September  26,  1895. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
297 
-  The  Damson  Crop. — Damsons  have  suffered  considerably  in 
many  parts  of  the  country  this  year  through  the  action  of  the  Damson 
mite.  This  is  a  pity,  as  the  Damson  is  considered!  one  of  the  best  fruits 
we  produce. 
- Aristolochia  gigas  Sturtevanti.  —  In  your  issue  of 
September  12ch,  “  W.  G.”  gives  us  credit  of  introducing  Aristolochia 
gigas  var.  Sturtevanti  and  presenting  cuttings  to  the  Royal  Gardens, 
Kew.  That  is  not  correct.  We  were  indebted  to  the  Director  of  the 
Royal  Gardens  for  our  plant,  which  was  presented  by  him  to  this 
Society  about  three  years  ago. — W.  B.  Latham,  Botanical  Gardens, 
Birmingham. 
-  Uses  op  Birch. — White  Birch,  now'  so  valuable  for  shoe 
pegs  and  bobbins,  usually  springs  up  and  grows  where  forest  fires 
have  run  many  years  previously,  but  where  the  growth  has  been 
protected  from  a  second  burning.  No  hard  wood  brings  better  returns 
in  our  New  England  forests  than  first-quality  White  Birch, 
-  A  Noble  Evergreen  Oak. —  Standing  most  conspicuously 
in  the  lawn  of  Church  House,  West  Tarring,  is  a  grand  specimen  of  the 
above,  fully  70  feet  high,  and  nearly  as  much  through.  The  tree  is  of 
splendid  shape  and  is  one  of  the  finest  I  have  seen.  This  noble  tree, 
with  the  ancient  church,  close  by,  are  interesting  to  the  many  visitors. 
West  Tarring  is  a  suburb  of  Worthing. — A.  0. 
-  Agave  Kerchovei  in  Bloom. — The  Massachusetts  Horti¬ 
cultural  Society  held  a  show  on  the  20th  August,  at  which  one  of  the 
most  interesting  features  was  a  specimen  of  the  rare  Agave  Kerchovei 
in  bloom.  It  had  a  flower  stem  19^  feet  high,  and  which  developed  in 
the  course  of  three  weeks,  Mr.  Robert  Cameron,  an  old  Kewite,  and 
now  superintendent  of  the  Harvaid  University  Botanic  Garden,  was  the 
exhibitor. 
-  Fruit  in  Cheshire. — The  extraordinary  price  of  3s.  the 
hamper  of  126  lbs.  (about  a  farthing  per  lb.)  which  is  being  given  for 
Damsons  is  almost  altogether  unprecedented,  and  considerable  dis¬ 
appointment  is  experienced  by  the  growers,  particularly  the  cottagers, 
who  principally  depend  upon  the  fruit  crops  for  their  rent.  Hundreds 
of  hampers  are  being  despatched  daily  from  the  Kelaall  districts,  where 
they  are  extensively  grown,  to  the  various  markets.  Apples  at  present 
are  entirely  unsaleable,  being  as  a  rule  tremendously  heavy  crops,  but 
Is.  a  hamper  appears  about  the  price.  Pears,  which  are  generally 
anything  but  in  abundance,  command  good  prices  according  to  the 
quality  of  the  various  sorts. 
-  Canadian  Fruit.  —  The  fruit  exported  from  Ontario  to 
England  has  hitherto  been  almost  entirely  autumn  and  winter  Apples, 
but  now  this  Canadian  province  proposes  to  send  us  softer  fruits,  such 
aa  Peaches,  Pears,  Plums,  and  Tomatoes.  It  is  expected  that  in  conse¬ 
quence  of  the  cold  storage  that  can  be  provided,  both  by  rail  and  steam¬ 
ship,  these  fruits  can  be  delivered  at  Liverpool  in  fine  condition.  The 
Hon.  J.  Dryden,  Minister  of  Agriculture  for  Ontario,  is  taking  the  matter 
in  hand,  and  trial  consignments  will  shortly  be  sent  to  the  Ontario 
agent  at  Liverpool,  and  if  these  prove  successful  more  and  larger 
shipments  will  follow. 
— —  Sweet  Peas. — Some  of  Eckford’s  new  varieties  of  these  were 
noted  in  fine  condition  at  Sandbeck  Park  recently.  Mr.  Summers  sows 
them  in  pots  and  plants  them  in  the  borders  after  they  are  sufficiently 
hardened.  A  few  sticks  are  then  placed  around  each  potful,  which, 
by-and-by,  forms  a  fine  column  of  flowers.  Those  which  I  saw 
were  8  feet  high  and  covered  with  flowers  two-thirds  of  their  height, 
forming  the  finest  examples  of  Sweet  Pea  culture  I  ever  saw.  Some  of 
the  new  shades  of  colour,  such  as  Venus  and  Dorothy  Tennant,  are  well 
worthy  of  a  little  attention  in  this  way,  and  are  extremely  useful  where 
cut  flowers  are  required. — W.  H.  Divers,  Belvoir  Castle  Gardens, 
Grantham. 
-  Leucophyton  Browni. — This  silvery  leaved  plant  has  once 
more  proved  its  usefulness  in  the  flower  garden.  For  lines  amongst 
Alternantheras  it  cannot  be  excelled.  Now  is  a  good  time  to  insert 
cuttings  for  next  year's  display.  These  taken  off  the  points  of  the 
growing  shoots,  2  inches  long,  and  inserted  thickly  in  boxes  of  sandy 
soil,  in  a  close  cold  frame,  where  they  will  form  roots  by  the  spring,  and 
if  then  planted  out  in  prepared  compost  in  a  temporary  frame  will 
make  stocky  plants  by  the  middle  of  May.  If  the  cuttings  are  not  taken 
■during  September  they  do  not  form  sufficient  roots  to  enable  them  to 
withstand  the  winter  in  a  cold  frame,  which  is  really  all  the  protection 
required.  I  prefer  to  grow  new  plants  every  year,  as  the  old  ones 
become  too  “leggy  ”  to  be  utilised. — E. 
-  Big  Potatoes  — A  man  at  Ashford  last  week  dug  up  six 
Potatoes  weighing  in  all  10:^  lbs.  Their  respective  weights  were  : — 
1  lb.  6  czj.,  1  lb,  8  ozs.,  1  lo.  lu  ozs.,  If  lb.,  l|lb.,  2;^  lbs. 
-  Campanula  isophylla  and  isophylla  alba.  —  This 
seems  a  favourite  plant  with  the  cottagers  in  many  parts  of  Sussex, 
and  a  grand  plant  for  window  decoration  it  is.  Many  well-grown 
and  profusely  flowered  specimens  are  to  be  seen  in  the  cottage  windows 
— grand  examples  of  cultivation,  well  adapted  for  suspending  in  the 
window. — A.  0. 
-  Ludlow  Chrysanthemum  and  Fruit  Society  —We  have 
before  us  a  schedule  of  the  first  annual  exhibition  of  the  above  Society, 
which  will  be  held  in  the  Town  Hall,  Ludlow,  on  Thursday,  November  14th. 
Prizes  will  be  offered  for  Chrysanthemums  in  pots,  cut  blooms,  fruits, 
and  vegetables  in  classes  provided  for  subscribers,  amateurs,  and 
cottagers. 
-  The  Mysteries  op  Flowers.— One  of  the  most  mysterious 
elements  of  flowers  is  the  perfume,  the  essential  action  of  which  in  plant 
life  cannot  be  demonstrated  by  the  wisest  of  our  scientific  men.  Gas 
can  be  weighed,  but  not  scent.  The  smallest  known  insect  that  lives  in 
the  heart  of  a  Rose  can  be  caught  by  a  microscope  lens  and  made  to 
give  up  the  secret  of  its  organisation,  but  what  it  is  that  the  warm 
summer  brings  us  from  the  wild  flowers  of  the  hillsides  or  wafts  to  us 
from  the  choice  plants  of  the  hothouse  no  man  has  been  able  to 
determine.  So  fine,  so  subtle,  so  imponderable,  it  eludes  weights  and 
measures. 
- Tomatoes  at  Osberton,  Worksop. — On  a  recent  visit  to 
these  well-kept  gardens  I  was  much  struck  by  the  enormous  crop  of 
Tomatoes  growing  in  the  open  in  9-inch  pots,  trained  up  the  side  of  a 
plant  house.  The  plants  were  about  5  feet  high  and  covered  from  top 
to  bottom  with  handsome  fruit.  I  counted  as  many  aa  fifty  fruits 
hanging  on  a  plant,  some  of  them  1  lb.  in  weight.  The  variety,  I 
believe,  is  a  seedling  raised  by  that  famous  fruit  grower  the  late 
Mr.  S,  Woods,  and  called  “  Osberton,”  and  justice  has  been  done  to  it 
by  the  present  gardener,  Mr.  T.  H.  Grasp. — W,  iNNES,  Derhg. 
-  Growing  Fuchsias. — The  admirably  written  article  on  this 
subject  (page  270)  contains  much  sound  advice.  I  had  recently  the 
pleasure  of  listening  to  a  lecture  on  Fuchsias  by  Mr.  Wilcox  in  the 
Parish  Room,  Shirley.  He  brought  a  specimen  plant  with  him  to 
exhibit  the  defects  in  culture,  as  well  as  approved  points  in  detail. 
Mr.  Wilcox  approves  of  inserting  the  cuttings  about  the  middle  of 
September,  so  as  to  have  stout  plants  in  January.  Mr,  Wilcox  is  a 
staunch  believer  in  generous  fare  for  these  plants,  and  supplies  them 
with  weak  liquid  manure  while  they  are  in  3-inch  pots  should  he  not 
be  able  to  transfer  them  to  larger  pots  for  a  few  days.  He  does  not 
make  a  practice  of  syringing  the  plants,  provided  they  are  quite  clean, 
but  strongly  advocates  pinching  all  the  shoots  at  the  same  time  to 
obtain  evenness  of  growth  and  symmetry,  even  when  some  of  them 
are  only  an  inch  or  so  long. — E.  M. 
-  Royalty  at  Reading. — The  Bechuanaland  Chiefs,  Khama, 
Batwoen,  and  Sebele,  with  Mr.  Willoughby,  arrived  at  Reading  on 
Wednesday,  18th  inat.,  and  were  received  at  the  G.W.R.  station  by 
Mr.  Martin  Hope  Sutton  (the  venerable  founder  of  the  great  seed  firm), 
Mr.  Martin  John  Sutton,  and  Mr.  Arthur  W.  Sutton  (members  of  the 
firm),  Mr.  M.  H.  Foquett  Sutton,  Master  Philip  Sutton,  and  Mrs.  A,  W. 
Sutton,  and  were  driven  to  the  business  premises  in  the  Market  Place. 
The  distinguished  visitors  were  conducted  by  Messrs.  M.  J.  and 
A.  W.  Sutton  over  the  various  departments.  In  the  export  offices  their 
attention  was  called  to  a  large  order  which  had  been  received  that  morn¬ 
ing,  and  w’as  being  made  up  for  South  Africa.  The  immense  agricultural 
seed  room  (in  which  the  Prince  of  Wales  was  Masonically  entertained 
four  years  ago)  justly  excited  their  admiration,  as  did  the  elaborate 
machinery  for  cleaning  the  various  kinds  of  seeds,  and  the  exhibition  of 
two  varieties  of  Potatoes  indigenous  to  Africa  in  the  Potato  sorting 
room.  Unmistakeable  delight  was  evinced  at  the  magnificent  museum 
of  models  of  agricultural  roots  and  vegetables.  Khama  has  for  many 
years  conducted,  every  morning.  Divine  service  in  the  Royal  Kraal, 
and  it  afforded  him  the  keenest  gratification  to  find  that  Messrs. 
Sutton  have  for  more  than  half  a  century  followed  the  same  good 
custom,  all  the  employes  of  the  firm  who  wish  to  do  so  meeting  together 
for  a  short  service  of  prayer  and  the  reading  of  Scripture  every  morning 
at  10.30.  The  service  on  Wednesday  was  attended  by  several  hundred 
of  the  men  and  boys  in  the  firm’s  employ,  and  Khama  and  his  brother 
chiefs  were  much  impressed  with  the  short,  hearty  ceremony,  which  was 
conducted  by  the  Rev.  S.  H.  S  .’ole,  Vicar  of  Greyfriars,  and  chaplain  of 
the  establishment. 
