May  6,  1897. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
389 
-  Sussex  Weather. — The  total  rainfall  at  Abbots  Leigh, 
Haywards  Heath,  was  1-93  inch,  being  0-18  inch  above  the  average. 
The  heaviest  fall  was  0-33,  on  the  16th.  Rain  fell  on  sixteen  days. 
The  maximam  temperature  was  69°,  on  the  27th  ;  and  the  minimum 
27°,  on  the  11th.  Mean  maximum,  54-19°  ;  mean  minimum,  38*14°  ; 
and  the  mean  temperature  was  46-18°,  which  is  0  76°  below  the 
average. — R.  I. 
-  April  Weather  at  Driffield. — Mean  temperature  at  9  A  m. 
(corrected-),  4512°;  wet  bulb,  42-12°.  Mean  maximum,  49  76°;  mean 
minimum,  36  26°.  Highest,  65-4°  on  the  29th;  lowest,  24  4°  on  the 
11th.  Mean  of  maxima  and  minima,  43-01°.  Mean  radiation  tempera¬ 
ture  on  the  grass,  30  93°  ;  lowest,  16  8°  on  the  6th.  Rainfall,  18  inch. 
Number  of  rainy  days,  nineteen  ;  greatest  amount  onrone  day  0  33  inch 
on  the  17th. — W.  E,  Lovel  Observer ,  York  Road,  Driffield. 
-  Weather  in  South  Wales. — The  following  is  a  summary 
of  the  weather  here  for  the  past  month  : — Number  of  days  on  which 
rain  fell,  twenty-one ;  total  fall,  4  84  inches.  Maximum  on  the  17th, 
0  83  inch.  Mean  maximum  temperature,  54  1°  ;  mean  minimum,  34  6°. 
Highest  reading,  74°  on  the  28th;  lowest,  22°  on  the  1st.  The  wind 
was  in  the  W.  and  S.W.  on  twelve  days,  and  in  the  N.  and  N.W.  on 
eight  days.  There  were  six  sunless  days.  It  was  very  wet  until  the 
21st,  as  until  then  we  had  only  two  days  without  rain,  with  very  strong 
winds  the  most  of  the  time. — Wm,  Mabbott,  Dowlais. 
— -  Plant  Chemistry. — Of  the  seventy  elementary  substances 
recognised  by  chemists,  only  thirteen  contribute  to  the  formation  of 
vegetable  substances.  Out  of  thiB  baker’s  dozen  all  the  varied  forms  of 
leaf,  flower,  and  fruit  are  fashioned.  Of  these  thirteen  organic  elements, 
three  make  up  more  than  nine-tenths  of  all  cultivated  plants.  These 
are  carbon,  oxygen,  and  hydrogen — carbon  and  water.  While  these 
make  up  the  largest  part  of  plants,  they  are  not  classed  as  manures, 
because  they  are  not  applied  by  hand,  but  come  to  the  plants  from  the 
atmosphere  in  the  form  of  carbonic  acid  and  rain.  They  are  Nature’s 
free  gift  to  plant  life,  and  are  borne  on  the  wings  of  every  wind  that 
blows  and  the  clouds  that  float  aloft. — (“  California  Fruit  Grower.”) 
-  Border  Polyanthuses. — Being  somewhat  of  an  enthusiast 
over  these  lovely  spring  flowers,  I  went  the  other  day  all  the  way  to 
Farnham  to  see  a  very  fine  lot  at  the  Swiss  Nursery,  on  Mr.  S. Mortimer’s 
invitation.  He  said  he  had  a  grand  show,  and  he  Beems  to  have  Bpoken 
truly.  I  found  there  growing  and  blooming  luxuriantly  one  of  the 
finest  breadths,  covering  some  20  rods  of  ground,  and  comprising  several 
thousands  of  plants,  I  have  ever  seen.  Id  was  almost  strange  the  plants 
should  have  done  so  finely  on  what  was  a  piece  of  rescued  sandy  heath, 
everyone  having  perforce  been  transplanted  last  autumn,  because  the 
ground  on  which  then  growing  was  needed  for  greenhouses.  What  big 
plants  there  were !  Heads  fully  12  inches  over,  quite  massive  ;  the  flowers 
of  the  finest  and  richly  coloured,  indeed  other  than  blue  there  were 
almost  all  other  hues,  from  pure  white  down  to  the  heaviest  purple  or 
crimson.  It  was  indeed  a  rare  pleasure  to  see  such  a  show  of  Poly¬ 
anthuses  as  was  here  presented,  and  it  is  a  pity  thousands  who  have 
gardens  could  not  have  seen  them,  as  all  would  want  lo  grow  them. 
Mr.  Mortimer  adopts  my  old  plan  of  sowing  seed  outdoors  at  the  end  of 
August,  leaving  the  seedlings  in  the  bed  all  the  winter,  and  dibbling 
them  out  in  the  spring.  In  that  way  they  become  in  tbe  Becoud  year 
wonderfully  fine  bloomers. — A.  D. 
-  Wakefield  Paxton  Society.— At  the  ordinary  weekly 
meeting  of  the  members  of  the  above  Society  on  Saturday  evening, 
April  24th,  there  was  a  good  gathering.  Mr.  B.  Whiteley  presided,  and 
Mr.  J.  G.  Brown  of  Outwood  occupied  the  vice-chair.  The  essayist  was 
Mr.  J.  Duilcan  Pearson,  Chilwell  Nurseries,  Nottingham,  and  his  subject 
was  “  The  Daffodil.”  Mr.  Pearson  has  paid  particular  attention  for 
some  years  to  the  growth  and  hybridisation  of  bulbs,  and  more  particu¬ 
larly  Daffodils,  a  spring  flower  which  has  in  recent  years  come 
prominently  to  the  front.  He  superintends  the  cultivation  of  a  vast 
quantity  of  these  bulbs,  varying  in  price  from  a  few  shillings  per  100  to 
£12  12a.  each.  In  order  to  show  the  Wakefield  Paxtonians  what  can  be 
done  by  goo  I  management  of  good  bulbs,  Mr.  Pearson  brought  a  large 
and  varied  collection  of  choice  Darned  specimen  blooms,  and  these  were 
capitally  staged  and  displayed,  and  were  much  admired.  The  lecturer 
spoke  at  considerable  length,  and  very  soon  convinced  his  audience  that 
he  was  quite  at  home  with  his  subj  ct.  He  gave  the  history  of  the 
Daffodil,  clearly  and  fully  explained  the  mode  of  cultivation,  propaga¬ 
tion,  and  hybridising,  and  gave  much  interesting  information  and  many 
valuable  hints  to  professional  and  amateur  gardeners.  An  interesting 
discussion  took  place  on  tbe  lecture. 
-  Myosotis  dissitiflora. — Rarely  have  I  seen  a  more  effective 
show  of  this  lovely  blue  hardy  plant  than  was  found  just  recently  in  the 
garden  of  an  amateur  near  Farnham.  He  had  it  for  edging  his  beds 
and  borders  ;  in  every  direction,  indeed,  the  place  was  thoroughly  blue. 
Every  plant,  too,  was  alike  and  equally  floriferous.  No  trouble  what¬ 
ever,  unfortunately,  is  taken  to  save  seed,  but  it  falls  on  the  ground, 
germinates  later,  and  thus  gives  myriads  of  plants  ;  for  this  pretty 
Forget-me-not  is  entirely  satisfactory  only  when  it  is  raised  yearly  from 
seed.  I  have  known  seasons  when  the  seed  crop  has  been  so  poor  I 
would  have  given  anything  to  secure  such  a  crop  of  seed  as  thia 
amateur’s  hundreds  of  plants  should  give  if  ordinary  care  were  exercised 
to  save  it. — D. 
- Prospective  Apple  Crop  in  America.  —  A  traveller 
interested  in  the  business  of  Apple  growing  who  has  taken  journeys  in 
the  various  fruit  growing  sections  of  the  east  says  that  the  1897  crop  of 
the  north  will  in  all  probability  be  light,  and  that  the  southern  crop 
will  be  heavy.  Last  season  the  Apple  crop  in  the  south  was  exceedingly 
light,  but  the  yield  in  New  York,  Michigan,  and  other  northern  States 
was  far  in  excess  of  that  of  any  previous  year,  being  so  large  as  to  force 
the  price  down  to  almost  a  point  that  it  would  not  pay  to  gather  and 
ship  the  crop.  The  Apple  tree  seldom  yields  two  large  crops  in  succes¬ 
sion.  It  takes  a  rest,  and  takes  it  at  least  every  two  years.  The  southern 
trees  took  in  1896  their  rest,  and  reports  from  all  the  fruit  sections  of 
that  region  indicate  a  fine  prospect  for  1897,  the  number  of  fruit  buds 
on  the  trees  being  great.  But  in  the  north  the  trees  in  1896  did  enough 
work  to  entitle  them  to  a  rest  for  several  years,  and  the  number  of  fruit 
buds  on  them  for  this  season  is  so  small  that  1897  will  certainly  be  one 
of  their  years  for  rest.  Hence  the  north  cannot  raise  a  large  crop  in 
1897,  and  with  even  fair  conditions  from  now  on  the  south  will  have 
an  excellent  yield. — (“  California  Fruit  Grower.”) 
-  Forestry  in  Sweden. — The  Crown  forests  of  Sweden  com¬ 
prise  more  than  one-quarter  of  the  entire  wooded  area  of  the  country, 
and  are  managed  with  scrupulous  care.  The  increase  alone  is  cut,  so 
that  a  productive  forest  is  to  stand  for  ever  on  all  Crown  lands  that 
are  unsuitable  for  cultivation.  More  than  this,  the  Government  has 
entered  upon  an  extensive  system  of  planting  trees  on  desolate  and 
uncultivated  areas,  and  these  object  lessons  have  induced  owners  of 
private  forests,  especially  the  larger  proprietors,  to  manage  their  timber 
lands,  so  they  will  become  permanent  sources  of  income.  These  facts, 
says  an  American  contemporary,  were  communicated  to  our  Depart¬ 
ment  of  State  by  Hon.  W.  W.  Thomas,  United  States  Minister  to 
Sweden,  and  they  are  of  particular  interest,  not  only  to  Sweden,  but 
also  to  the  United  States  and  to  Canada,  whose  lumber  meets  the 
Swedish  product  as  its  greatest  competitor  in  the  markets  of  the  world. 
Since  the  forests  in  Sweden  grow  slowly  it  has  generally  been  supposed 
that  the  immense  quantities  exported  would  gradually  exhaust  this 
most  important  source  of  the  nation’s  wealth,  but  from  the  facts  stated 
it  appears  probable  that  the  47.000,000  acres  of  forests  in  the  country 
will  continue  to  be  a  source  of  income  for  all  future  time.  The 
products  of  the  forests  now  comprise  nearly  one-half  of  the  total  exports 
of  the  country  in  value. 
-  Hampton  Court  Palace  Gardens —The  springtime  is  with 
us,  although  at  the  moment  of  writing  not  very  pleasantly  tempered  to 
coolness  by  keen  north-easterly  winds  and  sharp  white  frosts — doubtless 
a  touch  of  tbe  very  old  traditional  Blackthorn  winter.  But  in  spite  of 
that  the  spring  flowers  so  commonly  called,  really  border  Polyanthuses 
at  Hampton  Court,  show  now  that  it  is  the  spring  season,  »Dd  in  but  a 
few  days  more  will  be  at  their  best.  The  thousands  of  fine  plants  now 
blooming  in  beds  and  borders  are  reminders  of  Mr.  Archibald  Graham’s 
and  bis  old  foreman  Mr.  Barnshaw’s  love  for  Polyanthuses.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  the  new  superintendent,  Mr.  Gardener,  will  inherit  that 
taste,  and  indeed  see  how  to  improve  upon  what  has  so  far  been  so 
admirably  done;  At  present  the  collection  comprises  too  many  light 
colours,  especially  white  and  pale  yellow.  These  in  every  case  should 
be  selected  and  grouped  separately.  Then  also  the  finest  of  each  colour 
ought  to  be  removed  from  the  beds  as  soon  as  they  show  quality  and  be 
blocked  separately  into  a  r°serve  garden  to  give  seed,  their  place  in  the 
bed  beiDg  taken  by  reserve  plants.  The  same  should  be  done  with  the 
fewer  deep-coloured  forms,  as  of  these  there  are  far  too  many  spotted  or 
bizarre  flowers  that  are  mixed  very  intffective.  In  all  caees  there  are 
superior  varieties  found  that  merit  tbe  greatest  care.  The  Tulips  em¬ 
ployed  to  give  variety  to  the  Polyanthuses  are  very  poor  and  small. 
Pinks  do  not  harmonise  at  all.  Whites,  yellows,  and  crimsons  are  by  far 
the  best.  It  is  hoped  that  the  Board  of  Works  will  be  more  liberal  in 
the  matter  of  Tulips  another  year.  The  public  now  visit  the  gardens  in 
great  numbers  on  fine  days,  for  they  are  a  most  popular  resort. — A. 
