September  6,  1895. 
JOURiVAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
227 
- The  Weather  in  August  at  Hodsock  Priory,  Worksop, 
Notts. — Mean  temperature  of  month,  61'0°.  Maximum  on  the  19th, 
78  0°  ;  minimum  on  the  25th,  40'7°.  Maximum  in  the  sun  on  the  19th, 
131'3°  ;  minimum  on  the  grass  on  the  25th,  3l’2°.  Mean  temperature 
of  the  air  at  9  A.M.,  62  5°  ;  mean  temperature  of  soil  1  foot  deep,  60  7°. 
Total  duration  of  sunshine  145  hours,  or  32  per  cent,  of  possible 
duration.  Three  sunless  days.  Total  rainfall,  1-30  inch  ;  rain  fell  on 
seventeen  days.  Approximate  averages  for  August  : — Mean  temperature, 
59  7°;  sunshine,  149  hours;  rainfall,  2-36  inches.  A  fine  and  warm 
month,  but  with  no  very  hot  days.  Fruit  abundant,  especially  Apples, 
Peaches,  and  Plums.— J.  Mallender. 
-  August  Weather  in  South  Wales.— Mr.  W.  Mabbott, 
The  Gardens,  Gwernllwyn  House,  Dowlais,  Glamorgan,  sends  the 
following  summary  of  the  weather  there  for  the  past  month  : — Total 
rainfall  552  inches;  maximum  0  83  on  the  12th,  minimum  0’05  on 
the  7th  ;  rain  fell  on  nineteen  days.  Total  amount  of  sunshine 
148 J  hours ;  sunless  days  six.  The  wind  was  in  the  north-west  and 
west  for  twenty-five  days.  ■  A  very  strong  gale  on  the  11th, 
accompanied  by  heavy  rains,  did  a  great  amount  of  damage. 
With  the  exception  of  the  last  four  days  of  July  we  had  rain  every 
day  from  the  15th  of  that  month  until  the  13th  of  August,  during 
which  time  8‘46  inches  were  registered. 
- The  Spiked  Loosestrife. — An  American  gardening  paper 
says,  “  We  have  often  called  attention  to  the  Spiked  Loosestrife, 
Lythrum  Salicaria,  a  plant  which  has  become  so  thoroughly  naturalised 
in  damp  places  throughout  all  the  north-eastern  United  States  that 
most  persons  consider  it  a  native.  The  plant  has  a  tendency  to  vary, 
and  some  strains  are  superior  to  others,  but  the  tall  spikes  of  dark 
purple  flowers,  from  4  to  6  feet  high,  are  always  effective,  especially  on 
the  borders  of  water,  still  or  flowing,  or  where  they  can  have  a  back¬ 
ground  of  foliage.  In  parks  and  private  grounds  of  suitable  extent 
they  are  very  useful,  and  among  the  most  striking  of  late  summer- 
tlowering  plants.” 
-  Large  Chestnut  Trees.— Mr.  Theodore  D.  Rand  gives  the 
^‘Public  Ledger”  of  Philadelphia  dimensions  of  some  large  Chestnut 
trees  in  the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia  as  follows  : — On  the  place  of 
Mr.  Joyce,  north-west  of  Rosemont  Station,  Montgomery  County,  Pa., 
is  one  measuring  over  25  feet  4  feet  from  the  ground.  This  giant  is 
clearly  visible  from  Pennsylvania  Railroad  trains.  In  Newton 
Township,  Delaware  Co.,  is  one  measuring  24  feet,  4  feet  from  the 
ground.  On  the  line  between  Delaware  and  Montgomery  counties, 
about  half  a  mile  east  of  Upton  Station,  is  a  very  fine  Chestnut,  and, 
to  the  praise  of  the  supervisor  be  it  said,  that  although  in  the 
highway  it  is  permitted  to  stand.  It  measures  nearly  21  feet.  There 
is  one  of  20  feet  a  quarter  of  a  mile  north  of  St.  David’s  Station. 
-  A  Stinging  Tree. — A  traveller  from  Queensland,  says  a 
■contemporary,  describes  a  peculiar  tree,  which  has  the  power  of  stinging. 
Here  is  an  account  of  its  effects  ; — “  Sometimes,  while  shooting  turkeys 
in  the  scrub,  I  have  entirely  forgotten  the  stinging  tree  till  I  was 
warned  of  its  proximity  by  its  smell,  and  have  often  found  myself  in  a 
little  forest  of  them,  1  was  only  once  stung,  and  then  very  lightly. 
Its  effects  are  curious.  The  sting  leaves  no  mark,  but  the  pain  is 
maddening,  and  for  months  afterwards  the  part,  when  touched,  is 
tender  in  rainy  weather,  or  when  it  gets  wet  in  washing.  I  have  seen 
a  man  who  treats  ordinary  pain  lightly  roll  on  the  ground  in  agony 
after  being  stung,  and  I  have  known  a  horse  so  completely  mad  after 
getting  into  a  grove  of  the  trees  that  he  rushed  open-mouthed  at  every¬ 
one  who  approached  him,  and  had  to  be  shot.  Dogs,  when  stung,  will 
rush  about,  whining  piteously,  and  biting  pieces  from  the  affected  part.” 
-  The  Fruit  Crop. — The  fruit  harvest  of  1895,  says  the  “  Rural 
World,”  will  probably  prove  the  heaviest  of  the  last  twenty  years.  In 
all  parti  of  the  country  trees  are  so  heavily  laden  as  to  be  scarcely  able 
to  sustain  their  burden.  Already  farmers  in  some  districts  are  con¬ 
templating  storing  Apples  for  cattle  food  next  winter,  indeed  there  is 
literally  no  sale  for  other  kinds  than  the  choicest.  Throughout  the 
southern  part  of  the  country  doubtless  farmers  will  do  well  to  prepare 
for  making  cider  on  a  large  scale  ;  but  somehow  this  kind  of  beverage 
does  not  find  favour  in  the  northern  districts.  As  for  stone  fruit,  pre¬ 
serving  is  the  only  way  of  dealing  with  it.  Green  Gage  Plums  are  only 
worth  about  a  penny  a  quart,  and  other  kinds  do  not  pay  for  gathering 
and  taking  to  market.  There  is  no  better  and  more  wholesome  preserve 
than  Damsons  ;  therefore  it  behoves  everyone  to  lay  in  a  large  store,  for 
it  will  surely  prove  welcome  by-and-by. 
-  Double  Cordon  Tomatoes. — A  friend  of  mine  has  a  house 
which  he  devotes  to  the  culture  o!  Tomatoes.  Being  unable  to  obtain 
as  many  plants  as  he  required  to  fill  the  house  this  spring  he  has  grown 
them,  with  the  exception  of  one  or  two  plants,  as  double  cordons  instead 
of  adopting  the  usual  method  of  a  single  stem.  The  result  has  been 
most  satisfactory,  the  two-branched  plants  producing  as  much  fruit  on 
each  branch  as  the  whole  plant  has  produced  in  the  case  of  a  single 
stem.  The  fruit  has  been  quite  as  fine,  too,  and  well-flavoured.  The 
plants  have  all  had  the  same  treatment,  the  oily  stimulant  used  being 
a  little  soot  occasionally.  The  variety  grown  was  Conqueror.  If  any 
readers  of  the  Journal  have  adopted  the  same  plan  I  should  like  to  know 
their  experience.— Reader. 
-  Euphorbia  corollata. — This  is,  perhaps,  the  most  beau¬ 
tiful  of  the  numerous  hardy  Euphorbias,  of  a  light  elegant  habit,  and 
when  well  grown  it  forms  broad  bushy  specimens  covered  with 
numerous  white  corolla-like  involucres.  The  flowers  are  apetalous 
and  greenish.  The  five  petaloid  bracts  are  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch 
long.  The  involucrate  flowers  are  very  numerous,  and  disposed  in  large- 
branched  and  somewhat  leafy  cymes.  This  species  is  quite  hardy,  and 
will  grow  well  in  a  rockery  or  in  a  border  of  ordinary  soil.  It  flowers 
throughout  the  hottest  summer  months,  and  is  one  of  the  most  valuable 
hardy  perennials  for  hot  and  dry  positions.  It  is  also  useful  when  cut 
to  mix  w'ith  other  flowers,  and  adds  an  element  of  lightness  and  grace 
which  la  most  desirable. — (“  Garden  and  Forest.”) 
-  An  American  Drive.  —  One  of  the  most  famous  and 
most  beautiful  public  promenades  in  the  United  States  is  the  Lake 
Shore  Drive  in  Chicago,  beginning  in  Lincoln  Park  and  prolonged 
for  the  most  part  in  full  sight  of  the  lake  for  a  distance  of  twenty- 
five  miles,  under  the  name  of  the  Sheridan  Road.  It  is  now  pro¬ 
posed  to  continue  this  drive,  with  its  adjacent  ornamental  features, 
as  far  north  as  the  suburb  of  Evanston,  a  further  distance  of 
fourteen  miles,  and  eventually  to  the  city  of  Milwaukee.  If  the 
project  is  carried  out,  park  boards  will  be  formed  in  the  different 
counties  through  which  the  drive  will  pass,  and  the  right  will  be 
conferred  upon  them  to  condemn  any  property  they  may  require. 
In  some  places  the  shores  of  the  lake  here  rise  into  bluffs  from  40  to 
80  feet  in  height,  diversified  by  steep  ravines  ;  and,  of  course,  this  means 
unusual  picturesqueoess  for  that  part  of  oar  country. — ("Garden  and 
Forest.”) 
-  The  Ontario  Fruit  Trade. — it  is  well  known  that  Ontario, 
the  principal  province  of  Canada,  is  a  large  exporter  of  the  best  varieties 
of  autumn  and  winter  Apples  to  this  country.  The  fruit  growers  of  the 
province  now  propose  to  supply  us  with  some  of  their  finer  fruits,  such 
as  Peaches,  Pears,  and  Plums,  also  early  Apples  and  Tomatoes.  The 
Hon.  John  Dryden,  Minister  of  Agriculture  for  the  province,  himself  an 
enhghtened  and  successful  farmer,  has  taken  the  matter  in  hand,  thus 
giving  to  the  new  undertaking  the  sanction  and  encouragement  of  the 
Provincial  Government.  Hitherto  these  more  delicate  fruits  of  Ontario 
were  deemed  too  perishable  to  bear  an  ocean  voyage  ;  but,  owing  to  the 
system  of  cold  storage  by  rail  and  steamship  recently  arranged  by  the 
Canadian  Government,  it  is  believed  that  they  can  now  be  placed  on 
this  market  in  prime  condition.  At  all  events,  trial  shipments  will 
shortly  be  consigned  to  Mr.  Byrne,  the  Ontario  Government  Agent  at 
Liverpool,  and  should  they  prove  successful  larger  shipments  will 
quickly  follow,  and  be  continued  throughout  the  season. — (“  North 
British  Agriculturist.”) 
- Montbretias. — These  most  beautiful  Iridaceous  plants  deserve 
to  be  more  extensively  grown  in  our  gardens.  We  cultivate  them 
largely,  and  find  them  most  useful  for  house  decoration  at  this  season  of 
the  year,  as  when  arranged  in  vases  with  their  green  foliage  they  have 
a  most  graceful  and  pleasing  effect,  and  will  keep  fresh  for  several  days. 
M.  Pottsi  is  the  ’oest  known  species;  and  M.  crocosmaeflora,  of  more 
recent  introduction,  is  a  hybrid  raised  between  Tritonia  aurea  x 
M.  Pottsi,  and  grows  from  2  feet  to  3  feet  high,  having  bright  green 
leaves,  resembling  those  of  a  Gladiolus.  The  flowers  are  about  Ij  inch 
long,  and  are  borne  on  branching  stems,  each  branch  bearing  as  many 
as  thirty  flowers,  whic’n  are  of  an  orange  red,  with  spots  of  a  darker  hue 
inside  the  tubes.  As  regards  cultivation,  they  require  a  rich  open  soil 
on  a  partially  shaded  border.  The  bulbs,  when  thoroughly  ripened  ac 
the  end  of  the  season,  need  to  be  either  lifted  and  stored,  or  in  mild 
localities  a  covering  of  litter  will  suffice.  Since  penning  the  above  the 
Journal  has  come  to  hand,  and  on  page  200  I  see  M.  crocosmmflora  i.s 
highly  spoken  of  by  “  W.”  as  a  good  plant  for  massing.  I  can  also  speak 
of  it  very  highly  for  this  purpose. — H.  M. 
