158 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER , 
February  25,  1897. 
Weather  in  London. — Brilliant  sunshine  has  been  sandwiched 
between  soaking  rains  daring  the  past  seven  days  in  London. 
On  Thursday  the  weather  was  more  like  May  than  February,  as  were 
Sunday  and  Tuesday,  while  the  intervening  days  were  dull,  cold,  and 
wet  at  intervals.  Evidences  of  spring  are  seen  on  every  hand.  Wednes¬ 
day  opened  dull  and  colder. 
-  Weather  in  the  North. — The  past  week  has  been,  on  the 
whole,  pleasant,  although  there  has  been  but  little  sunshine,  and  the 
westerly  winds  have  been  occasionally  high  and  cold.  Drizzly  rain  has 
been  frequent ;  the  afternoon  and  evening  of  Saturday  were  unpleasantly 
wet.  Monday  was  quite  spring-like,  with  gleams  of  sunshine  ;  Tuesday 
morning  dull  and  colder.— B.  D.,  S.  Perthshire. 
-  Garden  Paths. — Where  gravel  or  other  suitable  material  is 
scarce  I  can  recommend  coke  breeze,  as  it  is  called,  for  garden  paths  as 
an  excellent  substitute.  It  is  less  subject  to  harbour  weeds,  forms  a 
firmer  and  drier  walk  than  coal  ashes,  and  what  is  of  no  less  importance, 
it  resists  the  action  of  sharp  frosts — that  is,  in  not  becoming  loose  on  the 
surface,  and  when  thawing  not  soft  and  sticky.  Being  also  of  a' 
uniform  “  sifting,”  the  coke  breeze  forms  a  neater  surfacing  than  either 
coal  ashes  or  the  breeze  or  cinders  obtained  from  foundry  furnaces 
— W.  G 
-  The  Hygiene  of  Grapes.  —  Recent  testimony  as  to  the 
hygiene  of  fruits  places  Grapes  high  in  the  list.  For  certain  diseases 
(says  the  “  Grape  Belt  ”)  they  are  a  specific,  and  the  “  Grape  cures  ”  of 
France  and  other  countries  have  a  deservedly  high  reputation.  Grape 
sugar  is  more  easily  digestible  than  cane  sugar.  The  fruit  acids  are 
beneficial  in  rheumatism,  and  as  a  preventive  of  certain  injurious  deposits 
in  the  system,  especially  of  old  people.  The  Americans,  the  largest 
consumers  in  the  world  per  capita  of  sugar,  ought  naturally  to  be  large 
consumers  of  fruit.  Ripe,  fresh  fruit,  or  some  form  of  cured,  canned,  or 
preserved  fruit  should,  both  by  the  logic  of  economy  and  health,  form  a 
regular  portion  of  every  meal  of  every  American  family. 
-  Rooting  Carnation  Cuttings.— When  your  correspondent 
“  Bassil”  asserts  that  I  am  “  behind  the  times  ”  his  note,  unfortunately 
for  him,  does  not  display  much  advancement  on  the  road  of  progress. 
If  he  looks  back  he  will  find  more  than  90  per  cent,  rooted.  My  last 
box  has  yielded  97  per  cent.  Carnation  cuttings  do  not  appear  to  root 
satisfactorily  in  a  warm  house  without  the  aid  of  bottom  heat.  We  have 
had  successes  and  failures.  Our  bottom  heat  pipes  are  5  feet  deep,  and 
therefore  practically  no  use.  We  might  tell  “  Bassil  ”  we  found  them 
there,  having  nothing  to  do  with  putting  them  in  that  position.  We 
wrote  for  the  good  of  those  similarly  situated  to  ourselves — and  there 
are  many.  If  we  have  helped  them  our  object  has  been  gained,  whether 
the  writer  or  method  is  “  behind  the  times  ’’  or  not.  It  is  a  pity  “Bassil” 
hides  so  much  valuable  information.  When  room  is  limited,  as  it  is  in 
most  gardens,  and  varieties  for  propagating  as  well,  we  see  no  need  for 
3-inch  pots  for  four  cuttings  when  thumbs  would  do  equally  as  well _ 
a  saving  of  room,  which  in  these  days  is  certainly  a  progressive  step. _ 
W.  Bardney. 
-  Birmingham  Gardeners’  Association.  —  “  Herbaceous 
Plants  ”  was  the  title  of  a  dissertation  given  by  Mr.  Edward  J.  Baillie, 
Chester,  to  a  large  gathering  of  the  members  of  this  Society 
on  the  15th  inst  ;  Mr.  W.  B.  Latham  in  the  chair.  Mr.  Baillie  dealt 
with  the  subject  in  a  very  entertaining  and  graphic  manner,  without 
however,  much  reference  to  particulars  in  the  cultivation  of  the  plants^ 
but  more  in  regard  to  their  general  position,  from  a  decorative  point  of 
view,  their  classification,  and  their  rapidly  growing  popularity.  The 
essayist’s  references  to  the  folk-lore,  poetry,  romance,  and  mythology 
attached  to  flowers  were  most  instructive,  and  comparisons  were  also 
made  between  arrangements  of  cut  flowers.  A  study  of  botany  was 
pertinently  advocated  as  part  of  the  gardener’s  education,  added  to 
which  was  a  knowledge  of  the  etymology  of  plant  nomenclature,  though 
a  profound  knowledge  of  Greek  and  Latin  languages  was  not  necessary 
towards  the  attainment  of  a  useful  and  interesting  acquisition  of  those 
sciences.  An  interesting  discussion,  joined  in  by  several  of  the  members, 
on  the  various  details  embodied  in  Mr.  Baillie’s  composition  of  matter, 
concluded  the  proceedings. 
-  Two  Early’  Wasps. — I  noticed  the  paragraph  on  page  13Sj, 
and  may  say  I  have  killed  two  large  wasps  indoors,  one  on  December  18th 
and  the  other  on  February  7th  last. — M.  B.,  Co.  Meath, 
-  A  Prolific  Hyacinth.— Mr.  Bardney  writes  : — “  Since  T 
wrote  you  about  a  prolific  Hyacinth  the  ‘  missus  ’  has  been  growing,  I 
have  discovered  that  it  has  produced  another  spike,  making  seven  instead 
of  six,  as  previously  stated.” 
-  Polyanthus  Narcissus  Mont  Cenis. — A  correspondent 
says: — “Polyanthus  Narcissus  Mont  Cenis  is  a  good  early  variety,  in 
fact  one  of  the  best,  and  should  be  grown  by  all  where  this  class  of 
flowering  bulbs  are  appreciated.  It  is  as  early  as  States  General,  and 
gives  a  greater  profusion  of  flowers  than  that  variety.” 
-  Snowdrops.  —  A  typographical  error  in  the  Journal  of 
February  18th  (page  133)  may  perhaps  be  misleading  to  some.  In. 
“Hardy  Flower  Notes”  I  am  made  to  say,  “  The  Common  Snowdrop, 
looks  small  and  slender  beside  Elwes’,  one  of  the  best  forms  of  Imperati’s 
great  Italian  one.”  This  should  read,  “  Elwes’  one,  or  the  best  forms, 
&c.”  I  observed  it  on  receiving  the  Journal,  and  was  about  to  write 
when  one  of  my  most  valued  correspondents  sent  me  a  letter  to  call  my 
notice  to  the  error. — S.  Arnott. 
-  Window  Plants. — At  this  season  house  plants  in  bloom  are 
grateful  for  an  occasional  feeding  with  liquid  fertiliser,  which  gives  the 
leaves  a  deeper  green,  and  increases  the  number  and  size  of  the  flowers. 
Any  perfect  commercial  plant  food  can  be  used  in  solution,  but  cow 
manure  is  quite  as  satisfactory,  especially  if  a  little  ashes  can  be  mixed 
with  it  for  extra  potash,  and  the  ingredients  steeped  in  a  barrel  of  water 
for  several  days.  This  liquid  should  then  be  diluted  until  it  has  the 
colour  of  weak  tea,  for  if  applied  too  strong  or  too  freely  it  is  sure  to 
injure  the  plants.  At  first,  says  a  writer  in  an  Ataerican  contemporary, 
the  solution  should  not  be  given  oftener  than  once  a  fortnight,  but  it 
can  be  gradually  increased  in  frequency  until  it  is  used  as  often  as  once 
a  week  or  once  in  five  days. 
-  Horticulture  in  Kansas. — An  American  contemporary 
says  this  is  decidedly  slipping  behind  in  its  commercial  aspects* 
according  to  the  figures  published  in  the  tenth  biennial  report  of  the 
State  Board  of  Agriculture  (1895-96),  a  copy  of  which  has  just  been 
received.  In  1895  the  cash  values  of  garden  and  of  horticultural 
products  are  respectively  given  as  939,000  dols.  and  930,000  dols., 
whereas  in  1896  the  figures  show  only  760,700  dols.  and  642,300  dols. 
respectively.  This  decrease  in  value  may  perhaps  be  accounted  for  to 
some  slight  extent  by  decreasing  value  of  the  soil  products,  but  the 
report  shows  that  the  areas  under  cultivation  are  largely  diminished  as 
regards  all  crops  excepting  Strawberries,  which  show  an  increase  of  one- 
twelfth.  In  importance  as  regards  number  of  trees,  Apples  rank  first, 
with  over  seven  millions,  and  Peaches  are  second,  with  about  one-half 
that  number.  Pears  are  but  little  grown. 
-  Royal  Meteorological  Society.— At  a  meeting  of  this 
Society  on  Wednesday  evening  the  17th  instant,  Mr.  Edward  Mawley, 
F.R.H.S. ,  President,  read  a  report  upon  the  phenological  observations 
during  the  past  year.  He  showed  that  throughout  the  flowering  season 
wild  plants  came  into  bloom  much  in  advance  of  their  usual  time,  and 
were,  as  a  rule,  earlier  than  in  any  recent  year  since  1893.  The  wealth 
of  blossom  on  nearly  all  kinds  of  trees  and  shrubs  was  a  noteworthy 
feature  of  the  spring  and  early  summer,  while  the  abundance  of  wild 
fruits  in  the  autumn  was  even  more  exceptional.  From  an  agricultural 
and  horticultural  point  of  view  the  one  great  drawback  of  the  year, 
which  must  have  otherwise  proved  one  of  the  most  bountiful  on  record, 
was  a  drought  that  lasted  almost  without  break — at  all  events  as  far  as 
vegetation  is  concerned — from  March  to  September.  The  Wheat  crop 
proved  the  largest  and  best  for  many  years,  while  there  was  a  good  yield 
of  Barley  and  Potatoes.  The  small  fruits  were  also  good.  With  these 
exceptions  all  the  farm  and  garden  crops  were  more  or  less  indifferent, 
the  crop  of  hay  being  especially  scanty.  The  Hon.  Rollo  Russell  gave 
the  results  of  some  observations  on  haze  and  transparency  which  he  had 
made  at  Haslemere,  in  Surrey.  From  these  it  appears  that  the  clearest 
hours  at  a  good  distance  from  towns  are  from  about  noon  at  3  P.M- 
The  clearest  winds  are  those  from  S.  to  N.W.  inclusive,  and  especially 
W.S.W.,  W.,  and  W.N.W. ;  the  haziest  are  those  between  N.  and  E.  On 
bright  mornings  with  a  gentle  breeze  or  calm,  from  autumn  to 
spring,  the  haze  or  fog  which  has  lain  on  the  low  ground  frequently 
covers  the  hills  in  the  course  of  its  ascent  a  few  hours  after  sunrise.  At 
any  distance  within  100  miles  of  London,  or  of  the  Black  Country, 
observations 'requiring  clear  views  are  likely  to  be  interfered  with  when 
the  wind  blows  from  their  direction,  and  should  therefore  be  taken 
early. 
