 
of Dublin, trading as Alexander Dicksor 
and Sons, restraining him from using the 
plaintiffs’ trade name without taking rea 
sonable precautions to distinguish the 
business carried on by him from that oi 
the plaintiffs. After the taking of further 
evidence the Master of the Rolls, in de¬ 
livering judgment in the plaintiffs’ favour 
pointed out that Mr. Smith, the defend¬ 
ant’s late manager, substantially swore ir 
the box that when defendant described ht- 
business as “Alexander Dickson and Son? 
it was “in retaliation at the loss of a de¬ 
partmental contract” secured by the plain 
tiff. Before that the title under which he 
had traded was the Ashbourne Company—' 
Alexander Dickson was the Ashbourne 
Company and the Ashbourne Company 
was Alexander Dickson. Further, his 
Lordship found there was no partnership 
in the business between the defendant and 
his son ; therefore no need for the adop¬ 
tion of the new title. The order^rvill not 
prevent the defendant from using his own 
name in his business, nor will it prevent 
him entering into partnership and calling 
himself “Alex. Dickson and Sons,” but 
it will prevent him using the name with¬ 
out taking reasonable precautions to dis¬ 
tinguish his business and his goods from 
those of the plaintiff, and from carrying 
on business so as to mislead the public. 
Flower Shows at Birmingham. 
The Birmingham Botanical and Horti¬ 
cultural Society have decided to repeat 
the extra flower shows commenced in 1906. 
The forthcoming shows will be held at 
the Botanical Gardens, Edgbaston, on 
June nth (Orchids and early summer 
flowers) and July nth (Roses and mid¬ 
summer flowers); Honorary exhibits of 
flowers, fruits, etc., will be welcomed. 
Schedules may be obtained from the Hon. 
Secretaries, at the Botanical Gardens, Bir¬ 
mingham. 
Narcissus Ethereal. 
An absolutely pure white Narcissus is 
a very uncommon thing, as most of them 1 
contrive to have a certain amount of yel¬ 
low at least in the cup. Messrs. Cart¬ 
wright and Goodwin, Blakebrook, Kidder¬ 
minster, have produced a hybrid to which 
they give the above name and which is' 
pure white when it expands. This was 
raised from N. Leedsii Hon. Mrs. Barton 
crossed with N. poeticus Cassandra. The; 
outer segments are oblong and broad, 
while the inner ones are ovate and all of 
them overlapping. The crown is widely, 
cup-shaped, nearly flat and plaited. It 
is very chaste or ethereal, and someone: 
procured one of the bulbs at a fabulous 
price for a Daffodil. 
