106 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
August  1,  1896. 
- Rainfall  at  Stapleton  Park,  Pontefract, — On  Thursday 
last  fJuly  25th)  we  experienced  a  severe  downpour  of  rain,  registering 
from  8  A.M.  till  8  p.m,  exactly  1'9  inch.  Did  anyone  register  more  in 
the  twelve  hours  ? — H.  J.  H. 
-  Heavy  Rainfall.— The  rainfall  of  last  week  was  enormously 
in  excess  of  the  average  in  nearly  all  parts  of  the  kingdom.  Over 
England  the  fall  was  in  most  cases  from  two  to  three  times  as  much  as 
the  normal,  and  in  London  it  was  considerably  more  than  four  times  as 
much  as  the  average  for  the  week. 
-  Irish  Rainfall — Mushrooms.— From  the  “Irish  Times”  of 
July  26th  I  glean  data  of  what  is  there  described  as  “the  phenomenal 
rainfall.”  2’283  inches  of  rain  fell  between  the  hours  of  6  P.M.  on 
Wednesday,  the  24th,  and  6  p.m.  the  succeeding  day.  This  has  only 
been  exceeded  twice  since  1864 — namely,  August  13th,  1874,2  482  inches, 
and  October  27th,  1880,  2’736  inches.  A  fair  sprinkling  of  Mushrooms 
is  now  appearing  on  old  pastures,  and  having  had  the  two  potent 
factors — heat  and  moisture — a  plentiful  supply  of  the  favoured  fungus 
may  now  be  looked  for ;  any  way,  “  the  million  ”  are  already  on  the 
warpath,  urged  by  that  epicurean  love  which  heeds  not  notice  boards  or 
respects  the  sanctity  of  private  places. — K. 
-  Use  of  the  Scent  of  Flow'ers. — Its  primary  use  no  doubt 
is  to  attract  insects,  which  will  carry  the  pollen  from  flower  to  flower, 
thus  insuring  cross  fertilisation.  Secondly,  the  scent  acts,  it  is  believed, 
in  the  same  way  as  the  glass  roof  of  a  hothouse.  According  to  a 
contemporary  Professor  Tyndall  found  that  the  luminous  radiation  from 
the  sun  can  pass  readily  through  an  atmosphere  impregnated  with 
essential  oils,  but  when  it  strikes  the  ground  and  is  converted  into  dark 
heat  (heat  unaccompanied  by  light)  it  can  no  longer  traverse  this 
atmosphere,  the  scent  thus  acting  as  a  trap  for  the  solar  radiation.  The 
absorbing  power  of  these  oils  varies  between  that  of  otto  of  Roses,  which 
is  thirty-seven  times  that  of  pure,  dry  air  to  that  of  Aniseed,  which  is 
372  times. 
-  Damping-off. — A  bulletin  from  the  Cornell  Experiment 
Station,  prepared  by  Professor  George  F.  Atkinson,  gives  a  very  com¬ 
plete  account  of  several  of  the  fungi  which  cause  the  disease  known  as 
damping-off,  on  account  of  which  the  tissues  of  the  seedling  plants 
decay  at  the  surface  of  the  ground.  The  life  history  of  several  of  these 
fungi  is  given  very  completely.  Of  special  interest  is  the  fungus  which 
is  parasitic  on  Fern  prothallia  in  forcing  houses,  and  which  is  new  to 
America.  An  entirely  new  species  is  also  described.  Since  too  much 
moisture  in  the  soil,  high  temperature,  inaufhcient  light,  and  close 
apartments  favour  the  growth  of  these  parasites,  and  at  the  same  time 
weaken  the  growth  of  the  seedlings,  so  that  they  are  less  able  to  resist 
disease,  the  plain  conclusion  is  that  houses  should  be  well  lighted, 
supplied  with  fresh  air,  and  kept  at  as  even  a  temperature  as  possible, 
and  saturation  of  the  soil  should  be  avoided  ;  if  the  disease  once  sets  in 
the  temperature  should  be  kept  as  low  as  the  plants  will  bear,  and  if 
they  do  not  recover  the  soil  in  which  they  have  grown  should  be 
discarded  and  the  benches  whitewashed  ;  only  perfectly  healthy  plants 
should  be  reset.  Soil  in  which  diseased  plants  have  grown  should  not 
be  used  again  until  it  is  sterilised  by  steam  heat  for  several  hours. 
— (“  Garden  and  Forest.”) 
-  Battle  of  Roses  at  Eastbourne. — Eastbourne  was  enfHe 
on  July  26th,  on  the  occasion  of  the  Battle  of  Roses,  organised  in  con¬ 
nection  with  the  summer  carnival.  A  thunderstorm  passed  over  the 
town  in  the  morning,  but  when  the  festivities  commenced  in  the  after¬ 
noon  brilliant  weather  prevailed,  and  continued  for  the  remainder  of 
the  day.  There  was  a  great  influx  of  excursionists,  who,  with  the 
numerous  visitors,  helped  to  swell  the  crowds  of  spectators.  Many  of 
the  principal  thoroughfares  were  tastefully  decorated,  and  the  Grand 
Parade,  the  centre  of  operations,  was  most  elaborately  adorned  with 
Venetian  masts  connected  by  festoons  of  pennants  and  artificial  flowers. 
The  15-guinea  bowl,  offered  for  the  best  decorated  vehicle,  was  awarded 
to  Mrs.  O’Hagan  of  Lancaster  Gate.  Mr.  William  Chapman  of  East¬ 
bourne  secured  the  first  prize  for  coaches;  Mr.  R,  M.  Perring,  East¬ 
bourne,  being  second  ;  and  the  Duke  of  Manchester  third.  For  pair- 
horsed  carriages,  Mr.  T.  H.  Angus,  Eastbourne,  was  awarded  first  prize  ; 
and  Mr.  H.  Dewhurst,  Eastbourne,  second.  Mrs.  Edmund  Willett,  East¬ 
bourne,  obtained  the  first  prize  for  single-horse  carriages  ;  and  Mr.  G. 
Skinner  was  second  ;  and  Mr.  G.  W.  Morrison  third.  There  were  many 
other  prizes  for  children’s  carts,  allegorical  cars,  equestrians,  and  cycles. 
The  Judges  were  Lady  Duke,  Lady  Ashmead-Bartlett,  and  the  Mayoress 
of  Eastbourne  ;  and  the  Duchess  of  Devonshire  distributed  the  prizes. 
— ('■  Daily  News.’ ) 
- Mr.  McLeod,  Dover  House,  writes  : — “  There  is  an  error  in 
the  notes  on  Dover  House  which  Mr.  Dean  in  his  hurried  look  round  has 
made,  and  which  you  will  observe  is  significant — viz'.,  the  length  of 
border  is  exactly  80  feet,  not  40  feet,  as  stated  in  the  otherwise  correct 
note.” 
-  The  Potato  Crop. — This  will  be  much  below  the  average  in 
the  southern  and  eastern  counties,  and  in  Bedfordshire,  Berkshire, 
Hampshire,  and  Kent  the  yield  of  the  earlier  kinds  now  being  lifted 
and  sent  to  market  ranges  between  2  and  3  tons  per  acre.  In  Lincoln¬ 
shire,  more  particularly  in  the  fen  districts,  the  crops  are  fairly  good,, 
the  yield  being  5  and  6  tons.  In  Yorkshire  and  in  Scotland  the  late 
crops  are  in  a  very  promising  condition,  and  should  they  escape  the 
disease  and  the  weather  be  favourable  the  yield,  says  a  contemporary, 
will  be  a  full  average  and  the  quality  high. 
-  Brookfield  Flo'WER  Sho'w. — The  eleventh  annual  exhibi¬ 
tion  of  flowers,  fruit,  and  vegetables,  in  connection  with  the  Brookfield 
Horticultural  Society,  was  held  on  Saturday  afternoon  at  Highgate,  in 
a  field  lent  by  Mr.  Burdett  Coutts,  M.P.  Among  the  early  visitors  to 
the  show  was  the  Baroness  Burdett  Coutts,  the  patroness  of  the  Society, 
The  exhibitors  numbered  115,  who  between  them  made  over  900  entries. 
The  first  prize  bodquet  was  presented  to  the  Baroness  Burdett  Coutts 
by  the  exhibitor,  Mr.  Cram,  who  had  grown  all  the  flowers  of  which  it 
was  composed  in  his  allotment  garden. 
-  Red  Oak. —  The  Wisconsin  Red  Oak  has  for  several  years 
taken  high  rank  in  furniture  and  finishing  factories  on  account  of  its 
softness,  adaptability  to  shop  work,  its  lively  colour,  and  figure.  When 
plain-sawed  it  commands  higher  prices  than  any  Oak,  although  quarter- 
sawed  White  Oak  is  more  expensive.  According  to  the  “  North-Western 
Lumberman,”  this  Red  Oak  belt  in  Wisconsin  is  not  wide,  and  at  the 
rate  the  timber  is  being  cut  off  it  probably  will  not  last  more  than  six 
or  seven  years.  In  the  North-west  part  of  the  State,  which  is  not  yet 
opened  up  by  railroads,  there  is  a  heavily  timbered  area  which  may 
contain  much  Red  Oak,  but  it  will  soon  be  traversed  by  a  railway 
from  Duluth. 
-  A  New  Acacia. — A  giant  Acacia  has  been  discovered  on  the 
Tergoggin  Mountain  and  by  the  Mullimbimby  Creek,  Brunswick  River, 
New  South  Wales.  This  new  species  was  described  at  a  meeting  of  the 
New  South  Wales  Linnean  Society,  held  on  May  29tb.  The  discoverer 
is  Mr.  W.  Biiuerlen,  and  the  author  Mr.  J.  H.  Maiden  ;  the  latter 
proposes  the  name  of  Acacia  Bakeri,  in  honour  of  his  colleague.  Speci¬ 
mens  have  been  seen  growing  120  feet  high,  and  with  a  diameter  of 
5  feet ;  the  inflorescences  are  loose  elongated  racemes,  and  carry  a  few 
flowers — twenty  or  less.  This  Acacia,  says  a  contemporary,  appears  to 
be  most  closely  allied  to  A.  binervata,  but  differs  suflflciently  from  it  to 
constitute  a  new  species. 
-  Floral  Emblems. — The  Floral  Emblem  Society,  organised  at 
the  World’s  Fair  for  the  spread  of  the  pleasant  and  instructive  custom 
of  choosing  floral  emblems  for  the  individual  States  and  the  nation,  is 
quietly  but  effectively  pushing  its  work.  Through  its  influence  Maine 
has  selected  the  Pine  cone  and  tassel  ;  Vermont,  Red  Clover  ;  Minnesota, 
the  Ladies’  Slipper  ;  Montana,  the  Bittersweet ;  California,  the  yellow 
Poppy  ;  and  Nebraska,  the  Golden-rod.  Each  of  these  States  has 
legislated  on  the  emblems,  which  are  now  legalised.  The  campaign  is 
now  opening  in  Massachusetts.  The  Society  does  not  choose  the  emblem, 
but  stimulates  the  people  to  do  it.  “  American  Gardening  ”  says  that 
the  custom  is  worthy  general  imitation. 
-  Poinsettia  Roots  Dying. — I  should  feel  greatly  obliged  if 
any  of  your  experienced  readers  can  tell  me  through  the  medium  of 
your  valuable  paper  the  cause  of  Poinsettias  losing  their  roots.  I  grew 
about  fifty  plants  last  season  in  a  heated  pit.  They  commenced  to  grow 
strong  and  went  on  all  right  till  the  middle  of  July,  when  their  roots 
decayed.  Thinking  perhaps  they  wanted  a  shift  I  potted  them  on, 
and  they  went  on  all  right  until  the  roots  bad  taken  hold  of  the  soil,, 
when  they  began  to  decay  again,  and  by  October  they  had  lost  nearly 
all  their  leaves.  I  then  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  soil  was  not 
right,  and  that  the  pit  was  too  warm.  This  season  I  started  again  ; 
I  hare  had  the  pit  divided  so  that  I  can  give  them  more  air.  I  also 
used  as  a  potting  soil  two  parts  loam,  one  of  peat,  and  one  of  leaf  soil, 
with  plenty  of  sand,  but  on  turning  one  of  them  out  a  few  days  ago  I 
was  disappointed  to  find  the  roots  in  just  the  same  condition  as  last  year. 
They  have  been  watered  with  rain  water,  and  I  have  looked  over  them 
twice  daily  in  the  recent  hot  weather,  so  that  I  am  sure  they  have  not 
suffered  by  want  of  water,  I  shall  be  very  grateful  for  any  information 
and  helpful  suggestions  on  the  subject  which  perplexes  me. — H.  \Y. 
