s 
JOURN'AL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
July  4,  1895. 
Events  of  the  Week — la  addition  to  the  Rose  shows  that  will 
he  held  during  the  week,  and  of  which  a  list  is  given  on  page  14, 
the  London  Pansy  and  Violet  Society  will  hold  its  annual  show  at  the 
Crystal  Palace  on  Saturday  next,  July  Gth, 
-  Weather  in  London. — The  weather  during  the  past  week 
has  been  extremely  variable,  hot  sunshine  alternating  with  heavy 
showers  of  rain.  Instead  of  this  several  hours  of  steady  rain  are  required, 
and  would  do  a  great  amount  of  good. 
-  Weather  in  the  North. — Thunderstorms  and  rain  with 
hail  have  been  of  nearly  daily  occurrence  for  a  week  preceding  the 
2ad  inst.  The  thunder  has  often  been  alarming,  and  the  rainfall  exces¬ 
sive.  Much  good  has  resulted  to  the  crops,  which  were  suffering  from 
the  long  drought.  Tuesday  morning,  though  fair,  looked  far  from 
settled. — B.  D.,  S.  Perthshire. 
-  Royal  Botanic  Society.— At  a  meeting  of  Council  of  this 
Society  held  on  Saturday  last  it  was  decided  to  open  their  gardens  in 
Regents  Park  to  the  public  on  every  Monday  in  July,  August,  and 
September,  at  an  admission  fee  of  Is. 
-  Fruit  Preservation. — This  subject  was  dealt  with  in  a 
lecture  given  by  Mr.  J.  Cheal  at  the  monthly  meeting  of  the  Lewes 
Chrysanthemum  Society.  Mr.  Cheal  said  the  preservation  of  fruit 
was  a  subject  that  deserved  more  careful  attention  than  it  had  yet 
received,  for  the  culture  of  fruit  had  been  largely  extended  of  late 
years,  and  it  was  important  the  whole  of  the  produce  should  be 
utilised.  In  speaking  of  the  preservation  of  fruit  in  a  natural  state, 
Mr.  Cheal  urged  the  importance  of  careful  handling  and  of  avoiding 
the  common  mistake  of  gathering  Apples  and  Pears  too  soon.  He 
suggested  that  the  place  in  which  Apples  are  stored  should  be  as  cool  as 
possible,  and  be  kept  at  an  even  temperature.  Pears,  cn  the  other 
hand,  require  a  dry  place  with  warmth. 
-  Queen  Wasps.— Up  to  three  years  ago  we  used  to  kill  all  the 
fjueen  wasps  we  could  catch,  and  paid  3J.  each  for  all  brought  to  us. 
About  that  time  I  began  to  watch  them  to  see  what  they  lived  on  until 
ihe  fruit  was  ripe,  and  I  found  their  principal  food  was  aphis,  grubs,  and 
honeydew  ;  and  as  long  as  there  is  abun lance  of  such  food  they  do  not 
touch  fruit.  There  has  often  been  plenty  of  ripe  Gooseberries,  Grapes, 
and  other  fruits,  but  they  do  not  touch  them.  I  have  never  seen  them 
touch  Strawberries,  but  if  they  ripened  in  September,  when  o’ther  food 
was  scarce,  I  am  afraid  the  temptation  would  be  too  strong.  We  do  not 
Sad  bees  eat  fruit  until  the  honey  season  is  over,  but  they  are  nearly 
as  bad  as  wasps  then.  I  believe  wasps  are  gardeners’  friends  until  they 
attack  the  fruit,  and  we  often  have  several  nests  in  the  garden  close  to 
oar  fruit,  but  we  do  not  destroy  one  until  they  commence  feeding  on  it, 
when  we  make  short  work  of  them. — Alpha, 
Death  of  Mr.  S.  A.  Woods. — A  sad  calamity  occurred  at 
Osherton  on  the  20ih  ult. — the  death,  through  poisoning,  of  the  well 
known  and  much-respected  gardener  there.  Dr.  Montague  stated  at  the 
inquest  that  the  deceased  suffered  from  gout,  under  the  attacks  of  which 
he  became  nervous  and  depressed.  On  the  morning  of  his  death  he  was 
in  great  trouble  about  his  Grapes,  and  asked  his  wife  to  go  and  see 
them,  remarking,  “  I  know  I  shall  go  mad.”  Shortly  after  he  took  a 
bottle  of  ”  wasp  destroyer,”  and  the  arsenic  it  contained  caused  his 
death.  Mr,  Woods  ranked  amongst  the  best  of  British  gardeners,  and 
gave  great  satisfaction  to  the  Foljambe  family  during  a  period  of 
eighteen  years.  Mr.  Woods  was  fifty-one  years  of  age.  Mr.  J.  Mallender 
writes  :  “Mr.  Woods  leaves  a  widow  and  one  son  to  mourn  his  loss. 
He  was  one  of  the  best  known  gardeners  in  the  North  Midlands,  and 
Mrs,  Woods  has  the  sympathy  of  the  whole  district.”  Mr.  H.  V. 
Machin,  J  P.,  the  Chairman  of  the  Worksop  Rose  and  Horticultural 
Society,  also  writes  : — “  Mr.  Woods  was  one  of  the  best  members  of  the 
Committee  pf  our  Society,  and  was  quite  one  of  my  ‘right  hand  men.' 
Hundreds  of  bis  horticultural  and  personal  friends  deeply  mourn  his 
loss,  and  I  am  sure  that  a  vote  of  condolence  will  be  unanimously  carried 
at  our  next  Committee  meeting,  and  that  a  copy  of  the  resolution,  with 
:»  letter  of  sympathy,  will  be  sent  to  Mrs.  Woods,”  1 
-  Mr.  Hugh  F.  McMillan,  of  the  Royal  Gardens,  Kew,  has  been 
appointed  Curator  of  the  Royal  Botanic  Gardens,  Peradeniya,  Ceylon. 
-  National  Pink  Show'.— The  sixth  annual  exhibition  of  the 
Northern  Section  of  the  National  Pink  Society  will  be  held  on  the  20th 
inst.  in  the  Botanical  Gardens,  Manchester,  in  conjunction  with  the  Rose 
show. 
-  Weather  at  Liverpool.  —  We  had  on  Wednesday  last  a 
somewhat  severe  thunderstorm  accompanied  by  heavy  rain.  Each  day 
since  we  have  had  slight  showers,  but  more  rain  is  urgently  needed,  as 
the  ground  is  much  cracked. — R.  P.  R. 
-  Light  Rainfall  in  Cambridgeshire.  —  Mr.  Arthur  Bull 
sends  us  from  Cottenham  a  tabulated  return,  from  which  we  gather 
that  the  rainfall  daring  the  s’x  months  just  ended  only  amounts  to 
6'18  inches.  February  was  the  driest  month,  0’28  inch  ;  and  May  the 
wettest,  1  56  inch. 
- Newcastle-on-Tyne  Summer  Show. — This  show  will  be 
held  in  the  Recreation  Ground,  North  Road,  on  Wednesday,  Thursday, 
and  Friday,  24th,  26th,  and  26th  inst.  This  year  additional  prizes  are 
offered  for  groups,  dinner  table  and  fireplace  decorations,  and  also  for 
vegetables.  The  Council  are  also  prepared  to  give  increased  facilities  to 
attractive  trade  exhibits. 
-  National  Amateur  Gardeners’  Association. — At  the 
Memorial  Hall,  Farringdon  Street,  E.C.,  on  Tuesday  evening  last, a  con¬ 
versazione  was  held  under  the  auspices  of  the  above  Society.  A  goodly 
number  of  members  and  friends  was  present,  the  chair  being  taken  by 
Mr.  T.  Sanders,  President  of  the  Society.  A  capital  programme  of  songs 
and  recitations  was  provided,  and  also  refreshments.  In  an  adjoining 
room  were  staged  exhibits,  sent  by  the  members,  for  which  points  were 
awarded.  Degrees  of  Fellowship  were  conferred  on  several  of  the 
members,  and  the  company  dispersed  after  spending  a  most  enjoyable 
evening. 
-  Wakefield  Paxton  Society.— On  Saturday,  June  22nd, 
there  was  a  good  attendance  of  members.  Mr.  H.  S.  Goodyear  pre¬ 
sided,  and  Mr.  Corden  was  Vice-Chairman.  Mr.  Pitts,  Walton,  treated 
“Bedding  Oat — North  and  South,”  and  gave  a  very  interesting  dis¬ 
sertation.  It  was  not  safe  to  bed  out  in  Yorkshire  until  June  1st,  and 
even  then  great  care  must  be  taken  to  harden  the  plants  and  to  cover 
them  up  at  night  for  some  time.  He  described  the  most  effective  plants 
for  ribbon  borders  and  carpet  bedding,  particularly  specifying  “  Gera¬ 
nium  ”  Henry  Jacoby,  Calceolarias,  Lobelias,  Petunias,  Asters,  Stocks, 
and  Marigolds.  In  the  south — in  the  London  parks,  for  instance — many 
sub-tropical  plants,  such  as  Palms,  Castor  Oil,  and  Tobacco,  were  success¬ 
fully  grown,  which  could  not  be  utilised  in  Yorkshire.  Speaking  of  the 
recent  cold  weather,  Mr.  Pitts  asserted  that  one  night  that  week  his 
thermometer  went  down  to  8°  (24°  of  frost)  4  inches  from  the  ground. 
-  School  Gardens. — Whilst  the  numerous  blocks  of  boys’  or 
school  continuation  gardens  found  in  Surrey,  established  by  the  County 
Council,  places  that  county  literally  in  the  foreground  in  relation  to 
juvenile  horticultural  instruction,  almost  alone  to  Caterham  in  that 
county  is  due  the  credit  of  establishing  a  series  of  gardens  that  are 
allied  to  one  of  the  board  schools  there,  and  utilised  for  grant¬ 
earning  purposes  in  connection  with  the  subject  of  cottage  gardening 
as  now  admitted  into  the  education  code.  These  school  gardens 
adjoin  the  excellent  block  of  twenty-seven  larger  continuation  gardens 
provided  by  the  County  Council  there.  When  visiting  the  latter 
the  other  day  I  was  surprised  to  find  a  small  army  of  sturdy  boys 
busy  at  work  under  the  supervision  of  the  head  teacher  of  the  adjoining 
schools,  and  an  instructor  in  gardening,  who  is  engaged  for  the  purpose 
by  the  School  Board.  They  were  then  chiefly  engaged  in  raking  and 
cleaning  up,  giving,  as  it  were,  a  finishing  touch.  There  are  fourteen 
blocks  of  gardens,  each  block  comprising  four  each  of  about  one- 
fourth  of  a  rod  in  extent.  All  were  of  exact  dimensions  ;  all  had 
crops  from  seeds.  Potatoes,  &c.,  exactly  alike  ;  all  were  alike  intensely 
clean,  and  bore  all  the  evidence  of  being,  as  it  were,  machine  made. 
By  that  I  mean  that  the  instruction  given  is  essentially  mechanical. 
It  is,  indeed,  a  fine  example  of  the  spirit  of  collectivism  which  shuts 
out  all  individuality.  I  venture  to  suggest  that  at  least  the  second 
year  the  boys  should  be  allowed  to  display  their  knowledge  and 
capacities  in  cultivating  and  cropping  their  plots  by  giving  them  free 
hands.  Just  now  any  reward  would  be  impossible  where  all  is  so 
exactly  alike.  The  idea  is  a  good  one,  but  is  the  method  equally  so? 
The  schoolboys  are  in  two  sections,  one  half  being  out  on  the  gardens 
for  two  hours  on  one  afternoon  in  the  week,  the  other  another  day 
for  two  hours,  which  time  counts  as  school  attendance, — A.  D, 
