274 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
September  19,  1895. 
-  One  hundred  and  twenty-three  tons  of  water  are  given  off  into 
the  air  by  an  Oak  tree  carrying  700,000  leaves  during  the  season, 
-  Seed  of  Juania  australis  has  been  sent  to  Kew  by  Mr.  J. 
Siihrens  of  the  Santiago  Botanic  Garden.  This  species  is  peculiar  to 
Juan  Fernandez,  and  ic  now  almost  confined  to  inaccessible  situations. 
-  A  Novel  Idea. — Various  schemes  were  tried  to  catch  the 
pilferers  of  fruit  in  gardens  near  Edinburgh  recently,  but  almost  all 
failed.  One  gentleman  had  a  number  of  fishing-hooks  hung  among  the 
trees  in  his  garden,  and  by  this  means  has  been  successful  in  tracing  a 
suspect,  as  one  boy  had  to  go  to  a  doctor  to  have  a  hook  taken  out  of  his 
hand. 
-  Lilium  lancifolium  roseum  at  Petwoeth.  —  Amongst 
the  many  grand  examples  of  cultivation  in  the  gardens  at  Petworth 
House,  the  princely  estate  of  Lord  Leconfield,is  a  splendid  specimen  of 
Lilium  lancifolium  roseum.  It  is  growing  in  a  16-inch  pot,  is  fully 
6  feet  high  and  9  feet  in  diameter,  having  upwards  of  350  expanded 
flowers  ;  a  grand  and  imposing  sight.  Many  improvements  have  been 
made  since  Mr.  Pull  has  had  charge  here,  which  speaks  volumes  in  his 
favour  as  a  good  all-round  man.  The  kitchen  gardens,  as  well  as  the 
flower  gardens,  are  perfection. — A.  0. 
-  The  Nightingale  and  the  Eose. — Between  certain  birds 
and  plants  there  exist  many  curious  traditions,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
nightingale  and  the  Eose.  According  to  Persian  folk-lore,  whenever 
the  Eose  is  plucked  the  nightingale  utters  a  plaintive  cry,  because  it 
cannot  endure  to  see  the  object  of  its  love  injured.  In  a  legend  by 
the  Persian  poet  Attar,  we  are  told  how  all  the  birds  appeared  before 
Solomon  and  complained  that  they  were  unable  to  sleep  from  the 
nightly  wailings  of  the  nightingale.  The  bird,  when  questioned  as  to  the 
truth  of  this  statement,  replied  that  his  love  for  Eoses  was  the  cause  of 
his  grief. 
-  Cardiff  Exhibition,  1896.— CardiflE  is  laying  itself  out  for 
an  exhibition  on  a  large  scale  in  1896.  As  might  be  expected  in  a 
district  so  intimately  connected  with  the  coal  and  iron  industries,  the 
mining  and  engineering  sections  will  be  very  prominent.  Maritime 
interests  will  be  well  represented,  as  would  be  natural  at  a  port  where 
shipments  of  coal,  coke,  and  patent  fuel  in  1894  amounted  to  15,316,165 
tons.  Other  sections  of  the  exhibition  will  embrace  the  latest  develop¬ 
ments  in  electricity,  in  scientific  instruments ;  while  agriculture, 
horticulture,  sports  and  pastimes  will  not  be  overlooked,  the  latter 
probably  including  a  water  show  on  a  big  scale.  Eepresentative  men 
of  all  classes  have  the  affair  in  hand,  but  Lord  Windsor  is  President, 
Her  Majesty  the  Queen,  patron,  and  the  Prince  of  Wales  will  be  asked 
to  open  the  exhibition. 
-  The  Shepherd’s  Kale  Seed  Case. — This  case,  referred  to 
a  few  weeks  since  and  adjourned  again  before  the  Southampton 
Borough  Bench  of  Magistrates  on  Thursday  of  last  week.  A  Mr.  Shep¬ 
herd,  who  claims  to  have  been  the  originator  of  what  is  known  in 
commerce  as  “  Shepherd’s  Kale,”  through  the  agency  of  the  Trade  Marks 
Protection  Association,  prosecuted  Messrs.  Toogood  &  Sons,  seedsmen,  of 
Southampton,  for  selling  seed  of  this  Kale  with  his  name  attached 
without  having  the  authority  of  the  plaintiff.  The  charge  was  to  the 
effect  that  such  sale  was  a  fraudulent  misrepresentation,  and  intended 
to  mislead.  At  the  adjournment  Messrs.  Toogood  &  Co.’s  case  was 
presented,  their  senior  partner  being  a  witness,  who  said  he  purchased 
the  stock  in  question  from  a  Mr.  Edney,  a  grower  who  had  two  years 
previously  purchased  seed  direct  from  the  plaintiff  ;  hence  the  stock 
was  absolutely  true  to  name.  He  used  the  name  “  Shepherd’s”  accord¬ 
ing  to  the  custom  of  the  trade  to  denote  the  variety  ;  indeed,  there  was 
no  other  name  which  served  that  purpose.  The  stock  was  entirely  the 
same  as  that  sold  by  the  plaintiff.  Mr.  J.  Nutting  of  the  firm  of  Nutting 
and  Sons,  London,  gave  evidence  as  to  the  custom  of  the  trade  in  relation 
to  personal  or  firm  prefixes,  instancing  Nutting’s  Beet  as  being  found 
under  that  appellation  in  numerous  seed  lists.  (Mr.  Nutting  might 
have  said  the  same  of  Dell’s  Crimson,  White’s  Black,  and  Pragnell’s 
Exhibition).  The  reference  to  a  firm’s  or  raiser’s  name  in  this  way  in 
other  seed  lists  was  a  good  advertisement,  and  could  not  be  objected 
to.  In  the  production  of  seeds  there  was  no  secret,  and  with  ordinary 
care  one  man’s  growth  of  any  variety  would  be  as  good  as  another’s- 
Mr.  T.  A.  Newby  of  Messrs.  Hurst  &  Co.,  London,  gave  similar  evidence, 
specially  referring  to  Hurst’s  Monarch  Swede  as  being  found  in  many 
seed  lists.  Eventually  the  Bench  dismissed  the  summons  with  costs, 
which  were  fixed  at  5  guineas.  The  plaintiff’s  counsel  asked  leave  to 
state  a  case,  which  was  granted,  so  that  we  may  hear  of  it  yet  in  a  higher 
court.  ' 
-  A  Million  Acres  of  Forest  are  cut  down  every  year  to 
supply  European  railway  companies  with  the  sleepers  on  which  the 
lines  are  laid. 
-  The  Lettuce  is  said  to  act  as  a  compass  plant,  and  that  its-- 
leaves  grow  straight  up,  and  have  the  faculty  of  twisting  till  the  edges 
point  due  north  and  south. 
-  The  Effect  of  Coloured  Glass  on  Fruit. — M.  Zachare- 
wiez.  Professor  of  Agriculture  at  Vaucluse,  has  found  by  experiment 
with  different  coloured  glasses  that  fruit  is  finest  and  earliest  when 
grown  under  clear  glass.  Orange  glass  produces  an  increase  of  vege¬ 
tation,  but  at  the  cost  of  the  amount  of  fruit,  of  the  size  and  of  its 
forwardness.  Violet  glass  causes  the  number  of  fruit  to  increase  at  the 
expense  of  the  quality.  Bed,  blue,  and  green  glass  are  hurtful  to  all 
kinds  of  vegetation. — (“  Nature.”) 
-  Hops  in  England.  —  The  “  Eural  World”  says — “We  are 
able  to  give  a  statement  of  the  acreage  under  Hops  in  each  county 
of  England  in  which  crops  were  grown  this  year,  and  to  compare  it 
with  the  acreage  of  1894.  The  figures  for  1895  are  as  follows  : — 
Berks,  nil ;  Gloucester,  38  acres  ;  Hants,  2875  ;  Hereford,  7553 ;  Kent, 
35,018  ;  Salop,  150  ;  Suffolk,  10  ;  Surrey,  1783  ;  Sussex,  7489  ;  Worcester,. 
4024  ;  giving  a  total  of  58,940  acres.  Last  year  the  figures  were  : — 
Berks,  11  acres  ;  Gloucester,  39  ;  Hants,  2911  ;  Hereford,  7525  ;  Kent, 
35,520  ;  Salop,  140 ;  Suffolk,  17  ;  Surrey,  1935  ;  Sussex,  7589  ;  Wor¬ 
cester,  3848  ;  totalling  altogether  to  59,535  acres,  an  increase  on  the 
present  year  of  nearly  600  acres.” 
-  Battle  of  Flowers  in  California.— The  floral  carnival 
held  at  Santa  Cruz,  California,  12th  June,  attracted  crowds  of  visitors. 
The  parade  of  floral  floats  and  flower-bedecked  vehicles  was  very 
elaborate.  After  the  procession  entered  the  carnival  arena  the  queen, 
with  her  maids  of  honour,  descended  from  her  float  and  reviewed  the 
parade,  which  passed  three  times  around  the  vast  amphitheatre.  On 
the  third  time  around  the  judges  awarded  the  prizes.  Then  came  the 
battle  of  flowers.  It  was  a  bloodless  battle.  Every  spectator  threw 
flowers  and  bouquets  at  those  on  the  floats  and  in  the  carriages.  The 
floral  ammunition  was  abundant.  The  battle  raged  pleasantly  until 
Queen  Anita  gave  the  order  for  it  to  cease. 
-  Polygonum  cuspidatum. — “The  Gardener”  (page  242> 
condemns  the  Polygonum  as  a  plant  for  the  herbaceous  border,  owing 
to  its  aggressive  habit  of  growth.  I  think  a  properly  managed  plant  of 
P.  cuspidatum  adds  much  interest  to  the  border  during  the  month  of 
September.  If  the  growth  is  confined  to  one  stem,  removing  other 
growths  as  fast  as  they  appear  above  the  soil,  that  retained  will  grow 
in  one  season  from  7  feet  to  8  feet  high,  and  its  side  growths  will  cover 
about  a  yard  of  space.  When  thickly  studded  with  its  drooping 
panicles  of  pure  white  blossoms  it  is  a  grand  addition  to  the  border, 
not  only  owing  to  its  floriferousness  but  for  the  quaint  character  of  its 
flowers.  There  is  no  comparison  in  the  appearance  of  the  plant  when 
flowering  in  a  mass  from  so  many  stems  as  when  the  growth  is  restricted 
to  one.  Under  this  latter  plan  the  flowers  are  so  much  finer,  as  well  as 
being  more  freely  produced. — E.  M. 
-  Tree  Planting  in  Central  Africa.— With  regard  to  the 
establishment  of  a  botanic  garden  at  Zamba,  Mr.  A.  Whyte  writes  to 
the  “Kew  Bulletin.”  “As  soon  as  I  found  the  tree  seedlings  in  the 
nurseries  were  sufficiently  advanced  to  be  planted  out,  I  commenced 
forming  avenues  of  them  along  the  main  roads  of  the  plantation.  On 
each  side  of  the  straight  avenue  leading  from  the  steps  of  the  terrace 
garden  to  the  bottom  of  the  grounds  I  planted  out  rows  of  Cupressus 
macrocarpa,  C.  Lawsoniana,  C.  sempervirens,  and  Widdringtonia  Whytei, 
alternating  with  each  other.  Along  the  south  and  east  avenue.  Bananas, 
Cupressus  macrocarpa,  and  C.  sempervirens  were  put  in  alternately. 
The  original  main  avenue  was  planted  up  with  Acacia  decurrens, 
Acacia  Melanoxylon,  Eucalyptus  of  different  varieties,  and  Grevillea 
robusta.  The  cross  avenue,  bisecting  the  grounds,  was  lined  with 
Thuia  orientalis  and  T.  occidentalis.  I  may  here  mention  that  all  the 
trees  in  these  avenues  have  done  remarkably  well,  and  at  the  date  of 
my  leaving,  last  April,  they  formed  quite  a  pleasing  feature  in  the 
grounds,  and  had  grown  to  an  average  height  of  5  feet  in  two  and  a 
half  years  from  seeds.  This  refers  to  the  Conifers  only,  some  of  the 
Eucalypti  having  shot  up  to  a  height  of  45  feet  in  the  same  period.  .  .  . 
An  arboretum  of  interesting  trees  was  also  planted  up  at  the  east  end 
of  the  terrace  garden,  and  this  we  propose  to  extend  down  the  sloping 
ground  to  the  banks  of  the  Mlungusi.  One  plot  of  ground  was  devoted 
to  the  cultivation  of  handsome  native  plants,  and  another  to  that  of 
economic  ones,  both  indigenous  and  introduced." 
