\ 
February  18,  1*97. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
137 
-  Gardening  Appointment. — Mr.  Henry  Wilson,  for  the  past 
three  years  foreman  in  the  gardens  at  Benham  Park,  has  been  appointed 
as  pardener  to  Viscount  Falmouth,  at  Mereworth  Castle,  in  succession 
to  Mr.  Markham,  and  enters  on  his  duties  on  March  6th. 
-  Birmingham  Gardeners’  Association.  —  The  inaugural 
spring  meeting  of  this  Society  was  held  recently,  when  Mr.  James  Deans 
gave  an  interesting  and  attractive  lecture  on  “  Ornamental  Grasses,” 
illustrated  by  an  exhibition  of  several  of  the  more  useful  species,  both 
mounted  and  for  practical  use. 
-  Prunus  Da  vidian  a. — This  is  the  earliest  of  the  many  species 
of  Prunus  (which  are  grown  for  the  sake  of  their  flowering  qualities)  to 
open  its  blossoms.  The  first  flowers  are  now  open,  February  12th,  and 
if  the  weather  keeps  mild  the  trees  in  a  few  days  will  be  a  mass  of 
bloom.  The  flowers  are  white,  about  1  inch  in  diameter,  and  produced, 
as  in  the  Almond  and  Peach,  on  the  whole  of  the  previous  year’s  growth. 
Its  earliness  of  flowering,  together  with  its  free-growing  qualities,  makes 
this  Chinese  species,  with  its  red  flowered  variety  P.  Davidiana  v.  rubra, 
a  plant  which  should  be  found  in  all  gardens. — W. 
- The  Garden  of  the  Late  Mr.  Charles  Jenner. — Pressure 
of  other  matters  prevents  me  from  saying  more  at  present  about  the 
garden  of  the  late  Mr.  Jenner  than  that  I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  it, 
and  that  my  copious  notes  could  not  be  put  into  shape  at  the  time  on 
account  of  other  things  intervening.  The  garden  and  its  collection  were 
unique,  and  possibly  a  few  notes  on  it  might  be  acceptable  could  I  tell 
of  it  as  it  was  just  after  Mr.  Jenner’s  death.  I  thank  Mr.  Williamson 
for  his  too  flattering  reference  to  me.  I  think  he  will  agree  with  me  in 
saying  that  the  introducer  to  the  public  of  “  Crimson  Rambler  ” 
exercised  a  wise  discretion  in  changing  the  name  from  the  original  one . 
— S.  Arnott. 
-  Variety  in  Nature. — Waiting  ten  minutes  for  a  train  last 
autumn,  my  companion  hazarded  that  twenty  species  of  plants  grew  on 
the  high  bank  facing  the  station  platform.  Even  my  small  experience 
had  taught  me  how  lavishly  Nature  sows  her  seed,  and  I  put  the  figure 
conservatively  at  fifty  ;  immediately  beginning  to  count,  I  soon 
reached  the  twenty  point,  but  after  the  thirtieth,  progress  was  slower. 
Every  few  seconds,  however,  new  leaf-formB  would  meet  my  eye,  and 
when  we  heard  the  train  whistle  in  the  distance  I  had  counted  forty- 
eight.  This  was  all  I  could  master  from  the  distance  of  10  feet,  so  I 
stepped  across  the  track  and  immediately  saw  two  small  herbs  on  this 
closer  scrutiny.  This  made  fifty  ;  then  I  had  to  retreat  to  the  getting- 
on  side  of  the  track.  Thinking  over  the  rich  look  of  the  area  we 
counted  from,  I  would  now  boldly  place  my  estimate  at  seventy-five, 
though  I  shall  probably  never  have  a  chance  to  list  and  verify  my 
prophecy  in  that  same  place. — E.  Newlin  Williams  (in  “  Meehans’ 
Monthly.”) 
-  Hoar  Frost  as  an  Air  Purifier — In  a  memoir  by  Messrs 
Petermann  &  Graftian,  published  by  the  Belgian  Academy  of  Sciences, 
it  is  demonstrated  that  hoar  frost  is  particularly  rich  in  nitrogenous 
compounds,  and  therefore  plays  an  important  part  in  adding  to  the 
stock  of  nitrogenous  matter  in  the  forest,  as  well  as  to  the  purifying 
influence  that  forests  exercise  on  atmospheric  air.  The  frostwork 
attached  to  the  branches  of  trees,  being  continually  renewed,  presents 
to  the  air  a  large  surface  for  the  absorption  of  all  soluble  matter  that 
it  carries,  so  that  single  trees  and  forests  act  like  immense  filters, 
purifying  the  air  that  circulates  through  them,  and  collecting  from  it 
nitrogenous  combinations,  which,  being  returned  to  the  soil  by  a  thaw, 
serve  again  as  nutriment  to  plants,  and  thus  re-enter  the  vital  cycle. 
The  amount  of  frost  which  the  branches  hold  is  often  much  greater 
than  their  own  weight,  and  in  a  measured  cube  which  touched  the 
extremities  of  the  branches  of  a  given  shrub  the  weight  of  the  frostwork 
which  they  held  exceeded  1  kilogram  for  each  cubic  metre  of  space. 
Carrying  out  this  calculation  to  a  forest  area,  it  is  quite  possible  that 
7  lbs.  of  nitrogen  are  deposited  on  every  acre  during  a  severe  frost. 
When  frosts  are  formed  to  such  an  extent  as  to  break  branches  by  their 
own  weight,  the  quantity  of  nitrogen  given  to  the  soil  must  be  very 
considerable.  It  is  held,  therefore,  with  good  reason,  that  the  frost 
represents  a  very  appreciable  factor  in  collecting  the  reserve  of  nitrogen 
within  forest  areas,  and  if  we  add  to  this  the  nitrogen  contained  in  the 
rain,  the  dew,  and  the  fog,  we  can  explain  why,  without  any  addition 
of  this  material,  or  without  the  intervention  of  those  plants  which 
collect  it  directly  from  the  atmosphere,  the  forest  vegetation  is  well 
supplied  with  nitrogen.  These  facts  also  show,  says  a  contemporary, 
how  the  soil  of  forest  areas  grows  richer  in  this  element  which  is  given 
to  it  by  the  detritus,  or  waste,  of  woodlands. 
- Liverpool  Horticultural  Association.  —  On  Saturday 
evening  the  fifth  lecture  of  the  season  was  delivered  by  Mr.  H.  Ranger 
of  Messrs.  Kerr  &  Son’s  Aigburth  Nursery,  his  subject  being  “  Hippe- 
astrum  or  Amaryllis.”  Mr.  T,  White  presided.  As  might  have  been 
expected  the  lecturer  gave  a  thorough  insight  into  its  early  history, 
dealing  with  the  labours  of  Linnaeus,  Dean  Herbert,  Hooper,  James 
Douglas,  and  H.  Veitch.  An  interesting  resume  on  the  early  hybridising 
of  the  various  species  up  to  the  gorgeous  flowers  of  the  present  time  was 
admirably  given,  as  was  also  their  culture,  several  handsome  specimens 
being  used  as  illustrations,  showing  with  proper  treatment  the  long 
period  over  which  these  handsome  flowering  bulbs  may  be  prolonged. 
A  pleasant  discussion  followed. 
-  A  Prolific  Hyacinth.  —  Mr.  Bardney  writes :  —  “  When  at 
Norris  Green,  Liverpool,  I  grew  thousands  of  Dutch  Hyacinths,  but  we 
grow  none  here.  The  ‘  missus ’  and  my  daughter  made  up  their  minds 
they  would  have  some,  so  the  old  glasses  that  had  been  stored  away  for 
years  were  brought  out  and  some  bulbs  obtained,  I  think  begged.  They 
certainly  have  succeeded  in  a  good  display,  a  bit  overforced,  but 
they  are  exceedingly  proud  of  their  achievements,  and  claim  to  have 
‘beaten’  me  at  last.  One  is  certainly  a  profusion  of  bloom,  and  I 
never  remember  having  seen  one  like  it  before.  It  has  no  less  than  six 
spikes — if  it  had  been  grown  in  a  pot  it  would  have  made  an  exceedingly 
fine  display.  The  central  spike  is  good,  and  the  five  others  issue 
practically  altogether  from  one  side  of  the  bulb,  having  apparently  no 
connection  with  the  centre.” 
_  Thinning  Apples. — Mr.  S.  I).  Willard,  at  the  meeting  of  the 
Ohio  State  Horticultural  Society,  spoke  of  an  interesting  experiment 
tried  at  Geneva  last  year.  An  orchard  of  Greening,  Baldwin,  and 
Hubbardston  Apples  was  thinned  on  some  of  the  rows  so  that  an 
Apple  was  left  every  4  inches,  and  on  others  so  that  there  was  only 
an  Apple  for  every  6  inches.  On  the  trees  where  no  thinning  what¬ 
ever  was  done  the  Apples  were  small  and  hardly  coloured ;  the  Apples 
on  the  trees  thinned  to  4  inches  apart  were  coloured  well  and  of  fair 
size,  but  no  buds  formed  for  the  next  season.  On  trees  thinned  to 
fruit  6  inches  apart  the  Apples  were  large  and  so  finely  coloured  as 
to  attract  the  attention  of  passers  on  the  road  several  rods  away. 
Besides  this  there  were  well  grown  fruit  buds  for  next  year,  so  that, 
if  nothing  prevents,  the  trees  will  bear  two  seasons  in  succession,— 
("  Garden  and  Forest.”) 
ROYAL  HORTICULTURAL  SOCIETY 
Scientific  Committee — Present:  Dr.  M.  T.  Masters  (in  the 
chair)  ;  Rev.  W.  Wilks,  Mr.  Shea,  Mr.  McLachlan,  and  Rev.  G.  Henslow, 
Hon.  Sec.  ...  .  .  , 
Coniferous  "Woods,— Dr.  Mftiters  exhibited  specimens  ot  .Deodar* 
Larch,  and  Cedar  of  Lebanon  grown  by  Mr.  J.  Simpson  at  Wharncliffe. 
They  were  said  to  have  been  planted  at  the  same  time,  about  thirty 
years  ago.  It  was  remarkable  that  the  heart  wood  of  the  Larch  and 
Deodar  were  much  alike,  while  that  of  the  Cedar  was  different  in  not 
being  so  darkly  coloured  like  the  others.  The  quality  was  in  each  case 
good,  especially  that  of  the  Larch.  It  has  been  observed  by  Dr.  Tristram 
that  the  wood  of  the  Cedars  grown  on  Mount  Lebanon  is  much  closer 
in  grain  and  darker  in”  colour  than  that  of  trees  grown  in  England 
(“  The  Nat.  Hist,  of  the  Bible,”  p.  343). 
Species  of  Thuya  —Dr.  Masters  also  exhibited  specimens  illustrative 
of  confusion  in  toe  nomenclature  of  this  genus.  He  observed  that 
T.  occidentaHs  grows  in  the  Atlantic  States  of  North  America,  and 
T.  gigantea  (Lobbi)  on  the  north-western  or  Pacific  side.  A  form 
originally  named  T.  plicata  was  introduced  at  the  end  of  the  last 
century  by  Menzies  from  Vancouver.  In  Donn’s  “  Catalogue  of  the 
Plants  of  the  Botanic  Gardens  at  Cambridge  ’’  this  plant  is  recorded  but 
without  description.  As  this  is  a  western  species  it  is  readly  synonymous 
with,  or  at  most  a  variety  of  T.  gigantea.  But  the  original  T.  plicata 
having  probably  died  out,  the  name  plicata  has  now  become  transferred 
to  a  form  or  variety  of  T.  occidentalis  from  the  Atlantic  side  of  the 
United  States.  It  is  probable  that  both  species  are  represented  by  a 
“  plicata  ”  variety,'  but  it  is  not  certain  whether  the  Pacific  variety  is 
now  in  cultivation.  Specimens  of  the  original  plicata  from  Vancouver 
are  in  the  Herbarium  of  the  British  Museum,  so  that  it  is  a  question 
whether,  strictly  speaking,  the  name  T.  gigantea  should  not  be  i’*Per* 
seded  by  that  of  T.  plicata.  The  plant  now  bearing  that  name  should 
then  be  called  T.  occidentalis  var.  plicata. 
Awards,  February  9th. — By  an  oversight  the  medals  granted  for 
exhibits  at  the  meeting  held  on  this  date  from  our  last  issue.  They 
were  : — Floral  Committee  :  Silver-gilt  Flora,  Messrs.  H  Cannell  &  Sons, 
Swanley,  Primulas  ;  silver  Flora,  Messrs.  J.  Peed  &  Sons,  Norwood, 
plants,  and  Mr.  C.  Turner,  Slough,  Cyclamens  ;  silver  Bankeian,  Mr.  G. 
Wythes,  Syon,  hardy  plants  in  pots,  and  Messrs.  J.  Laing  &  Sons,  plants  ; 
bronze  Banksian.  P.  Purnell,  Esq..  Streatham,  Daffodils.  Orchid  Com¬ 
mittee  :  Silver  Flora,  Messrs.  J.  Veitch  &  Sons,  Ltd.,  Chelsea ;  silver 
Banksian,  Messrs.  H.  Low  &  Co.,  Clapton  ;  F.  Sander  &  Co.,  St.  Albans  ; 
L.  Linden,  Brussels. 
