August  32,  1895. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
179 
-  A  Laeoe  Elm  Tree.  —  “  Meehans’  Monthly  ”  says  that 
“  curiosity  has  been  aroused  as  to  the  largest  specimen  of  any  of  our 
forest  trees,  so  far  as  known.  Among  Elms  this  eminence  is  claimed — 
one  in  Portland,  Connecticut,  standing  near  St.  John's  Chapel,  a  mile  from 
Gildersleeve,  which  is  22  feet  in  circumference  ;  but  one  is  reported 
from  Ledyard  on  the  ‘  Larrabee  Farm,’  which  is  24  feet,  and  the 
spreading  branches  cover  half  an  acre.” 
-  Celery  Culture  in  America.— It  is  well  known  that  the 
Celery  plant  delights  in  a  rich  and  moist  soil,  and  those  who  have  the 
opportunity  to  use  liquid  manure  in  the  cultivation  of  this  plant  have  a 
great  advantage  over  others.  In  addition  to  this,  some  cultivators  who 
grow  the  Celery  for  market  are  introducing  water  artificially,  and  find  it 
to  be  a  profitable  practice.  In  Allegheny  City,  Western  Pennsylvania, 
one  grower  hai  a  supply  pipe  from  one  of  the  city  water  mains,  so 
arranged  that  at  the  end  where  the  flow  commences  guano  or  some  other 
artificial  fertiliser  can  be  placed  in  the  water  pipes.  He  can  get  double 
the  crop  from  the  same  ground  as  by  the  ordinary  methods,  and  stalks 
that  bring  a  much  higher  price  in  market. — (“  Meehans’  Monthly.”) 
-  The  New  York  Botanic  Garden.— This  seems  likely  to 
become  a  well-endowed  institution  in  a  very  short  time.  Its  creation 
has  long  been  contemplated,  and  now,  by  the  generosity  of  twenty-two 
rich  citizens  the  endowment  fund  of  £50,000  has  been  raised.  The 
■City  of  New  York  has  now  to  provide  250  acres  of  land  in  Bronx  Park, 
and  raise  £100,000  by  bonds  lor  building  and  similar  purposes.  There 
is  little  doubt  but  that  the  City  will  do  its  part  well  and  quickly,  and 
that  in  due  course  Bronx  Park  will  be  not  only  a  source  of  delight  to 
the  citizens,  their  wives  and  children,  but  an  institution  of  great 
importance  for  educational  purposes,  and  especially  for  scientific  investi¬ 
gation  in  the  now  numerous  departments  of  botanical,  horticultural, 
agricultural,  and  medicinal  science. 
-  Berlin  Exhibition. — It  is  reported  that  the  grounds  of 
the  Berlin  Industrial  Exhibition,  to  be  held  during  the  summer  of 
1896,  will  be  exceptionally  attractive.  Their  chief  feature  will  be  a 
large  lake  formed  by  the  flooding  of  the  present  great  playgrounds  of 
Treptow  Park.  A  promenade  shaded  by  four  rows  of  Plane  trees  now 
encircles  the  playground  and  will  form  an  admirable  border  for  the 
lake,  to  create  which  48,000  cubic  metres  of  earth  must  be  removed. 
The  water  will  be  pumped  up  to  heights  overhanging  the  lake,  whence 
it  will  fall  into  it  by  mean*  of  fine  cascades,  finally  flowing  off  into  the 
river  Spree.  But  the  most  interesting  feature  of  the  scheme  is  that  the 
city  authorities  have  stipulated  that,  when  the  exhibition  is  over,  the 
playgrounds  must  be  restored  to  their  original  condition,  which  will 
necessitate  among  other  things  the  storing  away  of  the  24,000  square 
yards  of  turf  which  now  cover  them. 
-  The  Gardens  of  the  City  of  Paris, — The  Committee  of 
the  Paris  Municipality,  to  which  is  entrusted  the  ornamentation  and 
maintenance  of  the  parks,  squares,  and  gardens  of  Paris,  the  total  area 
of  which,  reckoning  only  the  lawns,  plantations,  flower-beds,  and  borders, 
is  about  75  hectares  (1  hectare  =  2'471  acres),  possesses  nurseries, 
situated  some  in  the  Bois  de  Boulogne,  others  in  the  Bois  de  Vincennes, 
and  the  Fleuriste  still  at  La  Muette,  at  Passy,  and  the  transfer  of  which 
to  the  Parc-aux-Princes  is  in  progress.  The  nurseries  supply  a  number 
of  young  trees  for  avenue*  and  for  ornament,  about  2000  a  year  destined 
for  the  streets  and  walks,  and  about  50  000  woody  and  shrubby  plants 
to  be  used  in  forming  and  refurnishing  clumps.  At  the  Fleuriste  de  la 
Ville,  with  its  branches,  the  decorative  planis  necessary  for  furnishing 
the  gardens  are  raised.  The  annual  production  of  miscellaneous  plants, 
raised  for  the  decoration  of  the  municipal  gardens,  amounts  to  more  than 
a  million  of  specimens. — (“  Revue  Horticole.”) 
-  Harton  Hall. — J.  M.  Moore,  Esq.,  J.P.  (late  Town  Clerk  of 
South  Shields),  opened  his  gardens  to  the  public  last  Saturday,  and,  in 
addition  to  the  attractiveness  of  the  grounds,  he  provided  an  excellent 
band,  which  enlivened  the  proceedings.  Harton  Hall  is  near  South 
Shields,  therefore  many  hundreds  of  people  partook  of  the  advantage 
of  Mr.  Moore’s  kindness.  The  grounds  are  not  large,  but  are  well  kept  ; 
and  this  is  the  only  place  where  Mistletoe  is  growing  in  the  district. 
There  are  also  some  fine  specimens  of  Ilex  Hodgiusi  and  Mandarensis, 
which  are  grand  to  be  so  near  the  sea.  The  vineries  are  finishing  fruit 
well.  The  conservatory  was  very  gay,  the  roof  being  covered  with 
an  exceptionally  fine  Lapageria  rosea.  The  bedding  and  herbaceous 
borders  are  all  aglow  with  bloom.  Every  visitor  was  delighted  with  the 
outing,  Mr.  Moore  ’oeing  present  all  the  time,  and  it  seemed  to  be 
everyone’s  desire  that  the  generous  owner  might  live  many  more  years, 
to  enjoy  in  repose  the  beauty  of  his  country  home,  after  so  many 
years  of  active  life. — Bernard  Cowan. 
-  American  Pine  Timber. — According  to  a  dispatch  to  the 
New  York  "Tribune”  10,000,000  feet  of  Pine  and  Fir  lumber  are  now 
being  loaded  on  the  Pacific  coast,  or  are  on  their  way  to  South  Africa, 
for  use  in  timbering  the  deep  mines.  This  lumber  is  said  to  be  much 
superior  in  length  and  strength  to  that  from  the  Baltic  region,  which 
held  a  monopoly  of  the  market  until  two  years  ago.  The  first  shipments 
were  made  by  sailing  vessels,  but  several  steamers  are  now  regularly 
engaged  in  the  trade. 
-  Weeds  and  How  to  Kill  Them.  —  The  latest  farmers’ 
bulletin  issued  by  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  is  on 
this  subject.  After  some  general  remarks  on  the  proper  methods  of 
exterminating  annual,  biennial,  and  perennial  weeds,  a  few  of  the  pests 
which  have  been  attracting  special  attention  during  recent  years  are 
described  and  figured,  together  with  the  best  means  of  combating  them. 
This  is  followed  by  a  useful  table  of  a  hundred  weeds  which  are 
regarded  as  about  the  most  troublesome  in  the  United  States,  giving  the 
common  and  technical  name,  with  their  range  and  their  characteristics. 
To  this  is  added  the  time  of  flowering  and  the  appearance  of  their 
flowers,  the  time  of  their  seeding,  and  the  methods  in  which  the  seed 
is  distributed,  with  brief  remarks  as  to  the  best  means  of  eradicating 
them. 
-  Origin  of  Phosphate  Beds. — Professor  E.  T.  Cox,  formerly 
State  Geologist  of  Indiana,  and  who  for  many  years  past  has  made  a 
study  of  the  phosphate  beds  of  Florida,  shows  conclusively  the  fallacy 
of  the  prevailing  belief  that  they  have  resulted  from  shell  deposits.  He 
says  that  with  the  evidence  before  us,  of  cauises  now  in  action  that 
produced  the  immense  deposits  of  guano  on  the  islands  off  the  rainless 
coasts  of  Chili  and  Peru,  the  islands  of  the  Caribbean  Sea,  and  elsewhere 
where  the  droppings  of  numberless  birds  are  converted  into  guano,  both 
pulverulent  and  rock  guano,  it  is  not  necessary  to  construct  strange 
theories  to  account  for  the  phosphate  deposits  in  Florida.  Unlike  Pern, 
the  climate  here  was  humid,  and  washed  out  of  the  guano  the  soluble 
salts,  leaving,  says  "  Meehans’  Monthly,”  the  insoluble  phosphate  of 
lime.  The  isolation  of  the  deposits,  their  occurrence  in  detached  pockets 
of  greater  or  less  extent,  as  well  as  the  conformability  of  the  phosphate 
rock  to  the  very  jagged  surface  of  the  limestone  on  which  it  rests,  all 
point  to  the  bird  origin  as  guano. 
- Weather  and  Crops  in  Guernsey. —  After  a  ten-days 
interval  of  broken  weather,  with  some  grand  refreshing  rains,  which 
have  wonderfully  improved  the  face  of  Nature,  it  is  again  charmingly 
fine,  with  the  greatest  sun  heat  we  have  yet  had  this  summer.  What 
little  corn  there  is  grown  here  is  now  being  cut,  crops  being  generally 
very  good.  The  rains  have  greatly  improved  the  root  crops.  Mangolds 
are  somewhat  patchy,  but  Swedes  and  Parsnips  are  very  good.  Apples 
are  a  very  good  crop  ;  Pears  not  so  heavy  as  last  year.  The  exportation 
of  Grapes  and  Tomatoes  is  now  at  its  height,  the  number  of  packages 
daily  shipped  being  a  sight  not  to  be  easily  forgotten.  Grower*  are, 
however,  complaining  of  the  very  low  prices  they  are  receiving.  As 
regards  quality,  I  think  we  can  hold  our  own  against  all  comers,  especi¬ 
ally  if  our  growers  will  pay  a  little  more  attention  to  good  packing. 
Another  thing,  we  require  much  lower  freights  to  the  midlands 
and  north  of  England  to  bring  us  to  a  fair  level  with  the  foreign 
I  producer. — X. 
-  Barreling  Apples. — Many  of  the  most  profitable  operations 
in  commercial  life  depend  in  the  first  instance  on  very  simple  facts. 
Most  persons  would  pass  by  without  observing  the  barreling  of  Apples 
as  a  case  in  point.  If  Apples  were  placed  loosely  in  barrels  they  would  soon 
decay,  though  passing  over  but  a  very  short  distance  of  travel  ;  and  je  , 
when  properly  barreled,  they  can  be  sent  thousands  of  miles,  even  over 
the  roughest  ocean  voyage,  in  perfect  security.  According  to  an  American 
contemporary  this  is  owing  to  a  fact  discovered  years  ago,  without  any 
one  knowing  particularly  the  reason,  that  an  Apple  rotted  from  a  bruise 
only  when  the  skin  was  broken.  An  Apple  can  be  pressed  so  as  to  have 
indentations  over  its  whole  surface  without  any  danger  of  decaying, 
providing  the  skin  is  not  broken.  In  b-arreling  Apples,  therefore,  gentle 
pressure  is  exercised  so  that  the  fruit  is  fairly  pressed  into  each  other, 
and  it  is  impossible  for  any  one  fruit  to  change  its  place  in  the  barrel  ou 
its  journey.  Apples  are  sometimes  taken  out  of  the  barrels  with  large 
indentations  over  their  whole  surface,  and  yet  no  sign  of  decay.  In 
these  modern  times  we  understand  the  reason.  The  atmospuere  is  fall 
of  microscopic  germs  which  produce  fermentation,  and  unless  they  can 
get  an  entrance  into  the  fruit  rot  cannot  take  place.  A  mere  indentation 
without  a  rupture  of  the  outer  skin  does  not  permit  of  the  action  of 
the.se  microbes.  This  is  a  simple  reason  why  the  early  observation 
enabled  the  barreling  of  Apples  to  be  so  successful. 
