350 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
October  10,  1896. 
LIVERPOOL  NOTES. 
WooLTON  Gardeners’  Mutual  Improvement  Society. 
The  present  session  of  the  above  Society  was  opened  with  a  floral 
concert  on  the  25th  in  the  Church  Hall,  Woolton,  For  many  years  the 
floral  decorations  have  been  of  great  beauty,  and  this  year  formed 
no  exception  to  the  rule,  only  that  perhaps  more  originality  of  design 
has  been  introduced.  A  wreath  of  evergreens  overhung  the  stage, 
sombreness  being  relieved  by  the  blending  of  bright  flowers.  A  giant 
horseshoe  of  the  same  material  came  in  for  a  great  share  of  favour¬ 
able  comment.  A  fine  bank  of  Adiantums,  Asparagus,  with  sprays  of 
Allamandas,  Chrysanthemums,  Hibiscus,  Gladioli,  and  other  flowers, 
was  arranged  at  the  front  of  the  stage.  This  portion  of  the  work  was 
most  willingly  undertaken  by  members  of  the  Committee,  the  musical 
portion,  which  afforded  the  greatest  possible  pleasure,  being  carried  out 
by  the  Treasurer,  Mr.  R.  G.  Waterman,  and  the  Secretary,  Mr.  G.  H. 
Webster.  The  proceeds  are  in  aid  of  a  fund  for  providing  lectures  in 
horticulture,  the  success  of  which  would  be  assured  by  the  large  and 
enthusiastic  attendance  of  the  public. 
Court  Hey,  Broad  Green. 
Whilst  paying  a  flying  visit  to  Mr.  Elsworthy,  the  able  gardener  to 
A.  Ri  Gladstone,  Esq.,  I  could  not  fail  to  notice  the  splendid  condition 
of  everything  under  his  charge.  Although  the  gardens  are  given  up 
almost  exclusively  to  the  cultivation  of  fruits  and  vegetables,  there  are 
one  or  two  houses  which  contain  some  admirably  grown  Dendrobiums 
and  Saccolabiums,  many  of  which  are  just  plumping  up  remarkable 
growths.  The  flower  garden  is  of  imposing  size.  Zonal  Pelargoniums 
form  the  leading  feature ;  but  especial  mention  must  be  made  of  two 
very  large  carpet  beds,  striking  in  design  and  at  present  gorgeous  in 
colour.  Outdoor  fruit  is  in  abundance,  the  long  wall  of  cordon  Pears 
being  a  thorough  lesson  in  this  particular  mode  of  fruit  culture.  The 
Peaches,  too,  have  been  of  the  finest  description,  whilst  Grapes  are 
of  the  best  quality.  Many  of  the  Vines  are  planted  in  outside  borders, 
but  on  my  putting  the  question  to  Mr.  Elsworthy  as  to  which  he 
preferred,  he  pointed  with  evident  pride  to  some  growing  in  the  inside 
border.  Having  late  varieties  of  Grapes  ripened  early  is  the  rule 
followed  by  Mr.  Elsworthy,  and  no  sounder  advice  could  be  followed. 
If  proof  is  wanting  I  need  only  refer  tc  the  handsome  bunches  staged 
by  him  at  the  Liverpool  spring  show  this  year,  and  which  were 
unanimously  granted  a  special  prize. 
Runner  Beans. 
One  might  look  back  over  a  considerable  number  of  years  and  not  be 
able  to  record  such  an  abundance  of  Runner  Beans  as  we  have  at  the 
present  time.  The  two  best  this  year  are  Sutton’s  A1  and  Hill’s  Scarlet, 
the  former  sufficiently  known  by  many,  whilst  the  latter  is  a  fine  hand¬ 
some  Bean,  and  does  not  seed  so  quickly  as  many  sorts.  Among  the 
so-called  climbing  French  Beans  Sutton’s  Tender  and  True  and  Veitch’s 
Climbing  are  identical,  and  the  Chiswick  Committee  could  not  do  other¬ 
wise  than  determine  them  as  such. 
Whilst  on  this  subject  I  cannot  allow  the  opportunity  to  pass  and 
not  pay  due  tribute  to  Sutton’s  Epicure,  which  I  have  tried  for  the  first 
time  this  season.  Though  not  such  a  vigorous  grower  as  the  two  latter, 
its  cropping  properties  are  prodigious,  the  stems  being  literally  roped 
with  pale  green  pods,  in  texture  much  like  the  Butter  Beans.  It  is 
excellent  in  flavour  and  of  fine  colour,  but  what  I  most  fancy  it  for  is 
that  when  the  pods  might  to  all  intents  be  considered  old,  they  retain 
their  crisp  properties  and  show  very  little  of  the  toughness  found  in 
other  varieties.  It  is  worthy  of  being  remembered. — R.  P.  R. 
RIPENED  WOOD. 
I  DID  not  reply  sooner  to  my  critics,  because  I  suspected  all  available 
space  in  your  last  issue  would  be  required  for  reports  of  that  splendid, 
nay,  extraordinary,  display  of  fruit  witnessed  recently  at  Sydenham  ; 
fruit,  be  it  remembered,  produced  by  wood  “ripened,”  “  matured,”  or 
whatever  your  correspondents  like  to  call  it,  during  the  wet  and  sunless 
ueason  of  1894, 
Before  proceeding  to  deal  with  my  critics  I  should  like  to  comment 
on  your  editorial  note  (page  302)  respecting  the  autumn  of  1894, 
where  you  say,  “  that  from  August  26th  to  November  26th  the  total 
rainfall  did  not  exceed  inches.”  I  have  not  Symons’  tables  by  me, 
but  the  “  Meteorological  Record  ”  gives  18  days’  rain  last  October  at 
Regent’s  Park,  totalling  4’51  inches,  and  November  17  days  with 
3  00  inches,  or  7  51  inches  for  those  two  months  alone,  exclusive  of  Sep¬ 
tember.  During  this  period  the  hours  of  sunshine  at  the  same  station 
were  forty-one  hours  in  October  and  forty-two  hours  in  November.  In 
Ireland  during  October  3  inches  fell  at  Londonderry  (eighteen  days), 
4-57  inches  at  Ardgillan  (fourteen  days),  3'97  inches  at  Dublin  (twenty 
days),  and  6-53  at  Killarney  (sixteen  days).  I  cannot  see,  therefore, 
how  “  E,  D’O.”  can  have  considered  October  of  last  year  “  fine  ”  even 
for  Ireland. 
I  do  not  know  whether  you  or  your  readers  have  seen  a  very  interest¬ 
ing  article  respecting  recent  weather  in  the  “  Morning  Post  ”  for 
5th  inst.  It  is  well  worthy  of  attention  ;  112J  hours  are  there  given  as 
the  Westminster  sunshine  record  for  September.  This  is,  however,  less 
than  the  Greenwich  record  of  189.3,  which  was  129  hours.  The  writer 
of  the  article  referred  to  states  that  “  of  the  total  duration  of  sunshine 
for  the  past  nine  months  Westminster  has  registered  1261  hours.”  But 
in  1893  1292  hours  were  recorded  at  Greenwich,  and  935  only  in  1894 
for  the  same  period.  The  natural  inference  therefore  is  that  wood  could 
not  have  been  “  ripened  ”  last  year  owing  to  the  deficiency  of  bright 
sunlight. 
This  brings  me  to  “  Y.  B.  A.  Z.’s”  nut  to  crack.  He  wishes  to  know 
how  I  “  like  to  see  the  wood  of  my  Peach  trees  appear  at  the  end  of 
October.”  That  is  not  the  point.  I  would  rather  alter  his  question, 
and  inquire  which  kind  of  wood  gives  the  best  results.  I  will  tell  your 
correspondent. 
In  the  autumn  of  1893  the  wood  of  my  Peach  and  Nectarines  glowed 
with  a  rich  and  ruddy  glow,  and  last  summer  I  got  no  fruit  worth 
mentioning.  In  the  autumn  of  1894  the  wood  of  these  same  trees  was 
as  green  as  grass,  and  this  summer  I  had  a  splendid  crop.  Moreover, 
my  case  was  not  in  any  way  exceptional.  How  does  “  Y.  B.  A.  Z.”  get 
away  from  facts  like  these  1 
He  will,  I  hope,  excuse  me  if  I  fail  entirely  to  grasp  the  meaning  of 
his  description  of  two  trees  under  glass.  One  was  taken  (to  Somerset¬ 
shire)  and  the  other  left ;  yet,  as  far  as  I  can  make  out,  the  stay-at-home 
did  no  better  after  than  before,  while  the  prodigal — like  many  another 
prodigal — flourished  exceedingly. 
I  cannot  conclude  without  once  again  crossing  swords  or  penholders 
with  Mr.  Pettinger,  who  accuses  me  of  thinking  myself  “the  proud 
victor  ”  because  gardeners  do  not  argue  with  me.  That  is  not  my  view 
at  all,  but  I  do  believe  that  horticulturists  are  just  now  painfully 
conscious  that  facts  are  unpleasantly  against  their  favourite  theory, 
therefore  consider  a  discreet  silence  the  better  part  of  valour. 
With  regard  to  Stephanotis,  I  will  pass  that  with  the  question.  How 
does  Mr,  Pettinger  get  bloom  from  the  old  wood  if  he  cuts  it  away  1 
Your  esteemed  correspondent  then  gets  a  trifle  mixed  between  ripening 
and  resting,  two  very  different  things,  or  rather  produced  by  very 
different  atmospheric  conditions. 
By  a  curious  coincidence  my  inquiry  respecting  the  Vines  at  Cardiff 
Castle  was  answered  in  the  same  number  of  the  Journal  of  Horticulture 
as  my  letter  appeared.  From  the  account  therein  appearing  I  was 
pleased  to  find  that  my  conjecture  was  correct,  and  that  the  Vines  are 
doing  very  well  this  season.  Another  nail  in  the  coffin  of  fallacious 
theory. — The  Sceptic. 
[Our  correspondent  writes  admirably  from  bis  point  of  view,  and  we 
hasten  to  inform  him  that  a  week  was  omitted  in  our  reference  to 
October,  and  it  was,  of  course,  a  wet  week.  The  October  rainfall  in 
London  last  year  was  practically  4J  inches.] 
A  SEPTEMBER  DAY  AT  LANGLEY. 
Travelling  recently  up  the  Great  Western  Railway  I  was  much 
struck  with  the  beauty  of  the  Langley  branch  of  Messrs.  Jas.  Veitch  and 
Sons,  as  well  from  a  pomological  as  a  floral  point  of  view.  The  fruit 
trees,  as  the  train  glided  along,  looking  remarkably  healthy,  but  naturally 
the  most  attractive  effect  was  produced  by  the  flowers.  These  formed, 
and  doubtless  still  do  so,  a  picture  such  as  no  artist  could  reproduce  on 
his  canvas,  the  colours  being  too  subtle,  too  diversified,  to  permit  of  a 
thorough  mental  grasp  being  made  of  the  whole.  Some  owed  their 
beauty  to  the  simplicity  of  shape,  others  to  the  colour  of  their 
inflorescence,  and  others  again  to  the  leafage.  From  the  iron  road 
there  was  presented  a  feast  such  as  would  gladden  the  palate  equally 
with  the  eyesight,  and  ere  Langley  was  left  far  behind  the  determination 
to  seek  and  grasp  the  first  opportunity  of  returning  for  the  purpose  of 
making  a  closer  and  more  minute  inspection  was  arrived  at. 
To  make  all  necessary  arrangements  it  was  essential  that  a  visit  be 
paid  to  Chelsea,  where  the  matter  was  very  soon  decided  with  Mr.  Smith, 
the  manager,  that  the  following  Monday  should  be  the  day.  It  was  one 
of  those  hot  days  when  the  heat  rose  to  the  flO’s  in  the  shade,  so  that 
the  task  of  walking  all  over  those  great  nurseries  could  not  be  termed 
an  easy  one.  Fortunately  at  Slough  station  a  trap  was  found,  and 
we  were  soon  running  between  thousands  of  fruit  trees  of  all  sorts, 
some  carrying  fruit  while  others  had  been  cleared.  On  past  large 
beds  of  flowers  until  we  are  on  the  road  again,  over  a  branch  of  the 
Grand  Junction  Canal,  and  we  reached  another 'entrance  adjacent 
to  which  is  the  home  of  the  resident  manager,  Mr.  J.  Scott,  by  whom 
we  were  received  with  the  most  hearty  geniality.  A  few  moments’ 
chat  led  to  the  object  of  the  visit.  “  You  would  like  to  see  the  fruit 
trees,  would  you  ?  ”  and  an  acknowledgment  of  such  having  been  given, 
we  immediately  proceed  to  search  for  Mr.  Morle,  who  we  learn  is  down 
for  the  day  from  his  home  at  Southfields,  Fulham,  where  he  is  usually  to 
be  found. 
Having  now  come  under  the  guiding  hands  of  Mr.  Morle  and  his 
excellent  assistant,  Mr.  Allgrove,  a  move  is  made  towards  the  trees,  for 
this  purpose  the  canal  being  again  crossed.  Let  it  not  be  understood 
that  there  are  fruit  trees  only  on  what  may  be  termed  the  railway  side 
of  the  nursery,  for  such  an  idea  would  be  erroneous.  For  the  benefit 
of  those  visitors  who  have  not  a  very  great  amount  of  time  on  their 
hands,  the  firm  has  planted  on  each  side  of  a  long  walk  small  trees  of 
almost  all  the  recognised  sorts  of  Apples  and  Pears,  besides  several  of 
the  later  introductions.  Here  then,  one  may  with  little  trouble  compare 
the  different  varieties,  both  with  regard  to  their  habit  of  growth,  freedom 
of  bearing,  and  shapes  and  peculiarities  of  the  fruit  itself.  If  this  were 
not  done  it  would  be  necessary  to  tramp  much  greater  distances  to 
achieve  these  objects,  and  the  chances  are  that  not  nearly  so  much  would 
be  learnt,  as  it  would  be  necessary  that  so  many  points  snould  be  carried 
in  the  mind  for  the  sake  of  comparison.  Such  being  the  case,  a  system 
of  this  nature  cannot  prove  other  than  a  great  boon,  and  it  is  certain 
that  all  visitors  will  thoroughly  appreciate  it.  All  the  trees  are  numbered 
but  under  such  experienced  guidance  no  book  containing  the  names  of 
