March  15,  1900. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
213 
NOTES 
OTICES 
Recent  Weather  In  Iiondon. — The  weather  in  the  metropolis 
has  changed  during  the  past  few  days.  On  Saturday  the  sun  shone 
brilliantly,  and  the  air  was  almost  as  balmy  as  a  May  morning. 
Sunday,  too,  was  mild,  but  the  sun  scarcely  struggled  through  the 
haze.  There  was  a  suspicion  of  frost  on  Monday  morning,  but  the  day 
was  mild  and  fine.  Tuesday  morning  was  much  colder,  and  there  was 
a  slight  dampness  in  the  wind.  Wednesday  was  a  typical  spring  day. 
Weather  In  the  Xforth. — Frosty  nights  and  bright  days  have 
b^n  the  rule  for  the  past  week;  the  8th  and  9tb,  however,  being  duller. 
No  rain  has  fallen,  and  the  frost  has  put  the  heavier  lands  into  fine 
working  condition  ;  and  the  Bean  crop  has  been  gdt  in.  6°  of  frost 
v/ero  registered  on  the  Gth,  9^  on  the  7th,  and  6°  on  Saturday.  Sunday 
was  a  beautiful  spring-like  day  ;  Monday  duller,  vtith  a  coldish  wind 
from  the  west.  A  good  deal  of  snow  still  lies  cja  the  hills. — B.  D., 
S.  Perthshire. 
Dahlia  Show  at  the  Royal  Aquarlun^. — An  exhibition  of 
Dahlias  on  much  the  lines  of  that  held  last  year  will  take  place 
at  the  Royal  Aquarium  on  September  18th  and^  two  following  days. 
A  sum  of  nearly  £30  is  offered  in  prizes — a  portion  of  which  has 
been  subscribed  by  the  directors  of  the  Royal  Aquarium,  and  the 
remainder  by  private  subscription.  Two  main  objects  are  sought  by 
the  establishment  of  this  show — one  is  to  provide  an  exhibition  of 
Dahlias  in  central  London,  the  other  to  afford  a  convenient  oppor¬ 
tunity  for  a  further  exhibition  of  seedling  Dahlias.  Schedules  of 
prizes  can  be  obtained  of  the  superintendent,  Mr.  Richard  Dean,  42, 
Ranelagh  Road,  Ealing,  W. 
After  the  Siege.  —  The  following  prices  were  realised  at  an 
auction  in  Ladysmith  on  the'  21et  of  February  :  14  lbs.  of  oatmeal, 
£2  19s.  6d. ;  1  lb.  of  fat  beef,  11s. ;  1  lb.  tin  of  3offee,  17s. ;  eggs,  £2  8s, 
per  dozen  ;  a  fowl,  18s.  ;  four  small  cucumbers,  15s. ;  green  mealies, 
38.  8d.  each  ;  a  small  quantity  of  grapes,  £1  5s. ;  a  plate  of  tomatoes, 
18s. ;  one  marrow,  £1  83. ;  a  plate  of  potatoes,  19s. ;  two  small  bunches 
of  carrots,  9s. ;  a  glass  of  jelly,  18s.;  1  lb.  bottle  of  jam,  £l  11s.; 
1  lb.  tin  of  marmalade,  1  guinea  ;  a  dozen  nlatclffis,  13s.  6d. ;  a  packet 
of  cigarettes,  £1  6s.;  fifty  cigars,  £9  5s.  ;1  a  Quarter-pound  cake  of 
tobacco,  £2  5s.  ;  half  a  pound  of  tobacco,  £3  5s.  I  Such  figures  as  these 
ought  to  satisfy  the  most  rapacious  growers.  j 
Death  of  IVIr.  E.  J.  Dowe. — By  the  dernse  on  Saturday  last,  at 
Shirenewton  Hall,  Chepstow,  of  Mr.  E.  J.  Lpfe,  F.R.S.,  horticulture 
generally,  and  Fern  growers  in  particular,  losl  one  of  their  keenest 
supporters.  His  knowledge  of  exotic  and  natiw  Ferns  was  profound, 
and  in  his  collection  of  these  plants  he  found  thehtmost  pleasure.  Mr. 
Lowe  was  a  founder  of  the  Meteorological  Socity,  and  his  meteoro¬ 
logical  writings  and  other  labours  have  a  perms  lent  value.  He  was 
equally  distinguished  as  a  naturalist,  and  an  aut  ority  on  mollusca  as 
well  as  Ferns.  He  was  also  an  inventor.  Mr.  Ijwe  was  a  Fellow  of 
the  Royal  and  many  other  learned  societies.  Fo'the  greater  part  of 
his  life  he  was  closely  associated,  officially  andlotherwise,  with  the 
county  of  Nottingham.  The  deceased  was  seventjjfive  years  of  age. 
Death  of  IVIr.  G.  J.  Symons,  F.R.S.— |mny  of  our  readers 
who  have- worked  in  association  with  Mr.  SymtuQ  in  registering  the 
rainfall  in  various  districts  will  learn  with  mudhVegret  of  his  death 
from  paralysis  on  Saturday  last  at  his  residence,  2,  Camden  Square, 
N.W.  The  deceased  gentleman  was  a  devoted  mieorologist,  and  his 
notes  of  observations  appeared  in  the  Journal  of  H&iiculture  for  many 
years.  Mr.  Symons  was  a  most  diligent  and  caref  l  worker,  and  the 
deserved  subject  of  many  marks  of  recognition  11)  was  the  recipient 
of  the  cross  of  Knight  of  the  Legion  of  Honojr  frcn  the  President  of 
the  French  Republic  in  1891,  and  the  Albert  taeda  in  1897  from  the 
Prince  of  Wales  for  services  in  recording  thi  raiifall.  Mr.  Symons 
filled  the  offices  of  secretary  and  president  of  jbe  Ryal  Meteorological 
Society,  and  had  some  3000  coadjutors  througmut  tb  country  who  sent 
him  the  reports  which  enabled  him  for  nearly  forty  ears  to  publish  an 
account  of  the  rainfall  in  the  British  Isles, 
was  sixty -two  years  of  age. 
Dhe  diceased  gentleman 
Mr.  W.  J.  Bean. — We  are  informed  that  Mr.  William  J.  Bean, 
who  has  been  arboretum  foreman  at  the  Royal  Gardens,  Kew,  has 
been  appointed  assistant-curator  for  the  arboretum.  Mr.  Bean  thus 
becomes  a  member  of  the  permanent  staff  of  the  gardens,  and  there  is 
little  likelihood  of  his  valuable  services  passing  to  another  establish¬ 
ment,  either  at  home  or  abroad. 
Royal  Meteorological  Society. — At  the  ordinary  meeting  of 
the  society  to  be  held  at  the  Institution  of  Civil  Engineers,  Great  George 
Street,  Westminster,  on  Wednesday,  the  21st  instant,  at  7.30  p.m.,  the 
following  papers  will  be  read: — “The  Ether  Sunshine  Recorder,’’  by 
W.  H.  Dines,  B.  A.,  F  R.Met.  Soc. ;  “  Remarks  on  the  Weather  Conditions 
of  the  Steamship  Track  between  Fiji  and  Hawaii,’’  by  Capt.  M.  W.  C. 
Hepworth,  F.R.Met.Soo. ;  “Comparison  by  Means  of  Dots,”  by 
Alexander  B.  MacDowall,  M.A.,  F. R.Met. Soc. 
Currants  as  a  Food. — Fruit  dealers  say  that  London  cousuni’^s 
more  and  more  dried  currants  every  year.  Recent  heavy  importations 
of  the  fruit  certainly  tend  to  confirm  the  statement.  A  few  days  ago 
one  boat  alone — the  steamship  “  Benmore ’’—unloaded  at  the  docks 
23,141  quarter-cases  and  625  half-cases  from  Patras,  and  5502  quarter- 
cases  and  1376  half-cases  from  Zante.  The  quarter-cases  are  becoming 
very  popular  among  the  small  consumers.  It  seems  likely  that,  as  in 
the  United  States,  the  currants  will  also  soon  be  sold  in  1  lb.  boxes. 
Tomato  Disease  In  Australia. — Several  Tomato  growers  about 
Sydney,  N.S.W.,  have  been  puzzled  to  notice  fine  healthy  plants  suddenly 
collapsing  and  dying  as  if  struck  by  a  plague.  .  The  peculiar  disease 
has  recently,  says  a  contemporary,  appeared  on  a  large  scale  in  the 
Gosford  district.  Specimens  sent  to  the  Agricultural  Department  have 
beeu  examined,  and  found  to  be  infested  with  the  “sleeping  disease  of 
Tomato,  a  fungoid  known  as  Fusarium  lycopersici.”  The  entomo¬ 
logist  states  that  this  is  a  very  common  disease  in  England,  where  it 
causes  great  losses  to  market  gardeners  growing  Tomatoes.  It  is  likely 
to  spread,  as  if  the  plants  are  attacked  when  in  full  fruit,  as  is  often 
the  case,  the  fruit  may  ripen,  and  appear,  even  under  the  miscroscope, 
to  be  perfectly  sound,  yet  the  seeds  from  such  Tomatoes,  if  planted,  will 
produce  diseased  plants. 
Death  of  a  Distinguished  Scottish  Gardener. — It  is  with 
deep  regret  that  we  have  to  record  the  decease  of  Mr.  William  Hugh 
Gorrie,  late  gardener  to  Sir  W.  Ilozier,  of  Mauldslie  Castle,  Lanark¬ 
shire,  on  the  5th  iust.,  aged  sixty-five  years,  after  a  painful  and  pro¬ 
tracted  illness.  Mr.  Gorrie  was  well  known  throughout  Scotland  as 
one  of  our  most  successful  gardeners.  Such  has  been  exemplified  for 
many  years  past  in  the  fine  gardens  of  Mauldslie,  where  his  skill  and 
management  have  been  so  much  in  evidence.  The  deceased  was 
associated  with  gardening  from  his  childhood.  Mr.  Gorrie  had  capital 
training  under  his  father,  who  was  gardener  at  Polmaise,  near  Stirling, 
for  many  years.  After  making  the  beat  of  his  time  as  apprentice  and 
journeyman  he  went  as  foreman  to  Luchie,  in  East  Lothian,  and  was 
for  some  years  foreman  at  Tyningham,  under  Mr.  Lee.  From  there  he 
went  to  Raith  as  head  gardener  to  the  late  Colonel  Ferguson,  after 
whose  death  he  went  as  gardener  to  Sir  W.  Hozier.  Mr.  Gorrie  leaves 
a  widow  and  family  to  mourn  his  loss. — M.  Temple,  Garrou,  JV.B. 
A  Iffovel  Suit. — Some  months  ago  a  Mr.  John  Coleman  of 
Williamsport,  Pa.,  instituted  legal  proceedings  against  a  Mr.  D.  E. 
Gorman,  who  owns  greenhouses  directly  across  the  street  from  Cole¬ 
man’s  residence.  The  plaintiff  alleged  that  the  glass  sides  and  roof  of 
the  greenhouses  are  constructed  at  such  angles  that  at  all  times  when 
the  sun  is  shining  the  beams  are  reflected  so  that  they  strike  Coleman’s 
plot  and  the  dwelling  house  with  such  brilliancy  as  to  render  the  rooms 
in  the  front  part  of  the  house  and  the  porch  uninhabitable,  useless,  and 
unfit  for  occupation  and  dangerous  to  the  health  of  the  occupants  of 
the  dwelling.  Mr.  Coleman  therefore  asked  for  relief  as  follows  : 
—First  that  the  greenhouses  be  declared  a  nuisance;  second,  that 
the  defendant  be  compelled  to  remove  the  same;  and  third,  that 
he  be  restrained  hereafter  from  maintaining  buildings  constructed 
of  glass  on  his  premises.  The  court,  after  hearing  the  evidence 
in  the  case,  gave  Mr.  Gorman  until  May  1st,  1900,  in  which  to  remedy 
the  matter  and  do  away  with  the  reflection,  and  stated  that  in  the 
event  of  his  failure  to  do  this,  he  would  grant  the  injunction  as  asked. 
Needless  to  say,  Mr.  Gorman  feels  that  this  is  a  very  unjust  decision, 
but  he  has  not  taken  an  appeal.  If  this  is  sound  law  there  may  be  a  good 
many  reflections  which  will  land  greenhouse  owners  in  court. 
(“  American  Florist.) 
