September  12,  1896. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
251 
-  Wooden  Street  Pavements. — The  wooden  street  pavements, 
says  “  Meehans’  Monthly,”  have  been  generally  abandoned  in  American 
cities,  possibly  from  poor  material  being  used,  leading  to  early  decay. 
In  Philadelphia  Hemlock  and  Pine  were  ignorantly  employed  ;  but 
the  Locust  of  Cincinnati  and  the  Arbor  Vitas  of  Toronto  were  not  much 
greater  successes.  European  cities  seem  to  have  better  success.  Wooden 
pavements  are  popular  in  London.  The  Blue  Gum  of  Australia  is 
being  employed  there, 
-  Birds  and  Fruit  Trees. — All  persons,  says  a  trans-atlantic 
•contemporary,  who  care  to  inform  themselves  as  to  the  amount  of 
protection  against  injurious  insects  which  is  given  to  our  fruit  trees 
by  birds,  ought  to  read  the  bulletin  of  Mr.  E.  H.  Forbes,  lately 
published  by  the  Massachusetts  Board  of  Agriculture.  It  is  very 
plainly  shown  here  that  birds  do  a  very  useful  work  in  destroying 
the  eggs  of  many  kinds  of  insects,  and  that  the  most  dangerous  pests 
of  orchards,  like  canker  worms,  bark  scale  lice,  and  tent  caterpillars, 
are  largely  held  in  check  by  our  common  song  birds,  and  that  one 
•of  the  best  ways  to  secure  a  fruit  crop  is  to  encourage  birds  to  live  in 
our  orchards.  It  is  very  evident  that  the  winter  birds  which  eat  the 
eggs  of  insects  ought  always  to  be  encouraged  to  inhabit  our  fruit 
orchards,  and  that  the  summer  birds  which  feed  on  larvfe  are  also 
•of  great  value,  and  they  should  be  protected  and  fostered  until  they 
become  abundant. 
-  Progress  in  Germany. — Strong  efforts  are  being  made  to 
promote  the  culture  of  fruit  and  berries  in  Germany.  Fruitgrowing 
is  now  fostered  a  good  deal  by  societies  whose  task  it  is  to  discuss  the 
progress  in  this  field  and  to  help  its  members  practically  and  theoretically 
in  the  selection  of  the  qualities  and  the  treatment  of  cultivation.  In 
the  neighbourhood  of  Frankfort  there  is  especially  the  Boyal  College 
for  fruit,  Vine,  and  flower  culture  at  Geisenheim-am-Ehein,  which 
exercises  a  very  beneficial  influence.  It  organises  series  of  lectures  for 
the  instruction  of  proper  persons,  who  are  trained  as  fruit  or  Vine 
growers  or  florists.  It  also  sends  round  travelling  teachers,  who  give 
lectures  on  questions  appertaining  to  this  subject,  and  give  advice 
as  to  the  most  lucrative  way  of  disposing  of  the  fruit  crops,  the  best 
methods  of  drying  and  preserving  kernel  and  stone  fruits  and  vegetables, 
the  packing  of  the  fruit,  the  preparation  of  fruit  syrups,  jellies,  marma¬ 
lade,  and  juices,  and  the  preserving  of  the  fruit.  Of  late  special 
attention  has  been  directed  to  the  better  disposal  of  the  fruit  crops, 
since  the  cultivation  itself  has  made  undoubted  progress.  At  Frankfort 
a  central  depot  for  the  sale  of  fruit  has  been  founded,  which  offers  its 
services  gratuitously.  It  accepts  offers  from  the  growers  and  hands  them 
on  as  demands  arise.  It  likewise  arranges  in  autumn  large  fruit  sales, 
at  which  both  supply  and  demand  are  very  lively.  According  to  last 
year’s  report  of  the  central  office,  the  demand  exceeds  the  supply, 
eapecially  in  green  nuts,  Cranberries,  Apricots,  Peaches,  Mirabelles,  and 
•Plums. —  (■*  Morning.”) 
-  Preservation  of  Cut  Flowers. — The  mistake  is  very  often 
made  of  exposing  flowers  in  rooms  to  sharp  currents  of  air;  thus  if  a 
stand  is  arranged  and  placed  near  a  window  that  is  open  a  considerable 
part  of  the  day,  the  flowers  and  foliage  must  of  necessity  fade  the 
sooner.  This  caution  is  the  more  requisite  when  we  have  to  do  with 
forced  flowers  early  in  the  spring ;  these  by  reason  of  being  in  flower 
out  of  their  proper  season,  have  not,  as  a  rule  that  persistency  of  power 
for  resisting  this  exposure  which  flowers  have  in  their  natural  season. 
The  same  caution  is  required  in  dealing  with  tender  exotics,  during 
chilly  weather  especially.  The  better  way  will  be  to  place  the  flowers 
in  a  position  where  this  evil  can  be  partially  avoided,  yet  not  in 
proximity  to  a  fireplace.  Cut  flowers  are  oftentimes  placed  in  small 
vases  on  the  chimneypiece  ;  this,  when  the  fire  is  alight,  is  a  great 
mistake,  worse  even  than  the  exposure  to  the  draught.  In  lieu  of  using 
fresh  flowers  in  such  a  position,  we  would,  says  a  daily  contemporary, 
urge  all  decorators  to  furnish  their  vases  with  Everlasting  Flowers  and 
Grasses.  M  ith  very  choice  flowers  on  which  special  value  may  be  placed, 
it  is  an  excellent  plan  to  arrange  them  in  a  vase,  which,  when  filled, 
can  be  covered  with  a  glass  shade.  In  this  manner  their  retention  of 
colour  and  freshness  will  be  greatly  enhanced.  When  each  vase  in  its 
turn  has  to  be  refilled,  some  of  the  flowers,  if  necessary,  can  generally 
be  used  again,  excepting  in  the  summer  months,  when  the  quantity  is 
snore  abundant.  Those  flowers  that  are  still  fresh  should  have  a  little 
piece  taken  off  the  end  of  the  stem,  so  that  the  fresh  water  given 
them  is  the  more  readily  absorbed.  The  water  in  which  Stocks  in  par¬ 
ticular,  and  some  other  flowers  also,  are  placed  is  soon  rendered  ob¬ 
noxious  ;  in  such  cases  fresh  supplies  should  be  given  at  least  every 
other  day,  the  vases  at  the  same  time  having  a  thorough  cleansing. 
-  An  American  contemporary  writes  that  there  are  more  than 
half  a  million  fruiting  Peach  trees  in  Connecticut  this  year,  and  since 
this  has  been  a  favourable  season  for  northern  orchards  the  output  in 
that  State  will  reach  three-quarters  of  a  million  baskets  of  fancy  fruit, 
and  one-third  of  this  is  enough  to  supply  the  local  demand.  A  few 
Peaches  of  the  Mountain  Kose  variety  are  now  ready  for  market,  Early 
Crawfords  are  just  ripening,  but  the  great  bulk  of  Oldmixon,  Late 
Crawfords,  Stump,  and  the  like,  will  be  at  their  best  in  Connecticut 
during  the  first  half  of  September. 
-  Dr.  Livingstone's  Tree.  —  Reuter’s  Agency  has  received 
communication  of  an  interesting  letter,  the  last  written  by  the  American 
explorer  Glave,  news  of  whose  death  on  the  Congo  was  received  in  June 
last.  Mr.  Glave  writes  : — '•  I  travelled  to  Ilala  over  a  route  to  the 
north  of  that  taken  by  Joseph  Thomson.  Whilst  in  Ilala  I  made  an 
interesting  discovery,  having  unearthed  the  veritable  tree  under  which 
was  placed  the  heart  of  Dr.  Livingstone.  Joseph  Thomson’s  trusted 
follower  who  visited,  or  who  was  supposed  to  have  visited  the  place, 
was  an  ingenious  rascal,  for  he  brought  back  a  piece  of  the  bark  which 
bore  some  of  the  lettering  deeply  cut  into  it.  I  don’t  suggest  at  all 
where  the  treasured  bark  could  have  come  from,  but  certainly  not  from 
the  sacred  tree,  for  on  that  the  bark  has  been  carefully  pared  off  for  a  space 
of  about  2k  feet  square,  and  the  following  inscription  has  been  deeply 
cut  into  the  hard  solid  wood  ; — ‘  Dr.  Livingstone,  May  Ith,  1873,  Yazuza, 
Mniasere,  Vchopeae.’  It  is  still  in  a  splendid  state  of  preservation.  I 
succeeded  in  taking  several  good  photos  of  the  tree.  The  tablet  sent 
out  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bruce,  and  fixed  in  place  by  Captain  Bia  and 
Lieutenant  Franqui,  was  screwed  to  a  tree  six  miles  from  the  real  tree  ; 
the  natives  told  them  that  the  exact  spot  could  not  be  found.  Eighteen 
months  ago  this  tablet  was  stolen  by  a  large  slave  caravan  under  two  of 
Salim  Bm  Nasur’i  people.” — (“  Daily  News.”) 
-  A  La'rge  Oak  Tree. — Almost  alone  in  the  orchard  of  a 
farmhouse  in  East  Anglia,  says  a  contemporary,  and  away  from  any 
frequented  track  of  the  tourist,  is  a  famous  tree  known  as  the  “  Win¬ 
farthing  Great  Oak.”  From  a  recorded  measurement  in  1821,  and 
affixed  to  the  trunk,  its  girth  was  at  the  roots  70  feet,  and  at  the 
branching  40  feet.  The  trunk  is  hollow  inside  ;  space  is  sufficient  for 
the  assembly  of  a  small  congregation.  Tne  branches  must  have  been 
very  large,  and  would  cover  a  wide  space  when  in  its  prime.  To-day  it 
is  entirely  clothed  with  Ivy.  Life  still  exists  ;  on  some  of  the  branches 
in  1892  there  was  considerable  foliage.  Local  tradition  gives  its  age  at 
2000  years— of  course,  a  mere  guess,  but  at  the  period  of  the  Norman 
Conquest  it  was  noted  as  the  “  Great  Oak.”  Standing  in  the  presence 
of  this  king  of  the  ancient  forest  period  many  reflections  are  forced  on 
one.  What  might  not  have  happened  beneath  its  wide-spreading 
branches  ?  The  Ancient  Britons  may  have  gathered  to  shout  their  war 
cries  or  worship  their  gods.  The  Saxons  and  the  Danes,  in  their 
marches  through  East  Anglia,  might  often  have  gathered  their  forces 
for  rest  and  shade  beneath  the  foliage  of  this  huge  forest  tree.  It  is 
worth  a  visit  now,  and  may  be  reached  from  the  pleasant  town  of  Diss, 
in  Norfolk,  from  which  place  Winfarthing  is  distant  five  miles. 
Arriving  at  the  village  any  villager  will  direct  the  tourist  to  the  Great 
Oak. — J. 
-  The  Potato  Crop  has  in  several  districts  been  attacked  by 
the  disease,  but  in  no  instance  have  we  heard  that  much  damage  has 
been  done.  In  the  principal  Potato-growing  districts  in  Yorkshire  and 
Lancashire,  where  the  rainfall  has  been  sufficient  to  maintain  a  con¬ 
tinuous  growth  from  the  appearance  of  the  shaws  above  the  surface 
until  the  present  time  the  crop  is  very  promising.  In  the  southern  and 
eastern  counties  the  crop  of  both  midseason  and  late  kinds  received  a 
severe  check  from  drought  early  in  the  summer,  with  the  result  that 
complaints  are  somewhat  general  of  the  deterioration  of  the  crop  from 
supertuberation.  The  Potato  crop  is  perhaps  the  most  speculative  of 
the  crops  that  are  grown  in  the  open  for  market.  In  its  production  the 
expenses  are  heavy,  and  there  is  a  risk  of  losses  from  disease,  or  of  low 
prices  in  consequence  of  the  market  being  overstocked.  In  many 
instances  Potatoes  are  highly  profitable,  while  in  seasons  of  plenty  the 
returns  fall  considerably  short  of  t'ne  cost  of  production  and  marketing. 
In  consequence  of  the  frequent  recurrence  of  low  prices,  cultivators  are 
giving  their  attention  to  utilising  them  for  cattle  feeding  purposes  ; 
but  in  converting  Potatoes  into  meat,  it  is  necessary  to  proceed 
cautiously  and  carefully  note  the  results.  According  to  M.  Aime 
Girard’s  experiments  in  France,  the  Potato  is  not  an  economical  food 
for  cattle  until  the  prices  drop  to  30s.  per  ton,  but  the  experience 
of  some  persons  leads  them  to  place  a  higher  value  upon  Potatoes  as 
an  article  of  food  for  farm  animals. 
