250 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
September  12,  1895. 
-  Vegetable  and  Fruit  Show  at  Caeshalton,  —  An 
exhibition  is  proposed  to  be  held  on  October  16th  and  17th  in  the 
Public  Hall,  Carshalton,  of  a  large  number  of  varieties  of  Potatoes 
grown  in  various  kinds  of  soils,  and  assisted  by  different  kinds  of 
manures  in  experiments  conducted  under  the  authority  of  the  Surrey 
County  Council,  together  with  a  display  of  fruit  and  vegetables  pro¬ 
vided  by  the  Beddington,  Carshalton,  and  Wallington  Horticultural 
Society,  of  which  Mr.  G.  W.  Cummins  is  the  Honorary  Secretary. 
- Cork  Trees  for  Natal. — It  has  been  suggested  that  a 
couple  of  thousand  young  Cork  trees  should  be  imported  into  Natal,  as 
the  country  is  particularly  suited  to  their  cultivation.  The  same  benefit 
is  derived  from  the  bark  of  the  Cork  tree  as  from  Wattle,  only  that 
the  trees  when  stripped  are  not  destroyed,  but  bear  another  crop  in 
about  five  years.  In  Spain  the  industry  already  benefits  those  who  have 
taken  it  up  to  the  tune  of  about  half  a  million  sterling  per  annum. 
-  Spraying  Fruit  Trees. — A  law  has  been  enacted  in 
Michigan  (says  “  Garden  and  Forest  ”)  which  compels  the  owners  of 
fruit  trees  and  Vines  to  spray  them  with  appropriate  insecticides  and 
fungicides,  under  penalty  of  a  fine  not  exceeding  50  dollars,  or  imprison¬ 
ment  not  to  exceed  sixty  days,  or  both.  The  evident  purpose  of  this 
law  is  to  compel  negligent  farmers  to  do  their  full  share  in  suppressing 
injurious  insects  and  plant  diseases,  a  work  which  can  only  be  done  by 
co-operation.  Three  commissioners  appointed  by  the  select  men  of  any 
township  are  authorised  to  notify  farmers  whenever  insect  or  fungus 
pests  are  found  in  their  orchards  or  vineyards,  and  if  farmers  fail  to 
spray  their  trees  or  Vines  the  commissioners  are  to  do  the  work  at  the 
expense  of  the  town,  which  can  recover  costs  from  the  owner. 
- Trees  in  the  City  op  London. — Within  the  memory  of 
many  persons,  London  was  once,  like  many  American  cities,  absolutely 
treeless — nothing  but  brick,  stone,  and  mortar  being  seen  anywhere. 
Of  late  years  intelligent  horticulture  has  been  drawn  into  service, 
and  trees  and  shrubs  are  being  planted  everywhere,  and  not  merely 
planted  but  well  cared  for  afterwards.  Experts  are  employed 
especially  for  this  purpose.  A  census  has  recently  been  taken  by 
order  of  the  London  City  Council — a  census  easily  taken  by  reason 
of  the  expert  tree  men  who  are  regularly  employed  to  look  after 
them.  The  number  of  trees  growing  in  the  public  highways  of  the 
City  of  London  is  found  to  be  14,700.  These  are  on  the  public  high¬ 
ways  alone,  and  not  in  the  parks.  This  shows  progress  in  a  sensible 
direction. — (“  Meehans’  Monthly  ”  for  September.) 
-  The  American  Apple  Crop. — This  promises  to  be  much 
larger  than  was  anticipated  early  in  the  season.  At  the  annual 
meeting  of  the  National  Apple  Shippers’  Association,  held  at  Chicago 
last  month,  of  which  a  report  is  given  in  the  “  National  Nurseryman,” 
it  was  announced  that  the  July  report  of  the  Department  of  Agricul¬ 
ture,  indicating  a  short  Apple  crop,  is  entirely  misleading.  Local 
information  in  the  possession  of  the  delegates  present,  representing  all 
Apple  growing  States  from  Maine  to  Colorado,  shows  that  in  New 
England  the  crop  is  one  of  reasonable  proportions  ;  and  in  New  York, 
while  light  in  some  districts,  the  aggregate  exceeds  last  year,  both  in 
q.ual:ty  and  quantity.  West  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains  the  crop  is 
declared  the  largest  grown  in  any  recent  year,  the  only  exception 
being  in  limited  districts  in  Ohio  and  Michigan  and  in  Wisconsin  and 
Minnesota.  Those  in  attendance  at  the  meeting  united  in  declaring 
the  outlook  to  be  for  the  largest  aggregate  crop  of  best  quality  in 
recent  years. 
t 
-  A  NEW  vacuum  process  of  canning  fruits  in  glass  has  lately 
been  introduced,  says  “  Garden  and  Forest,”  and  the  tin  can  appears 
to  be  doomed.  All  the  deleterious  gases  generated  in  cooking  the  fruit, 
and  even  the  air,  are  extracted  under  this  new  process,  so  that  fermenta¬ 
tion  is  reduced  to  a  minimum.  No  solder  is  used,  and  each  jar  is 
opened  by  making  a  puncture  with  a  penknife,  after  which  the  cover 
can  be  lifted  off  entire.  The  fruit  is  solid-packed — that  is,  a  can 
contains  90  per  cent,  of  fruit  and  10  per  cent,  of  syrup,  instead  of  being 
two-thirds  fruit  and  one-third  syrup,  as  was  formerly  the  case  with  tin 
cans.  In  this  way  there  is  a  saving  of  freight  charges,  while  the 
superior  attractiveness  and  healthfulness  of  fruits  packed  in  glass  is 
evident.  Formerly  the  use  of  resin,  acid,  solder,  and  hot  iron  scorched 
the  syrup,  and  since  the  aperture  in  the  top  of  the  tin  cans  was  so  small 
that  the  fruit  was  often  crushed  and  cut  when  being  placed  in  the  cans, 
the  syrup  was  for  this  reason  cloudy.  By  the  new  method  the  syrup 
will  be  clean  and  clear,  and  cheaper  grades  of  fruit  will  be  almost  as 
good  as  the  higher  ones,  especially  where  the  difference  is  only  in  the 
size  of  the  fruit. 
-  Australian  Cider, — At  the  Branch  Bureau  meeting  at 
Upper  Street,  South  Australia,  some  cider  was  tabled  which  its  owner 
had  been  induced  to  make  on  account  of  the  low  price  of  Apples.  A 
visitor,  a  native  of  Cornwall,  stated  that  it  was  the  nearest  approach  to 
the  cider  of  that  county  that  he  had  tasted.  Most  of  the  members 
were  of  the  opinion  that  it  would  make  a  splendid  summer  drink,  espe¬ 
cially  when  aged. 
-  The  Forests  op  Alaska.— The  forests  of  Alaska,  says  a 
contemporary,  get  so  much  assistance  from  the  atmosphere,  in  com¬ 
parison  with  trees  growing  in  drier  climates,  that  the  trees  grow  so 
close  together  as  to  be  in  many  cases  comparatively  worthless  for 
timber.  Abies  Menziesi  and  A.  Mertensiana,  together  with  a  consider¬ 
able  sprinkling  of  the  Arbor  Vitse,  Thuja  gigantea,  form  the  bulk. 
Though  of  little  service  for  timber  they  are  of  immense  value  to  the 
natives,  as  from  the  roots  of  these  trees  they  obtain  fibre  which  they 
employ  in  making  baskets,  twine,  and  cord  for  many  valuable  purpose;?. 
-  Destroying  Weeds.— There  is  a  law  in  Ohio  which  directs 
the  superintendents  of  county  or  township  roads  to  cut  Thistles,  Wild 
Parsnips,  Burdocks  and  other  noxious  weeds  that  are  growing  along  the 
highways  between  the  15th  and  30th  days  of  June,  the  Ist  and  15th 
days  of  August,  and  the  15th  and  30th  days  of  September  each  year.. 
The  experiment  station  of  that  State  has  recently  sent  out  a  bulletin 
for  the  especial  use  of  road  officers  in  order  to  secure  information  as  to 
the  condition  of  the  borders  of  roads  and  railroads,  and  to  ascertain  to- 
what  extent  the  law  is  enforced  which  provides  for  the  early  and 
repeated  cutting  of  noxious  plants.  Enactments  of  similar  character 
have  been  passed  in  many  of  the  States,  but  we  never  yet  have  seen  such 
a  law  enforced  over  any  considerable  area. — (“  Garden  and  Forest,”) 
-  The  Opium  Poppy  in  Australia.  —  According  to  the 
“  Agricultural  Gazette  ”  of  New  South  Wales,  the  true  Opium  Poppy 
can  be  easily  and  successfully  grown  in  that  country,  where,  in  favour¬ 
able  seasons,  the  plant  will  flower  in  about  fifteen  weeks  from  the  time 
of  planting.  As  soon  as  the  flower  falls  the  capsule  is  slightly  cut 
across  one  side  in  the  afternoon  to  let  out  the  milky  juice.  About  four 
wounds  are  made.  The  next  morning  the  milky  juice  will  have 
hardened  into  a  thin  gum,  which  is  scraped  off  with  a  blunt  knife,  and 
transferred  from  the  knife  into  a  clean  tin  vessel.  The  unwounded 
side  of  the  capsule  is  operated  on  the  following  afternoon.  The  collected 
gum  or  opium  is  made  into  thin  cakes,  and  carefully  dried  in  the  shade. 
The  work  of  opium  collection  is  one  which  can  be  done  by  careful 
women  and  children.  When  nothing  but  the  seeds  or  heads  are  required 
the  Poppy  is  planted  broadcast  and  hoed  out  or  thinned  to  a  distance  of 
9  inches  apart.  About  40,000  heads  can  be  gathered  to  the  acre,  and 
when  dried  they  are  worth  about  5  dollars  a  thousand.  The  seed  is  rich 
in  oil,  very  nutritious,  with  an  almond  flavour,  and  is  good  food  for 
consumptives.  It  brings  25  cents,  an  ounce  in  Sydney, 
- Opening  op  the  Wavertree  Playground.— The  princely 
gift  of  the  new  playground  at  Wavertree  was  acknowledged  in  a  public 
manner  on  Saturday  last  by  a  more  than  ordinary  civic  ceremony. 
Although  the  rain  had  been  falling  in  torrents  all  the  previous  evening 
and  the  early  part  of  Saturday,  yet  the  sun  came  out  in  all  its  brilliance, 
and  a  finer  afternoon  could  not  well  be  imagined.  As  a  proof  of 
the  splendid  drainage  of  the  land  it  may  be  stated  that  the  grass  was 
scarcely  wet,  a  pleasing  feature  to  the  many  thousands  of  children  who 
had  assembled.  Luncheon  was  served  at  the  Town  Hall,  The  Lord 
Mayor,  accompanied  by  members  of  the  Corporation  and  the  Mayors  of 
Birkenhead  and  Bootle,  escorted  by  mounted  police,  proceeded  in  state 
to  the  ground,  where  the  opening  ceremony  was  performed,  Alderman 
F.  Smith,  as  Chairman  of  the  Parks  Committee,  handing  the  Lord  Mayor 
a  gold  key  bearing  the  following  inscription  : — “  Presented  to  the  Eight 
Hon.  W.  H.  Watt,  Lord  Mayor  of  Liverpool,  on  the  occasion  of  the 
opening  by  him  of  the  Wavertree  Playground,  7th  September,  1895.” 
His  lordship  referred  in  handsome  terms  to  the  noble  gift,  and  to  the 
fact  that  the  giver  was  capable  of  such  great  things,  not  at  death,  when 
he  could  no  longer  retain  his  wealth,  but  during  life.  A  salute  of 
artillery  was  a  sign  that  the  playground  was  open.  Then  followed  a 
grand  procession  of  school  children,  who  enjoyed  a  fine  programme  of 
sports  which  had  been  arranged.  In  the  evening  a  superb  display 
of  fireworks,  arranged  by  Messrs.  Brock  of  London,  formed  a  delightful 
feature.  In  conclusion,  it  may  be  said  that  very  few  Liverpool  gifts 
have  been  more  appreciated.  In  the  midst  of  a  rapidly  increasing 
population  the  gift  is  most  opportune,  securing  as  it  does  for  all  time  a 
splendid  piece  of  land  which  must  prove  of  inestimable  value  to  all  who 
use  it. — R.  P.  R. 
