October  17,1885. 
368-  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
- ^ - 
-  Ripened  Wood  and  Stephanotis. — Mr.  Pettinger  desires 
to  say  in  answer  to  his  sceptical  inquirer  (page  350)  that  the  soft 
growths  of  Stephanotis  are  cut  back  to  firm  ripe  wood  because  it  is  ripe, 
and  because  no  other  can  produce  such  long,  strong,  floriferous  growths. 
-  The  “  Kew  Bulletin  ”  announces  that  Sir  Joseph  Hooker  has 
presented  the  Gardens  with  a  replica  of  a  portrait  of  the  late  Dr. 
T.  Thomson,  F.R.S.  Dr.  Thomson  was  the  first  botanist  to  enter  the 
Karakoram  mountains,  and  was  for  some  time  Director  of  the  Calcutta 
Botanic  Gardens. 
-  A  Fine  Apple. — Having  seen  references  made  to  large  Apples, 
I  am  sending  you  one  of  ours,  which  when  gathered,  about  twenty-one 
days  ago,  weighed  1  lb.  7  ozs.,  though  it  is  lighter  now.  It  is  known 
here  as  “  Norfolk  Beefing,”  but  I  am  not  quite  clear  on  the  point,  and 
shall  be  glad  if  you  will  kindly  tell  me,  through  the  Journal,  if  this  is 
right.  The  tree  was  a  picture,  being  loaded  with  fruit  of  similar  size. 
The  soil  here  is  good  for  fruit  growing,  being  sandy  loam  resting  on  the 
chalk. — J.  Morris,  The  Gardens,  H^mgerford  Farh,  Berks.  [We  are 
of  the  opinion  that  the  specimen  sent  is  an  exceptionally  fine  fruit  of 
Mere  de  M4nage,  though  it  is  somewhat  pale  in  colour  for  that  variety,] 
-  Potatoes  in  Ireland. — The  Irish  Potato  crop  is  this  season 
a  splendid  one  throughout  the  country.  Disease  is  not  absent,  indeed  it 
is  often  found  in  Antrim,  Kilkenny,  Limerick,  and  Down  ;  but  even  in 
those  counties,  where  moisture  is  so  prevalent,  there  have  been  splendid 
results  where  spraying  has  been  properly  conducted.  The  greatest  loss 
has  been  where  the  Champion  has  been  cultivated  ;  this  variety  has  no 
stamina  in  Ireland,  having  lost  its  constitution  by  successive  generations 
of  cultivation  from  the  same  stock  on  the  same  land.  The  Champion 
might  still  be  profitably  cultivated  in  Ireland  were  seed  obtained  from 
good  Scotch  or  English  stocks.  From  pasture  land  and  from  the  Potato 
fields  Irish  farmers  have  this  year  reaped  good  harvests,  probably  better 
ones  than  their  confreres  in  England  have. 
-  The  Dried  Plants  prom  Somaliland. — Specimens  of  the 
above  were  presented  recently  to  Kew,  and  collected  chiefly  by  Miss 
Edith  Cole,  Miss  Lort  Phillips,  and  Mr.  E.  Lort  Phillips,  and  have 
been  critically  examined  by  the  authorities.  The  set  contained  some 
350  species  of  plants,  and  of  these  sixty-nine  were  new  and  undescribed, 
and  included  three  new  genera.  The  new  plants  are  described  in  the 
“Kew  Bulletin”  for  September.  They  include  one  new  Orchid,  a 
Habenaria ;  and  one  new  Fern,  a  Pellsea.  There  are  four  new  species 
of  Leucas,  a  genus  of  Labiaim,  several  new  members  of  Liliacere, 
Amaryllideas,  Convolvulacese,  Asclepiadeae,  Composite,  Rubiacese,  and 
LeguminosEB,  with  a  less  number  of  species  belonging  to  other  order*. 
The  new  genera  are  Edithcolea,  somewhat  like  Stapelia  ;  Phillipsia, 
nearly  allied  to  Ruellia  ;  and  Cyclocheilon,  a  genus  of  Schrophulariades. 
-  September  Weather  at  Hodsock  Priory. — Mean  tempera¬ 
ture  of  the  month,  59*4°.  Maximum  on  the  24th,  82  2°  ;  minimum  on 
the  22nd,  33  5°.  Maximum  in  the  sun  on  the  6th,  132  7°  ;  minimum  on 
the  gras*  on  the  22ad,  28’0°.  Mean  temperature  of  the  air  at  9  A.M., 
59*3°.  Mean  temperature  of  the  soil  1  foot  deep,  58  4°.  Nights  below  32°, 
in  the  shade,  0  :  on  the  grass,  four.  Total  duration  of  sunshine  in  the 
month,  192  hours,  or  51  per  cent,  of  the  possible  duration.  Total  rain¬ 
fall,  O’ 97  inch  ;  rain  fell  on  nine  days.  Average  velocity  of  the  wind, 
4 ’5  miles  per  hour  ;  velocity  exceeded  400  miles  on  one  day,  fell  short 
of  100  miles  on  eighteen  days.  Approximate  averages  for  September. 
— Mean  temperature,  55’5°  ;  sunshine,  110  hours  ;  rainfall,  2’26  inches.  A 
very  fine  month,  with  bright  hot  days  and  light  winds.  The  mean 
temperature  is  higher  than  any  of  the  last  nineteen  years.  — 
J.  Mallender. 
-  Wakefield  Paxton  Society. — At  the  meeting  of  the 
members  of  this  Society  held  on  the  5th  inst.  Mr.  B.  Whiteley  presided, 
and  Mr.  B.  Edmondson  was  in  the  vice-chair.  Despite  the  wet  weather 
and  other  attraction  there  was  a  good  attendance  of  members.  The 
essayist  was  Mr.  Thomas,  gardener  to  the  Bishop  of  Wakefield,  and  he 
gave  a  naost  excellent  and  very  interesting  essay  on  hardy  climbers. 
Mr.  Thomas  pointed  out  the  best  varieties  of  fine-foliage  and  blooming 
climbers  suitable  for  the  adornment  of  mansions,  villas,  and  cottages 
in  this  district,  particularly  mentioning  different  kinds  of  Virginian 
Creepers,  Ivies,  and  Honeysuckle,  Wistarias,  and  the  Ayrshire  Rose. 
The  essay  provoked  a  lengthy  and  most  interesting  discussion,  in  which 
some  diversity  of  opinion  was  expressed  as  to  the  use  of  Ivy  of  various 
sorts  for  the  adornment  of  dwelling  houses,  some  of  the  speakers 
expressing  it  as  their  opinion  that  it  caused  dampness,  whilst  others 
said  it  prevented  dampness.  A  vote  of  thanks  to  Mr.  Thomas  for  his 
able  and  interesting  essay  was  accorded. 
-  Canadian  Fruit  — It  is  stated  that  arrangements  have  been 
completed  by  which  a  firm  of  London  shipowners  will  convey  Apples 
and  all  other  fruits  grown  for  commercial  purposes  in  Nova  Scotia,  from 
that  favoured  colony,  via  the  Ship  Canal  to  Manchester.  By  this  means 
travelling  expenses  may  be  lowered,  and  the  price  per  barrel  reduced  to 
the  consumer. 
-  Zinc  in  Dried  Apples. — In  a  recent  Consular  Report  fur¬ 
nished  to  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  it  is  stated  that  “  for  a 
number  of  years  dried  Apples  in  the  form  of  slices,  pieces,  or  rings,  have 
been  imported  into  Germany  from  the  United  States,  and  it  has  been 
observed  that  this  fruit  often  contains  zinc  in  such  quantities  that, 
according  to  medical  authority,  the  consumption  of  it  may  be  detrimental 
to  health.  The  German  authorities  have,  in  consequence,  endeavoured 
by  every  possible  means  to  prevent  the  importation  of  American  dried 
fruits  containing  zinc  and  to  bring  about  the  judicial  punishment  of  the 
vendors  of  such  merchandise.”  It  is  shown  that  the  zinc  gets  into  the 
Apples  during  the  drying  process,  and  is  due  to  the  use  of  zinc  plates  or 
trays  in  the  fruit  evaporators,  the  acid  of  the  Apples  chemically  com¬ 
bining  with  the  zinc,  forming  a  malate  of  zinc.  The  use  of  zinc  plates 
is  said  to  give  the  dried  Apples  a  fine  light  colour,  but  as  stated  in  the 
report,  “  it  would  not  seem  to  be  advisable  to  employ  such  means  for 
the  sake  of  a  comparatively  small  and  purely  external  advantage.”  In 
place  of  zinc  plates  it  is  recommended  that  racks  or  frames  of  wood  be- 
used,  or  that  the  Apple  slices  be  dried  upon  strings  or  cords.  These 
methods  “  are  often  employed  in  Germany,  and  therefore  the  brownish 
colour  of  the  products  obtained  through  them  would  not  put  them  to- 
any  disadvantage  so  far  as  their  importation  into  Germany  is  concerned.” 
— (“  Kew  Bulletin.”) 
-  Death  op  Mr.  M.  Wilkomm. — The  death  of  Moritz  Wilkomm,. 
the  eminent  botanist  and  geographical  explorer,  is  announced  in  the 
“Geographical  Journal.”  Of  his  life  we  read:  —  “Born  in  1821,  at 
Herwigsdorf,  in  the  kingdom  of  Saxony,  after  1841  he  studied  medicine 
and  natural  science  at  Leipzig.  In  1844  he  for  the  first  time  visited  the 
Pyrenean  peninsula,  which  he  subsequently  traversed  so  often,  some¬ 
times  by  the  year  together,  making  thorough  investigations  into  the 
botanical,  geognostical,  and  geographical  relations  of  the  country.  After 
having,  in  1852,  gained  some  experience  as  teacher  of  botany  at  Leipzig^ 
and  having  been  called  thence  first  to  Tharandt,  and  afterwards,  in  1868,. 
to  Dorpat,  he  occupied  the  chair  of  Botany  at  the  German  University  at 
Prague  from  1873  until  the  receipt  of  his  pension  in  1892,  being  at  the 
same  time  Director  of  the  Botanical  Garden  in  that  city.  He  did  much 
good  work  by  his  rich  botanical  collections,  principally  from  Spain  and 
the  Balearic  Isles,  as  well  as  by  his  special  botanical  works  dealing 
especially  with  the  descriptive  side  of  the  science  ;  whilst  as  a  geogra¬ 
pher  he  did  lasting  service,  not  only  in  connection  with  the  geography 
of  plants — in  particular  in  South-West  and  Central  Europe — but  also  by 
his  comprehensive  geographical  description  of  Spain  and  Portugal ;  and, 
above  all,  he  threw  light  on  the  geography  of  Austria  by  his  excellent 
work  on  the  Bohmerwald  (1878),  which  region  he  was  the  first  to  throw 
open  to  science  in  its  most  inaccessible  parts,  still  at  the  time  clothed 
with  primeval  forest.” — (“Nature.”) 
-  The  Potato  Scab.  —  This  disease  attacks  the  crop 
through  infected  tubers,  and  Professor  Bolley  showed  that  if  these 
are  immersed  in  a  corrosive  sublimate  solution  of  the  strength  of  one 
in  a  thousand — that  is,  2  ozs.  to  15  gallons  of  water — the  crop  will  be 
essentially  free  from  surface  blemishes  and  have  a  greater  market 
value.  Dr.  J.  C.  Arthur,  Botanist  of  the  Purdue  Experiment  Station, 
has  lately  issued  an  interesting  bulletin  on  this  subject,  giving  the 
result  of  three  years’  trials  of  the  corrosive  sublimate  treatment,  and 
these  trials,  taken  separately  or  collectively,  establish  the  eflScient 
character  of  the  remedy.  The  treatment  is  easy  and  cheap.  The  poison 
should  be  dissolved  in  a  small  amount  of  hot  water  in  an  earthenware 
dish  and  the  solution  added  to  the  water  in  a  wooden  cask.  The  bath 
should  be  about  an  hour  and  a  half  long,  although  some  variation  in  the 
time  is  immaterial.  The  solution  may  be  poured  off  and  used  over  and 
over  again,  as  dirt  does  not  injure  it.  Of  course,  great  care  must  be 
exercised  with  so  deadly  a  poison.  Without  making  a  study  of  the 
causes  of  this  disease.  Professor  Halsted  has  also  been  experimenting 
on  the  New  Jersey  Agricultural  College  farm  with  sulphur  as  a  remedy, 
using  on  one  plot  the  flowers  of  sulphur  at  the  rate  of  300  lbs.  per 
acre.  The  freshly  cut  tubers  used  for  seed  were  rolled  in  sulphur,  and 
the  rest  of  it  was  sprinkled  in  the  open  row  at  planting  time.  In  this 
plot  the  Potatoes  came  out  practically  free  from  disease,  while  in  the 
adjoining  plots,  treated  exactly  in  the  same  way,  except  that  the  sulphur 
was  omitted,  all  or  nearly  all  of  the  Potatoes  were  scabbed. — (“  Garden 
and  Forest.”) 
