June  21,  1900. 
JOURN-AL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER 
529 
NOTES 
Xtecent  Weather  In  Iiondon. — The  weather  has  been  particularly 
fine  during  the  past  few  daj  s,  though  there  has  been  no  return  of  the 
intense  heat.  Monday  afternoon  was  very  warm,  but  each  evening  was 
pleasantly  cool.  On  Tuesday  the  conditions  continued  unchanged,  and 
Wednesday  was  showery. 
Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  Richmond  nXeetlngr. — We  are 
requested  to  state  that  the  committees  of  the  Royal  Horticultural 
Society  will  meet  at  11.30  at  Richmond  on  Wednesday,  27th  inst.,  and 
members  will  have  to  sign  their  names  in  the  attendance  books  at  the 
entrance. 
Gift  of  a  Park  to  Blyth. — We  are  informed  that  the  Home 
Secretary,  Sir  Matthew  White  Ridley,  has  given  a  large  piece  of  land 
to  the  Blyth  District  Council  to  be  utilised  as  a  park  by  the  residents  of 
that  seaport.  The  Home  Secretary  is  the  lord  of  the  manor,  and  his 
generosity  is  greatly  appreciated. 
Ousting  Foreign  Fruit.  —  The  crop  of  English  fruit  and 
vegetables  coming  to  Covent  Garden  promises  to  be  unusually 
abundant  this  year.  The  quantity  of  Gooseberries  already  in  the 
market  is  so  great  that  the  sale  prices  are  lower  than  they  have  been 
for  many  years.  Kent  Strawberries  have  begun  to  arrive,  and  on 
Thursday  so  many  came  up  from  Southampton  that  prices  dropped 
one-half.  The  supply  will  be  regular  and  daily  expanding  for  the  next 
few  weeks.  The  price  already  reached  is  so  low  as  to  render  further 
importation  of  the  French  fruit  unprofitable.  When  the  height  of 
the  harvest  arrives  it  is  anticipated  that  Strawberries  will  be 
obtainable  at  an  unusually  low  figure. 
The  Resistance  of  Seeds  to  Heat. —  Mens.  E.  Schribaux  records 
in  a  continental  contemporary  some  surprising  results  obtained  in 
experiments  in  killing  insects  among  seeds  by  the  application  of  heat. 
Weevils  were  dead  after  two  minutes’  exposure  at  a  temperature  of 
122°  and  many  Mother  insects  at  140°.  The  indications  are  that  this 
treatment  will  also  destroy  the  eggs  of  insects  and  the  spores  of  fungi, 
experiments  being  now  in  progress  to  determine  these  points.  The 
surprising  thing  about  the  experiments  is  the  great  resistance  to  dry 
heat  shown  by  most  seeds.  It  was  found  that  the  cereals,  excepting 
corn,  withstood  a  temperature  equal  to  the  boiling  point  of  water,  for 
an  hour,  without  their  germinating  power  being  in  the  least  affected. 
The  conclusions  drawn  are  that  by  short  exposures  to  these  high 
temperatures  all  animal  and  vegetable  parasites  may  be  destroyed 
without  injury  to  the  seeds.  In  the  treatment  of  grain  for  the 
destruction  of  smuts,  alone,  this  method  would  be  of  exceedingly  great 
benefit  to  the  farmer. 
America  to  the  Fore. — The  famous  Hall  of  the  Massachusetts 
Horticultural  Society,  on  Tremont  Street,  Boston,  has  at  last  been  sold 
and  will  be  torn  down  to  make  room  for  a  modern  office  building.  The 
Horticultural  Society  some  time  ago  secured  possession  of  a  site  on  the 
corner  of  Huntington  and  Massachusetts  Avenues,  opposite  the  new 
Music  Hall.  Its  area  is  22,500  square  feet,  and  the  project  to  build 
has  only  awaited  the  disposal  of  the  old  property.  Horticultural  Hall 
was  built  in  1865.  The  cornerstone  was  laid  on  May  I8th  of  that 
year.  The  mayor  of  the  city,  members  of  the  city  government, 
members  of  the  Massachusetts  Charitable  Mechanics’  Association,  the 
Society  of  Natural  History,  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society, 
the  Institute  of  Technology,  the  Massachusetts  Society  for  the 
Promotion  of  Agriculture,  and  the  trustees  of  Mount  Auburn  Cemetery 
were  in  the  distinguished  company  present.  The  building  was 
dedicated  on  September  16th  of  that  year.  It  is  of  white  granite,  and 
the  front  contains  three  statues  by  Martin  Milmore,  representing  Ceres, 
Flora,  and  Pomona.  In  former  days  .the  hall  was  in  great  demand  for 
fairs,  conventions,  and  various  other  kinds  of  meetings.  The  site  of 
the  hall  has  long  been  considered  one  of  the  most  valuable  in  the  city 
of  Boston,  as  it  has  the  advantage  of  fronting  on  three  streets.  The 
last  assessment  of  the  property  was  placed  at  565,000  dels,  of  which 
the  building  was  71,500  dols.  The  society  was  asking  700,000  dols., 
but  it  is  understood  that  a  less  sum  was  accepted.  The  present  hall 
has  been  a  very  valuable  investment  for  the  society. 
Ziectures  at  Chiswick. — In  order  not  to  clash  with  the  Richmond 
Show,  Professor  Henslow’s  lecture,  announced  for  Wednesday,  June 
27th,  will  be  given  on  Tuesday,  June  26th,  instead, — W,  Wilks,  Sec. 
Rhododendrons  In  Bondon. — The  annual  exhibition  of  Rhodo¬ 
dendrons  arranged  by  Messrs.  J.  Waterer  &  Son,  Ltd.,  in  the  gardens  of 
the  Royal  Botanic  Society,  has  again  been  a  great  success.  Visitors  to 
see  the  gorgeous  flowers  have  been  numerous,  and  a  greater  amount 
of  interest  will  doubtless  be  engendered  by  those  shows.  The  certi¬ 
ficated  “Pink  Pearl”  seemed  to  attract  more  attention  than  any  other 
individual  variety. 
Gardening  Appointments. — Mr.  Charles  Abbott,  late  general 
foreman  at  Londesborough  Park,  Market  Weighton,  Yorkshire,  has 
been  appointed  head  gardener  to  the  Right.  Hon.  the  Earl  of  Carysfort, 
Elton  Hall,  near  Peterborough  ;  he  entered  on  his  duties  on  the  7th  inst. 
Mr.  Alfred  Dry  den,  formerly  head  gardener  to  Mrs.  Blacker,  of  Castle 
Martin,  Newbridge,  county  Kildare,  has  been  appointed  to  chief 
command  in  the  gardens  of  Sir  Gilbert  King,  Bart.,  Charlestown, 
Drumsna,  county  Leitrim.  Mr.  W.  J.  Empson,  for  the  past  thirteen 
years  head  gardener  and  steward  to  the  late  Mrs.  Wingfield,  as  agent 
and  farm  steward  to  Frank  Hargreaves,  Esq.,  Halford  Manor,  Shipston- 
on-Stour,  Warwickshire.  All  communications  after  June  23rd  should 
be  addressed  to  Merton  Grange,  Gamlingay,  Cambs. 
Where  Our  Oranges  Come  From. — Few  people  are  aware  that 
we  import  many  millions  of  Oranges  from  foreign  centres  each  year. 
The  largest  quantities  reach  our  markets  from  Spain.  The  imports 
from  this  country,  according  to  the  latest  Government  returns,  exceed 
6,216,000  bushels.  Spain  is  the  greatest  Orange-exporting  country  in 
the  world.  Italy  stands  second,  Turkey  comes  next,  then  Portugal,  and 
then  the  Azores.  Egypt  sends  us  more  Oranges  than  France,  and  the 
United  States  has  22,313  bushels  to  her  account,  these  fruits  coming 
from  California,  and  consisting  of  the  famous  seedless  variety.  A  few 
Oranges  come  from  Brazil  and  Germany.  We  get  few  Oranges  from 
our  colonies  at  present,  though  in  future  years  the  imports  will 
increase  considerably. 
A  Hote  on  Perfumes. — The  South  of  Prance  and  Italy  supply 
the  majority  of  flowers  from  which  perfumes  are  extracted.  English 
flowers,  for  the  most  part,  lack  the  intensity  of  odour  necessai’y  for 
this  purpose.  Our  little  island  is,  however,  unsurpassed  in  its  pro¬ 
duction  of  Lavender,  the  moist  soil  being  admirably  adapted  to  its 
growth.  The  perfume  of  Lavender  is  old-fashioned,  but  sweet  and 
wholesome,  indeed  the  Queen  prefers  it  to  all  others.  A  flower’s 
perfume  is  not  as  a  rule  stored  up  in  a  gland  that  can  be  easily 
removed.  It  is,  says  a  contemporary,  a  breath  or  exhalation  that  is 
given  off  while  the  flower  lives,  and  ceases  at  its  death.  Perfume 
may  be  stolen  from  flowers  in  the  following  way  : — Take  two  plates 
exactly  alike  in  shape  and  size ;  cover  the  inside  of  them  with  fresh 
unsalted  butter;  strew  one  plate  with  fresh,  sweet-smelling  flowers, 
and  cover  it  tightly  with  the  other.  At  the  end  of  twenty-fonr  hours 
the  butter  will  be  fragrant  with  the  perfume  given  off  by  the  flowers. 
Phylloxera  In  Spanish  Vineyards. — The  spread  of  the 
phylloxera  in  the  sherry  district  of  Spain  appears  to  be  a  serious 
matter.  In  most  of  the  Jerez  vineyards  its  ravages  have  been  of  quite 
recent  date,  but  they  have  been  extraordinarily  severe.  For  example, 
while  in  1898  in  ten  different  areas  only  forty  Vines  were  recorded  as 
attacked,  the  return  of  the  same  areas  for  last  season  stated  4000  to 
have  been  destroyed.  In  a  well-known  Jerez  vineyard  cjurrying  48,000 
Vines  the  phylloxera  made  its  first  appearance  in  1897.  Until  then  the 
yield  of  the  estate  had  been  from  100  to  140  butts  per  annum  ;  but  in 
1898  only  fifty -six  butts  were  made,  and  last  season  the  yield  sank  to 
six  butts,  or  one-twentieth  of  the  normal.  The  only  remedy  found  to 
be  of  the  slightest  avail  is  entire  replanting  with  the  American  Vine, 
and  grafting  on  to  it  the  Sherry  Grape.  The  process  is  a  very  expensive 
one,  but  many  proprietors,  seeing  the  excellent  results  obtained,  have 
lately  been  induced  to  adopt  it.  In  order  to  assist  them  as  much  as 
possible  the  Government  have  taken  off  the  heavy  duty  on  vineyards 
in  the  case  of  all  those  attacked  by  phylloxera,  and  have  furthermore, 
says  a  weekly  contemporary,  granted  ten  years’  freedom  from  taxation 
for  all  those  which  have  been  replanted  with  the  American  stocks. 
This  wise  action  should  enable  sherry  growers  to  tide  over  their 
difficulties.  Meanwhile,  it  is  satisfactory  to  learn  that,  though  the  vintage 
of  1899  is  much  reduced  in  quantity,  it  is  said  to  be,  on  the  whole,  of 
fair  quality. 
