May  31,  1900. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
457 
Recent  Weather  In  Iiondon. — The  weather  during  the  past  few 
days  has  been  more  pleasant  and  genial.  Some  steady  rain  would  now 
be  highly  appreciated  by  the  majority  of  metropolitan  gardeners,  and 
would  do  much  good  to  all  vegetable  and  fruit  crops,  as  well  as  to  the 
bedding  plants,  that  are  being  rapidly  inserted.  The  sun  has  had 
considerable  power  of  late,  and  the  ground  is  fast  becoming  dry.  At 
the  time  of  going  to  press  on  Wednesday  it  was  dull  and  cold. 
Cardenlngr  Appointments, — Mr.  T.  Whitfield  has  been  appointed 
head  gardener  to  E.  Rhys  Wingfield,  Esq.,  Barrington  Park,  Burford, 
Oxon.  Mr.  G.  H.  Poole,  late  foreman  Cleve  Hill,  Downend,  has  b^^en 
appointed  head  gardener  to  W.  H.  P.  Jenkins,  Esq.,  Frenchhaigh  Park, 
Bristol,  Glos.  Mr.  Stephen  Clarke,  Trengwainton,  Heanor,  Cornwall, 
has  been  appointed,  through  Messrs.  J.  Veitch  &  Sons,  head  gardener 
to  General  Palmer,  Glen  Eyrie,  Colorado  Springs,  U.S.A.  Mr.  Clarke 
is  succeeded  by  Mr.  Westcott,  of  Penal vern,  Penzance. 
Canada  and  the  San  lose  Scale. — The  brief  period  during 
which  the  Canadian  Government  suspended  the  operation  of  the  San 
Jose  scale  law  and  received  nursery  stock  at  certain  ports  of  entry, 
fumigating  the  stock  before  its  transportation  was  continued,  necessarily 
restricted  exportations,  but  assurances  are  offered  of  a  further  period 
of  two  or  three  months  in  the  autumn,  which  will  permit  of  the 
transaction  of  considerable  business  in  the  Dominion. 
“1  am  a  Boer.”— Miss  Dorothy  Chute,  a  young  Irish  lady,  was 
fined  £3  11s.  6d.  at  Littlehampton  recently  for  painting  “  I  am  a  Boer” 
on  a  gate  belonging  to  a  nurseryman  at  Wick,  near  Littlehampton. 
Prosecutor  said  he  owned  40,000  feet  of  glass  close  to  the  road. 
Defendant  admitted  painting  the  words  because  the  prosecutor  did  not 
put  out  a  flag  in  celebration  of  the  relief  of  Mafeking.  Col.  Middleton, 
the  chairman  of  the  Bench,  said  he  would  not  be  called  a  Boer  for  £100. 
Defendant’s  conduct  might  have  led  to  the  prosecutor  being  lynched  in 
the  present  state  of  public  feeling  or  his  property  ruined. 
“One  and  All”  Flower  Show. — This  has  now  become  one b 
the  events  of  the  horticultural  world,  and  this  year’s  show  will,  it  is 
hoped,  range  in  excellence  with  its  predecessors.  As  usual,  the 
exhibition  will  be  in  the  Crystal  Palace,  and  the  selected  dates  are 
August  l7th  and  18' h.  There  are  upwards  of  300  classes,  which, 
heedless  to  say,  embody  every  crop  that  can  be  produced  at  that 
period  of  the  year.  This  exhibition  is  one  of  the  most  admirably 
managed  in  the  kingdom,  and  has  a  peculiarly  high  educational  value 
from  the  fact  that  it  encourages  absolutely  all  classes  of  growers  to 
compete.  The  honorary  secretary  is  Mr.  E.  Owen  Greening,  92,  Long 
Acre,  London,  who  will  forward  schedules  and  all  necessary  information 
to  applicants. 
The  Amateurs’  FracUcal  Garden  Book, — This  publication 
of  Messrs.  Macmillan  is  one  of  their  Garden  Craft  Series,  which  form  a 
group  of  seven  excellent  portable  manuals,  prepared  by  Professor 
Bailey,  6f  Cornell  University,  U.S.A.  It  deals  in  alphabetical  sequence 
with  the  simpler  garden  operations  and  plants  regarding  which  the 
young  gardener  may  be  seeking  information,  and  also  offers  solutions 
of  sundry  difiiculties  inevitable  in  the  pursuit  of  horticulture.  There 
is,  however,  nothing  in  its  design  savouring  of  guidance.  It  seems  to 
be  intended  as  an  “  Enquire  Within  ”  for  those  who  already  have  had 
a  little  practical  experience  of  the  art,  and  know  something  of  flowers 
and  vegetables.  It  is  clearly  and  pleasingly  written,-  and  serves  as 
a  useful  resume  of  elementary  gardening,  which  will  be  conned  at 
leisure  by  those  desirous  of  refreshing  their  memories.  The  cultural 
directions  are  short  and  to  the  point,  but  as  they  have  reference  to  the 
climatic  conditions  prevailing  in  the  north-east  section  of  the  U.S.A., 
they  mu^t  be  taken  with  reservation  here.  Many  of  the  familiar  names, 
too,  of  plants  are  of  the  American  vernacular.  Students  and  young 
enthusiasts  will  find  it  a  very  useful  work  to  have,  and  its  price,  which 
is  3s.  6d.,  brings  it  well  within  the  means  of  the  class  of  readers  to 
which  it  appeals.  The  style,  like  that  of  all  books  proceeding  from 
this  house,  is  unexceptionable. 
The  Horticultural  Club. — We  learn  from  the  secretary,  the 
Rev.  H.  H.  D’Ombrain,  that  the  next  meeting  of  this  society  will 
take  place  upon  the  19th  June,  and  not  upon  the  5th  as  originally 
announced,  owing  to  its  coincidence  with  the  Whitsuntide  holidays. 
Royal  Horticultural  Society. — The  next  fruit  and  flower  show 
of  the  R.H.S.  will  be  held  on  Tuesday,  June  5th,  in  the  Drill  Hall, 
James  Street,  Westminster,  1  to  5  p.m.  A  lecture  on  “  Some  of  the 
Plants  Exhibited  ”  will  be  given  by  the  Rev.  Prof.  G.  Henslow,  M.A.,  at 
three  o’clock. 
Draba  glgas. — This  very  dwarf  growing  perennial  is  useful  for 
the  sunny  part  of  the  rockery.  The  thick,  close  growing,  deep 
green  leaves  hang  over  the  stones  most  effectively  ;  the  pure  white 
flowers,  too,  are  showy  even  at  a  distance.  Although  it  grows  freely 
it  does  not  flower  profusely  for  a  year  or  two  until  it  is  thoroughly 
established  in  a  good  position. — B. 
IMCarrowfat  Peas. — Many  visitors  to  the  recently  held  Temple 
Show  will  remember  the  cone-like  mounds  of  Green  Peas  that  were 
arranged  by  Messrs.  Sutton  &  Sons,  and  would  recognise  their  great 
excellence  for  such  an  early  date.  We  now  learn  that  H.R.H.  the 
Prince  of  Wales  (president  of  the  Gardeners’  Royal  Benevolent 
Institution)  saw  and  admired  them,  and  was  graciously  pleased  to 
accept  some  for  the  Royal  table. 
The  Percolation  of  Water. — The  percolation  experiments  made 
at  Rothamsted  for  about  twenty  years  have  shown  that  in  the  winter 
months  more  than  half  the  amount  of  rain  penetrates  into  the  soil  and 
is  available  for  springs,  while  in  summer  this  amount  only  reaches  a 
quarter  that  of  rain.  Three  gauges  were  used,  each  having  an  area  of 
one-thousandth  of  an  acre.  The  water  was  collected  at  three  depths, 
and  was  always  greater  in  quantity  at  40  inches  than  at  20  or  at  60. 
Grapes  from  Spain. — Few  people  are  aware  of  the  quantity  of 
foreign  Grapes  that  come  to  this  country.  Take  the  exports  from  the 
small  port  of  Aguilas,  in  Southern  Spain,  as  an  instance.  We  are 
informed  that  in  a  short  time  the  exportation  of  Grapes  will  reach 
what  before  the  epoch  of  the  phylloxera  might  be  considered  its 
normal  standard — namely,  1,000,000  barrels  of  Grapes  annually.  This 
year,  including  half  and  quarter  barrels  (after  reduction  to  whole 
barrels),  there  have  been  836,429  barrels  of  55  lbs.  each,  or  the 
astounding  amount  of  46,003,595  lbs.  of  Grapes. 
Zs  It  bXanna  ? — A  strange  occurrence  is  reported  by  the  “  Delhi 
Post  ”  concerning  large  tracts  of  Bamboo  forest  in  Chanda,  in  the 
Central  Provinces  of  India.  Quite  recently,  and  for  the  first  time 
in  the  history  of  these  forests,  a  gummy  substance  has  been  exuding 
from  the  Bamboo  trees  there.  The  sup^ply  of  this  is  reported  to  be 
so  abundant  that  the  famine-stricken  people  are  said  to  be  making 
free  use  of  it  as  a  food.  A  quantity  of  this  gum  has  just  been  sent 
to  Dr.  Watt,  reporter  on  economic  products,  for  investigation.  Mean¬ 
while,  it  is  said  to  be  a  palatable  resinous  substance,  sweet  in  taste, 
and  resembling  the  Egyptian  fungus  supposed  to  be  the  Scriptural 
manna. 
Kew  Guild  Dinner. — On  Tuesday,  May  22nd,  the  first  annual 
dinner  of  the  Kew  Guild  was  held  at  the  Holborn  Restaurant,  and  never 
in  the  records  of  Kew  has  such  a  representative  body  of  her  sons  been 
gathered  together.  At  7.30  the  chair  was  taken  by  the  director  (Sir 
Wm.  T.  Thiselton-Dyer,  K.C.M.G.,  C.I.E.),  and  slightly  over  100  sat 
down.  Of  the  number  present  about  two-thirds  were  past  Kewites, 
representing  all  parts  of  the  British  Isles,  the  continent,  and  the 
colonies.  After  an  excellent  dinner  the  chairman  proposed  the  toast — 
“  The  Queen  ” — referring  in  a  few  words  to  the  great  part  the  Queen 
and  other  members  of  the  Royal  Family  had  played  towards  making 
Kew  what  it  is  to-day.  Afterwards  the  same  gentleman  proposed 
“  The  Kew  Guild,”  speaking  with  great  enthusiasm  of  the  beneficial 
effect  the  Kew  Guild  had  had  on  Kew  men,  uniting  all  old  Kew  men  in 
a  bond  of  friendship  and  sympathy  and  keeping  all  its  members  in 
direct  communication  with  each  other  by  means  of  the  annual  journal. 
This  toast  was  replied  to  by  Messrs.  G.  Nicholson  and  W.  Watson, 
Other  toasts  were — “  Present  Kewites,”  proposed  by  Mr.  W.  Pettigrew, 
and  replied  to  by  Mr.  Girdham  ;  and  “  Old  Kewites,”  proposed  by  Mr. 
Dallimore,  and  replied  to  by  Mr.  Latham  of  Birmingham  and  Mr. 
U  dale  of  Worcester.  The  toasts  were  interspersed  with  music,  songs, 
and  glees.  At  11.30  the  meeting  dispersed,  everyone  regretting  that 
the  time  had  not  been  longer,  and  all  expressing  the  opinion  that  they 
had  never  spent  a  pleasanter  evening.  ^ 
