328 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
April  19,  1900. 
Oardenlng’  Appointment. — Mr.  G.  Tyler,  for  the  past  ten  years 
gardener  to  C.  A.  Jones,  Esq.,  Bron  Hendre,  Carnarvon,  South  Wales, 
and  late  of  Craig-y-Nos  Castle,  Swansea,  has  been  engaged  as  head 
gardener  to  Mrs.  J.  W.  Jones,  Plas-y-Bryn,  near  Carnarvon, 
Honourlngr  miss  Eleanor  A.  Ormerod. — Miss  Eleanor  Ormerod, 
the  eminent  entomologist,  who  has  done  so  much  valuable  work  in 
bringing  to  the  knowledge  of  agriculturists  the  life  history  of  the 
several  pests  which  afflict  their  crops,  received  the  degree  of  LL.D. 
at  the  spring  graduation  assembly  of  Edinburgh  University  on 
Saturday.  Professor  Sir  Ludovic  Grant  observed  of  Miss  Ormerod 
that  their  roll  of  honorary  graduates  in  law  now  for  the  first  time  con¬ 
tained  the  name  of  a  lady.  Miss  Ormerod’s  labours  had  been  crowned 
with  such  success  that  she  was  entitled  to  be  hailed  as  the  protectress 
of  agriculture  and  the  fruits  of  the  earth. 
Sollls  Hill  Estate. — The  Select  Committee  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  of  which  Sir  William  Houldsworth  is  chairman,  yesterday 
afternoon  passed  the  preamble  of  the  General  Powers  Bill  of  the 
London  County  Council,  which  includes  provisions  enabling  the 
Council  and  the  Hampstead  Vestry  to  contribute  to  the  acquisition 
of  the  Dollis  Hill  estate  for  the  purpose  of  a  recreation  ground. 
The  only  opposed  provision  of  the  Bill  was  one  to  enable  certain 
land  at  Battersea,  now  used  as  allotment  ground,  to  be  appropriated 
in  part  as  an  open  space,  and  in  part  for  the  erection  of  artisans’ 
dwellings.  The  Committee,  in  giving  its  decision  on  this  point, 
expressed  a  hope  that  the  County  Council  and  the  Vestry  would 
give  the  allotment  holders,  and  especially  the  older  ones,  as  much 
consideration  as  the  circumstances  might  justify,  and  thought  it 
might  trust  them  to  do  this. 
Soil  Samples. — We  have  received  a  catalogue  of  the  first  4000 
samples  in  the  soil  collection  of  the  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture,  prepared  by  Mr.  Wilton  Witney,  chief  of  Division  of  Soils. 
To  all  interested  in  soil  investigations  this  publication  will  be  a  useful 
and  suggestive  work  of  reference.  Not  only  does  the  collection  contain 
specimens  of  soils  from  the  chief  geological  formations  of  the  United 
States,  it  also  includes  samples  from  many  of  the  important  agricultural 
districts,  and  likewise  special  collections  of  Wheat  soils,  and  Tobacco 
soils,  from  all  parts  of  the  world.  Remarks  are  made  concerning 
the  collection  of  specimens,  their  arrangement  and  classification,  and  it 
is  stated  that  sets  of  representative  soils  are  arranged  in  boxes,  to  be 
distributed  to  agricultural  colleges  and  experiment  stations,  with 
explanatory  text  regarding  their  origin,  chemical  and  physical 
peculiarities.  One  object  in  publishing  the  catalogue  is  to  suggest 
exchanges  with  institutions  in  other  countries. —  (“  Nature.”) 
Useful  Hints  by  an  Octogenarian. — That  the  occupation  of 
gardening  in  association  with  prudent  habits  of  life  is  conducive  to 
longevity  and  activity,  the  frequent  contributions  to  these  columns  by 
“  D.,  Deal,”  and  an  occasional  jaunty  “  screed,”  as  he  terms  it,  by  Mr. 
Robert  Fenn,  afford  good  testimony.  There  is,  however,  another  octo¬ 
genarian  in  the  gardening  community,  the  bearer  of  a  familiar  and  much 
respected  name — James  Dobbie,  the  founder  of  the  enterprising  firm  that 
worthily  bears  his  name  at  Rothesay.  Mr.  James  Dobbie  was  for  some 
years  a  gardener  and  a  good  one — a  deep  thinker  and  thorough  worker. 
Though  eighty-three  years  of  age  his  eye  is  still  clear,  his  hand  firm, 
and  his  arm  strong  enough  to  enable  him  to  enjoy  a  “  good  day’s  work 
with  the  spade  ”  in  his  cherished  garden  at  Tor  Castle,  Craigmore,  Isle 
of  Bute.  Thinking  some  records  of  his  fifty-five  years’  practical 
experience  might  be  useful,  he  has  embodied  them  in  a  sixpenny 
pamphlet  of  thirty-two  pages.  He  treats  of  the  importance  of  shelter 
for  almost  everything  that  grows  in  garden  and  field.  He  seems  to 
have  been  a  pioneer  in  supporting  fruits  in  nets  for  their  longer 
retention  on  trees,  and  the  consequent  gain  in  size  and  weight  for 
exhibition,  as  he  also  was  of  raising  Onions  under  glass  and  growing 
large  bulbs  thirty -three  years  ago.  He  tells  of  growing  Leeks  in 
tubes  for  winning  prizes,  also  of  his  method  and  success  with  various 
other  crops.  Nor  does  he  forget  the  enemies  that  beset  his  path — the 
underground  pests,  such  as  wireworms  and  millipedes ;  the  night 
prowlers — slugs  and  snails;  the  leaf  eaters  and  sap  suckers — cater¬ 
pillars  and  aphides;  the  “rusts”  of  Parsnips  and  Parsley.  He  has 
a  word  about  them  all,  and  explains  his  easy  methods  of  conquering 
them.  Mr.  Dobbie,  in  short,  covers  a  wide  field  in  concise  form  with 
the  object  of  being  helpful,  and  his  unpretentious  pamphlet  may  be 
fairly  described  as  a  veritable  multum  in  parvo. 
Erencb  Colonial  Garden. — The  Colonial  Garden  established  at 
Vincennes  last  July  is  rendering  important  service  to  the  French 
Colonies.  M.  Dybowsky,  the  Director,  informed  an  interviewer  that 
he  was  at  present  engaged  in  studying  the  Ko-sam  plant,  which 
had  been  found  to  be  a  marvellous  remedy  against  the  dysentery 
prevalent  in  hot  countries.  A  discovery  made  at  the  garden  was  that 
Encomia  almoides  contains  28  per  cent,  of  guttapercha.  Plants  have 
been  sent  to  Tonquin,  Annam,  and  North  Africa,  and  it  is  confi- 
dently  hoped  that  very  important  results  will  be  attained.  Incidentally 
M.  Dybowsky  found  that  the  bark  of  Indiarubber  trees  contains  5  per 
cent,  more  rubber  than  the  leaves  and  branches.  All  the  Governors  of 
the  French  rubber-producing  Colonies  have  been  informed  of  the  fact 
The  bark  has  hitherto  been  thrown  away. 
Iiondon  at  Play. — The  first  bank  holiday  of  the  year  passed  off 
pleasantly  and  safely.  London’s  millions  had  a  full  day  of  play  and 
pleasure.  A  hasty  bird’s-eye  view  of  London  making  holiday  is  pre¬ 
sented  by  the  following  figures  ; — Kew  Gardens,  70,000 ;  Crystal 
Palace,  about,  101,651  ;  Alexandra  Palace,  63,000 ;  Hampton  Court 
23,000;  'VVembley  Park,  8,500;  Hampstead  “Heath,  110,000;  Epping 
Forest,  120,000;  Waterlow  Park,  25,000;  Highgate  Woods,  30,000; 
Zoological  I  Gardens,  33,888.  It  was  a  truly  April  day.  Sometimes 
it  was  raining,  sometimes  the  sun  was  shining  brilliantly,  and  some¬ 
times  both  kinds  of  weather  synchronised.  The  showers  were  heavy 
while  they  lasted,  but  the  sun  had  by  far  the  best  of  the  encounter 
upon  the  whole,  and  the  great,  good-humoured  crowds  everywhere 
looked  as  if  they  had  no  fault  to  find  with  the  weather  or  anything  else. 
A  national  Hose  Pay. — Respecting  the  proposal  to  establish  a 
National  Rose  Day,  “  F.  R.  H.  S.”  writes  as  follows  in  the  “  Surrey 
Comet :  ” — Seeing  St.  George  is  a  comparatively  unknown  quantity  in 
English  sentiment,  and  that  Queen  Victoria  is  a  very  practical  factor 
in  sentiment  and  patriotism,  the  saint  should  be  ignored  in  the  future 
as  in  the  past,  and  so  noble  a  woman  and  queen  as  is  her  Majesty 
be  the  subject  of  the  proposed  Rose  celebration.  It  fortunately 
happens  that  the  anniversary  of  Queen  Victoria’s  coronation,  which 
took  place  in  1838,  falls  on  June  28th,  and  right  in  the  midst  of  our 
Rose  season  of  flowering.  It  is  a  time  of  the  year  when  Roses  are 
everywhere,  and  can  be  had  by  the  humblest  as  well  as  by  the  richest. 
The  Rose  is  peculiarly  a  British  flower,  as  our  woods  and  hedge¬ 
rows  show,  and  from  these  native  species  have  come  most  of  the 
beautiful  varieties  we  grow  in  our  gardens.  There  would  also  be 
particular  charm  in  this  universal  adoption  of  the  Rose  as  a  floral  emblem 
in  honour  of  our  illustrious  Queen,  that  far  back  in  English  history  the 
wars  of  the  Roses,  red  and  white,  showed  how  bitter  racial  animosity 
divided  England,  and  now  in  wearing  on  June  28th  Roses  of  all 
colours  would  show  how  the  old  divisions  and  hatreds  had  been  healed 
in  this  mode  of  celebration  of  Queen  Victoria’s  reign.  We  must  not 
forget  also  that  the  present  reign  is  the  longest  known  in  English 
history,  and  it  has  proved  to  be  in  very  many  ways  by  far  the  greatest 
and  most  progressive  era  of  all  time.  Long  after  the  Queen  has  been 
gathered  to  her  fathers  the  Victorian  era  will  be  regarded  with  wonder 
and  veneration.  Were  it  universally  agreed  to  establish  a  Victorian 
Rose  Day  on  June  28th  in  this  and  succeeding  years  there  can  be  little 
doubt  that  it  would  be  universally  observed. 
Meteorological  Observations  at  Chiswick. — Taken  in  the 
Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  Gardens — height  above  sea  level  24  feet. 
Date. 
Direction  of 
Wind. 
Temperature  of  the 
Air. 
Bain. 
Temperature  of 
the  Soil. 
At  9  A.  M. 
Lowest 
Temperature 
on  Gra-sa. 
1900. 
April. 
At  9  A.M. 
Day. 
Night 
At 
1-ft. 
deep. 
At 
2-ft. 
deep. 
At 
4-ft. 
deep. 
Dry 
Bulb. 
Wet 
Bulb. 
CR 
S 
■s 
o 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
ins. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
Sunday..  8 
,N.N.E.' 
42-2 
39-4 
47*0 
37-2 
— 
43'2 
43-6 
43-9 
32-5 
Monday . .  9 
E.S  E. 
38  -1 
37-8 
54-8 
29-8 
0-01 
42-2 
43-6 
43-9 
22-6 
Tuesday  10 
vv  .»s.  w . 
50-3 
44'3 
55 -6 
37-8 
0-10 
43-8 
43-6 
44-1 
27-6 
Wed’sday  11 
53-7 
49-9 
67-5 
42-9 
0-06 
45-6 
44-2 
44-2 
39-1 
Thursday  12 
w.s.w. 
61  -8 
45-6 
57-2 
44-9 
46-7 
44-9 
44-3 
37-9 
Friday  . .  13 
w.s.  w. 
51-5 
43-8 
68-2 
46-6 
_ 
47-9 
45-6 
44-5 
40-4 
Saturday  14 
w.s.w. 
49-9 
47-2 
63-4 
41  9 
— 
47-4 
46-2 
44-9 
33-2 
Total  1 
Means  .. 
48-2 
44-0 
56-2 
40-2 
0-17 
45-2 
44-5 
44-3 
33-3 
The  weather  during  the  week  has  been  generally  dull  with  south¬ 
westerly  gales,  which  were  unusually  strong  on  the  13th  inst. 
