58 
July  18,  1895, 
e/t) URN AL  OF  „  ffmZIQURTURE^^  AN^. ,  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
-  Storm  at  Wolverhampton. — We  regret  to  hear  that  about 
10^30  on  the  11th  inst.,  the  last  day  of  the  Wolverhampton  show,  a 
sudden  and  violent  gale  overturned  four  of  the  large  marquees,  and,  it 
is  feared,  considerably  injured  some  of  Mr.  J.  Cypher’s  plants. 
-  Gardening  Appointments. — Mr.  T.  H.  Grasp,  formerly 
gardener  to  Lord  Wimborne,  Canford  Manor,  succeeds  the  late  Mr.  S.  A. 
Woods  as  gardener  to  F.  Foljambe,  Esq.,  Osberton  Hall,  Worksop. 
Mr,  Geo.  Taylor,  for  four  and  a  half  years  foreman  for  Mr.  Street, 
Floors  Castle,  Kelso,  has  been  appointed  gardener  to  His  Grace  the 
Duke  of  Roxburghe,  Broxmouth  Park,  Dunbar,  N.B. 
-  The  Climate  of  Cairo  and  Alexandria — This  is  the 
subject  of  a  paper  recently  published  by  the  Egyptian  Government  ; 
the  facts  given  are  deduced  from  observations  taken  during  1886-90.  It 
has  been  found  that  at  Cairo  the  mean  annual  temperature  for  the  five 
years  was  70  3°,  the  maximum  temperature  being  118'2°  reached  on 
June  13th,  1886,  and  the  minimum  reading  33  8°  on  January  Ist,  1890. 
Rainy  days  averaged  twenty-four  per  year,  and  the  amount  of  rainfall 
1 ’2  inch.  The  average  temperature  at  Alexandria  for  the  same  period 
was  68 "5°,  the  maximum  reading  being  100 '6°  on  May  10th,  1889,  and 
the  lowest  43  9°  on  January  22nd,  1889.  Alexandria  has  an  average  of 
forty  rainy  days  per  year,  and  a  rainfall  of  8  2  inches.  The  great 
difference  in  the  climate  of  the  two  cities  is  that  Cairo  is  much  the 
hotter  in  the  summer,  while  Alexandria  is  the  warmer  during  the 
winter. 
- -  Strawberries  in  Pots.  —  I  was  much  interested  in  Mr. 
Craven’s  article  on  page  535.  1  can  fully  endorse  all  he  says  in  favour 
of  layering  the  runners  into  the  fruiting  pots.  It  was  my  good  fortune 
to  see  the  advantages  accruing  thereto  whilst  serving  under  a  first-class 
fruit  grower  in  the  Midlands,  his  plan  being  to  prepare  compost  very 
similar  to  Mr.  Craven’s,  always  being  careful  to  place  a  good  layer  of 
soot  on  the  rough  turf  over  the  crocks  to  keep  worms  from  entering. 
The  pots  were  then  carried  on  to  the  beds,  and  the  strongest  layers 
selected  and  pegged  in  them.  When  well  rooted  they  were  taken 
from  the  parent  plants  and  stood  out  in  an  open  situation  till  the 
approach  of  frost,  when  they  were  placed  in  pits  which  were  provided 
with  wooden  covers.  The  varieties  grown  were  Keen’s  Seedling, 
Vicomtesse  Hericart  de  Thury,  President,  Sir  Joseph  Paxton,  and  James 
Veitch.  The  plants  were  introduced  into  the  houses  as  required,  the 
results  being  in  every  way  most  satisfactory,  our  first  plants  ripening 
their  fruit  by  the  end  of  February. — H.  S,  M. 
-  Royal  Botanic  Society’s  Evening  FIte. — A  fine  evening 
drew  a  large  crowd  to  the  gardens  of  the  above  Society  on  the  occasion 
of  the  evening  fete,  held  on  the  10th  inst.  The  most  interesting 
exhibits  consisted  of  floral  decorations  for  dining  tables.  Among  these 
Mr.  H.  0.  Garford  was  awarded  first  prize  for  a  charming  arrangement 
of  white,  yellow,  and  green.  Mr.  W.  L.  Buster  obtained  second 
honours  with  a  combination  of  red  and  white,  which  was  considered  by 
some  to  be  somewhat  stiff.  The  third  prize  fell  to  Messrs.  Harwood 
Bros.,  who  exhibited  red  and  yellow  Poppies,  and  green.  For  floral 
decorations  for  a  dinner  table  dressed  for  dessert  Mr.  J.  R.  Chard  was 
first,  and  Messrs.  F.  &  C.  Osier  second.  Groups  of  flowers  were  also 
shown,  amongst  which  were  a  fine  display  of  Begonias  from  Mr.  H.  J. 
Jones,  Lewisham ;  hardy  flowers  from  Messrs.  J.  Cheal  &  Sons,  Crawley, 
and  Messrs.  Barr  &  Sons,  Covent  Garden  ;  and  a  display  of  Roses  from 
Messrs.  Paul  &  Son.  The  presence  of  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Teck 
was  an  attraction,  and  the  bands  of  the  Royal  Horse  Guards  and  First 
Life  Guards  played  selections  of  music. 
-  Hawfinches  and  Cherries.  —  No  doubt  the  drought 
accounts  for  a  good  many  things  in  the  animal  and  vegetable  kingdoms 
by  way  of  attack  and  taste,  but  to  me  it  is  quite  a  new  experience  to 
find  hawfinches  attacking  the  changing  fruits  on  Morello  Cherries. 
They  are  a  formidable  enemy  to  the  rows  of  podding  Peas,  very  quickly 
making  a  clearance  if  they  are  left  unmolested.  They  have  such  a  keen 
sight  and  ear  that  it  is  not  an  easy  matter  to  approach  them  with  a  gun. 
Are  there  any  means  of  trapping  them  known  to  your  many  readers  ? 
It  is  only  within  the  last  week  or  two  that  we  have  experienced  any 
trouble  with  them  among  Peas,  and  now  they  have  made  it  necessary  to 
put  on  the  nets  to  keep  them  from  spoiling  the  Cherry  crop.  It  would 
be  interesting  to  know  if  other  readers  have  found  their  Cherry  trees 
attacked  so  early  in  the  season  when  only  in  the  first  stage  of  ripening. 
In  previous  years  we  have  only  been  troubled  with  one  pair,  this  season 
we  have  unfortunately  three  times  that  number,  without  a  chance  of 
reducing  them.  They  do  not  usually  make  their  appearance  till  the 
midseason  Peas  are  podding  freely.  Early  ones  are  left  for  the 
sparrows. — W.  S. 
-  A  correspondent  from  Stevenage,  Herts,  writes  as  follows 
“  On  looking  through  the  list  of  prizewinners  at  the  Hitchin  show  in 
your  columns  I  notice  ypu  missed  me  out.  I  was  awarded  a  special 
bronze  medal  for  a  group 'of  Begonias  and  other  plants,  which  was 
considered  a  grand  collection.”  We  are  unable  to  publish  the  name 
of  our  correspondent,  as  no  one  in  this  oflSce  is  able  to  decipher  the 
signature  on  his  postcard. 
-  The  S'WAMp  Magnolia. — This  is  sometimes  called  the  Laurel 
Magnolia,  and  is  now  flowering,  according  to  a  New  York  contemporary, 
in  Central  Park,  and  the  beauty  and  fragrance  of  its  globular  white  ’ 
flowers,  set  in  the  thick,  deep  green  foliage,  attract  a  good  deal  of  , 
attention.  After  the  flowers  fall  the  conical  fruits,  which  are  green-',, 
first,  soon  become  rosy  pink,  and  as  the  carpels  split  open  they  show  * 
coral  red,  berry  like  seeds.  The  leaves  hold  oh  late  in  the  autumn,  so 
that  it  is  among  the  most  attractive  of  our  smaller  trees  all.  th?  year 
through. 
- A  Horticultural  Palace  for  Parts  in  1900. — At  the- 
banquet  connected  with  the  Paris  International  Exhibition  Mens.  Picard, 
the  Commissioner  General  for  the  Exposition  Dniverselle,  to  be  held  in 
Paris  in  1900,  announced  to  the  guests  that  during  that  year  the  horti¬ 
cultural  world  might  depend  on  him,  as  he  hoped  to  be  able  to  count  on  . 
horticulturists,  for  the  general  ■  decoration  of  the  gardens.  We  will 
reciprocate,  said  Mons.  Picard,  by  building  you  a  fine  palace  for  their 
reception,  the  attention  yon  may  pay  us  in  sending  us  horticultural 
products  for  exhibition. 
-  R.H.S.  Examination. — It  would  appear  from  the  remarks  of 
your  correspondents,  “Reader,”  “  W.  D.,  Tuniford,"  and  “  R.  P.  ‘ 
Brotherston,”  that  I  claim  root  caps  or  spongioles  as  the  only  means  by 
which  food  is  absorbed  into  the  system  of  plants.  I  fail  to  see  where  I  , 
gave  prominence  to  this,  as  I  distinctly  mentioned  root  hairs  and  root 
surfaces.  I  simply  claimed  for  the  growing  points  some  share  in  the 
work  of  feeding  the  plant,  and  I  still  think  it  reasonable  to  suppose  that 
they  do  work  in  this  direction,  especially  in  the  case  of  deep  rooting 
trees  and  plants.  I  did  not  assert  that  they  did  it  by  the  extreme 
outward  tips,  but  some  of  the  adjoining  cells  may  possess  the  power  of 
absorption  as  well  as  the  numerous  root  hairs  developed,  of  which,  and 
fine  rootlets  generally,  there  cannot  be  too  many.  I  cannot  be  far 
wrong  in  my  reply  to  “  What  organ  is  represented  by  an  Onion  ?  ”■ 
when  I  said  (page  470),  “  An  Onion  represents  an  underground  stem  in 
the  form  of  a  bulb.”  I  am  supported  in  this  by  “  W.  D.,  Turnford's," 
own  authority.  Dr.  Hooker’s  “  Primer  on  Botany,”  page  42,  paragraph  52, 
1878  edition,  where  a  bulb  is  referred  to  as  “a  very  short  usually  under¬ 
ground  bud  or  undeveloped  stem.” — E.  D.  S. 
-  Visit  of  the  Shahzada  to  Windsor  Castle — Instructions 
having  been  issued  that  every  honour  was  to  be  shown  on  the  occasion 
of  the  Shahzada’s  recent  visit  to  Windsor  Castle,  the  floral  decorations 
were  on  a  more  elaborate  scale  than  usual,  and  the  houses  at  Frogmore 
were  nearly  cleared  of  plants  for  decoration  of  the  various  State  rooms 
through  which  the  procession  was  to  pass.  Mr.  Owen  Thomas  was  ' 
congratulated  on  all  sides  for  the  bold  and  effective  manner  in  which 
the  decorations  were  carried  out,  and  it  was  a  happy  thought  that  led 
to  the  suspension  of  a  basket  of  flo  wers  in  each  of  the  eleven  windows  in  • 
St.  George’s  Hall,  the  tables  in  each  window,  7  feet  by  4  feet,  being 
filled  with  a  background  of  Palms,  Francoas,  and  Hydrangeas  im  variety, 
and  various  other  flowering  plants,  edged  with  Gloxinias  and  draped 
with  Panicum,  Asparagus,  and  Smilax.  The  baskets  were  in  pairs, 
2  to  3  feet  in  diameter,  each  filled  with  one  colour,  a  perfect  ball  of 
flowers.  Sweet  Peas  Her  Majesty  and  white  were  very  beautiful,  so  also 
was  Stock  Princess  Alice,  a  pure  white  variety  with  free-branching 
habit.  Cassia  corymbosa,  rich  yellow,  occupied  the  central  basket, 
others  being  filled  with  Roses  in  various  colours.  The  grand  staircase, 
usually  very  bare  when  open  to  the  public,  was  completely  transformed. 
Round  the  statue  of  George  I.  were  grouped  immense  Palms — Cocos 
plumosa,  25  feet  high  ;  Kentias,  15  to  20  feet,  and  Dracsena  australis. 
These  were  intermixed  with  standards  of  Hydrangea  paniculata,  Liliuma 
Harrisi  and  auratum  in  quantity,  a  fine  plant  of  Croton  Weismanni, 
5  feet  by  4,  beautifully  coloured,  standing  out  boldly  one  side  of  the 
statue,  with  an  even  better  specimen  of  C.  nobilis  to  correspond.  Well 
coloured  Crotons  formed  an  important  feature,  and  very  beautifully 
they  harmonised  with  the  gilding  and  rich  colours  used  in  mural 
decorations  of  the  grand  reception  room,  where  Her  Majesty  received 
the  Shahzada.  Morti,  Disraeli,  Weismanni,  Queen  Victoria,  and  Baron 
A.  de  Rothschild  were  very  fine  and  splendidly  coloured.  Some  200  pots 
of  Lilium  Harrisi  were  used,  together  with  large  numbers  of  Hydrangeas, 
Francoas,  Pelargoniums,  Marguerites,  Gloxinias,  Campanulas,  and 
Caladiums. — F.  E» 
