October  24,  1895. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
391 
-  Newcastle-upok-Tyne  Shows.— The  dates  of  the  1896 
shows  are  : — Spring  show,  Wednesday  and  Thursday,  April  15 ih  and 
16th  ;  summer  show,  Wednesday,  Thursday,  and  Friday,  July  8th,  9th, 
10th;  Chrysanthemum  show,  Wednesday  and  Thursday,  November  18th 
and  19  th. 
-  South  African  Fruit. — South  Africa  claims  to  be  another 
Southern  California  in  climate  and  productiveness.  Extensive  plantings 
of  large  and  small  fruits  are  being  made  in  that  country  for  the  London 
and  New  York  markets.  The  fruit  will  be  transported  in  the  refrigerator 
ships  used  in  the  Australian  meat  trade,  that  have  little  freight  from 
January  to  March  when  the  fruit  season  is  on.  This  competition  is 
likely  to  be  felt  in  a  few  years  by  American  fruit  growers. 
-  A  Nitrogenous  Manure. — A  new  nitrogenous  manure  is 
described  by  M.  Camille  Faure  in  a  paper  contributed  to  the  Academy 
of  Sciences  of  Paris.  The  author  asserts  that  the  fertiliser  known  as 
calcium  cyanate  can  be  produced  in  large  quantities  in  the  electric 
furnace  by  heating  lime  and  charcoal  intensely  in  an  atmosphere  of 
nitrogen  and  oxidising  the  product  by  air.  The  cyanate  contains,  it  is 
asserted,  a  greater  proportion  of  assimilable  nitrogen  than  nitrate,  and 
can  be  used  as  manure. 
-  Forty  Tons  of  Damsons  for  £106. — At  a  recent  Preston 
market,  says  the  “  Rural  World,”  there  was  an  over-abundant  supply 
-of  Damsons  of  good  quality  and  low  price,  and  the  hampers  containing 
this  fruit  not  only  occupied  the  whole  of  the  available  market  space, 
but  were  placed  for  some  distance  down  the  adjoining  streetf.  The 
balk  of  the  fruit  was  bought  by  a  local  fruit  preserver  at  the  rate  of  5d. 
per  dozen  baskets  of  21  lbs.,  the  exact  sum  due  for  this  enormous 
amount  of  fruit  being  £106  ISs. 
- Outdoor  Grapes. — As  an  instance  of  the  favourable  season  for 
the  maturing  of  fruits  out  of  doors  which  we  have  just  passed  through, 
may  I  be  allowed  to  record  the  fact  that  a  Black  Hamburgh  Grape  Vine 
.growing  on  a  south  wall  in  my  garden  is  now  laden  with  perfectly 
ripened  fruit  ?  Bunches  and  berries  are  of  fair  size  and  well  coloured. 
The  flavour  of  the  berries  is  excellent,  less  sweet,  but  not  sour,  and 
slightly  thicker  in  the  skin  than  those  ripe  in  a  vinery  close  by,  in 
comparison  with  which  they  are  even  more  refreshing. — Wm.  Paul, 
Waltham  Cross. 
-  Source  of  Insect  Powder. — According  to  a  contemporary* 
the  flowers  of  Chrysanthemum  cinerarire folium  are  cultivated  in 
Dalmatia  for  the  sole  purpose  of  making  the  powder  which  has  such  a 
reputation  as  an  insect  destroyer.  The  whole  of  the  supply  of  these 
lowers  has  hitherto  been  derived  from  the  Austrian  Province  of  Dal¬ 
matia  and  the  neighbouring  State — Montenegro.  Trieste  is  the  market 
to  which  these  flowers  are  brought,  and  from  thence  they  are  distributed 
to  the  average  annual  value  of  from  £40,000  to  £50,000.  The  plant  is 
one  that  is  easily  cultivated  in  any  kind  of  soil  and  in  any  warm  tem¬ 
perate  climate.  Within  quite  recent  years  it  is  said  to  have  been 
•introduced  into  Australia,  California,  and  South  Africa,  in  each  of  which 
its  cultivation  on  an  extended  scale  for  commercial  purposes  is  con¬ 
templated.  In  the  neighbourhood  of  Berlin  it  is  also  stated  that  the 
plant  is  grown  largely',  but  up  to  the  present  time  Dalmatia  is  the 
principal  source  from  whence  Europe  and  America  draw  their  supplies. 
-  Araucaria  Cunninghami. — The  “  Agricultural  Gazette  ”  of 
New  South  Wales,  in  speaking  of  the  Colonial  or  Mortton  Bay  Pine 
(Araucaria  Cunninghami),  states  that  in  that  colony  it  is  the  principal 
cheap  soft-wood  timber,  and  has  taken  the  place  of  deal  from  Europe 
for  packing  cases  and  other  rough  purposes.  The  timber  goes  under  the 
name  of  white  pine  or  Richmond  River  pine,  and  most  of  the  planks 
show  more  or  less  of  the  figures  similar  to  those  in  bird’s-eye  maple,  so 
that  in  selected  planks  where  these  are  numerous  the  wood  is  classed 
among  ornamental  timbers.  On  Richmond  River  the  Colonial  Pine 
grows  to  150  feet  high,  with  a  trunk  4  or  5  feet  in  diameter.  When  one 
of  these  trees  decays  in  the  forest  a  number  of  club-shaped  pieces  of 
wood,  1  or  2  feet  long,  and  known  as  pine-knots,  remain,  owing  their 
durability  to  the  large  percentage  of  resin  they  contain.  Carters 
collect  these  knots  and  sell  them  for  firewood,  as  they  are  considered 
much  the  best  fuel  in  the  district.  It  seems  a  pity,  however,  to  put 
them  to  such  a  use,  as  the  wood  is  of  the  most  ornaraentAl  character, 
especially  in  longitudinal  section.  It  is  dark-coloured,  of  various  shades 
of  brown,  showing  a  most  beautiful  figure,  and  would  be  an  ideal 
material  for  small  articles  of  turnery.  If  this  mat-r  al  were  better 
known  it  might  form  the  basis  of  a  minor  industry,  much  in  the  way 
that  small  articles  are  made  of  bog  oak  in  Ireland.  The  substance 
turns  like  bone,  and  comes  polished  from  the  tool. 
-  Clematis  virginiana. — Although  one  of  the  most  common, 
this  is  one  of  the  most  graceful  and  beautiful  of  our  native  climbers, 
and  no  plant  adds  more  to  the  beauty  of  our  roadsides  or  swamp  borders. 
It  is  usually  found  rambling  over  masses  of  shrubbery,  and  in  August 
every  branch  is  a  long  festoon  of  cream-white  flowers,  which  appear  in 
axillary  clusters.  These  are  not  quite  so  delicate  as  the  pure  white 
ones  of  Clematis  flammula,  but  they  are  very  fragrant.  These  flowers 
are  followed  by  clusters  of  fruit  with  feathery  grey  tails,  and  these 
appendages  to  the  seeds  glitter  in  the  autumn  sun  like  masses  of  flowers. 
This  common  Virgin’s  Bower  thrives  under  cultivation  and  makes  a 
wonderful  growth  in  deep,  rich  soil.  In  large  places  it  can  be  planted 
to  advantage  in  the  shrubbery,  but,  in  fact,  it  never  is  so  beautiful  as 
in  a  wayside  thicket.  Some  plants  bear  only  staminate  flowers,  and  if 
the  fruits  are  wanted,  plants  should  be  propagated  only  from  individuals 
with  perfect  flowers. — (“  Garden  and  Forest.”) 
-  Billbergia  Liboniana, — During  the  late  summer  this  is  a 
very  showy  plant  for  the  conservatory.  It  is  one  of  the  most  highly 
coloured  of  the  Billbergias,  which,  taken  together,  constitute  a  beautiful 
genus.  Twenty  or  more  flowers  are  borne  on  a  close  terminal  spike; 
they  are  about  2  inches  long,  rich  scarlet,  tipped  with  blue  ;  the  petals 
are  more  or  less  recurved,  and  the  sepals  half  the  length  of  the  petals, 
rosy,  fading  to  white  at  the  base.  The  anthers  are  bright  yellow,  and 
the  stigma  blue.  The  numerous  bracts  below  the  flowers  are  lanceolate, 
2  to  3  inches  long,  membraneous,  a  bright  rosy  colour,  the  largest 
crowded  immediately  below  the  flower  spike.  The  scape  is,  says  the 
“Garden  and  Forest,”  12  to  18  inches  high,  white,  covered  with  large 
rosy  bracts.  Leaves  Ungulate,  2  to  3  inches  wide  by  10  or  more  inches 
long ;  ten  to  twelve  in  a  dense  rosette,  pale  green,  and  a  deep  violet- 
purple  inside  at  the  base. 
VEGETABLES. 
Growing,  Showing,  and  Judging. 
I  DO  not  know  a  more  important  question  suited  for  discussion  in 
your  columns  than  that  of  size  v,  quality  in  show  vegetables,  and  I 
therefore  feel  personally  grateful  to  “Ex-Exhibitor”  for  his  well- 
reasoned,  temperate  article  on  page  363  of  the  last  issue. 
What  we  want  to  arrive  at  is  a  standaid  vvbich  will  be  recognised 
by  judges  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  which  will  be  known  to  every 
exhibitor.  Your  correspondent’s  words,  “  In  respect  to  florists’  flowers 
indicated,  as  well  as  some  others,  it  is  observable  that  when  the  judging 
is  done  by  specialists,  who  work  from  a  generally  understood  standard 
of  merit,  that  excellence  in  form  and  refinement  carries  more  weight 
than  does  size  if  in  the  least  accompanied  by  coarseness,”  are  worthy  of 
being  inscribed  on  every  flower  show  schedule,  i  have  never  seen  the 
case  stated  better  than  in  these  words,  and  I  can  heartily  subscribe  to 
them.  They  are  applicable  equally  to  flowers  and  vegetables.  In  the 
old  days  of  the  Scottish  Pansy  Society  they  used  to  print  in  their 
schedule  a  statement  of  the  “chief  points”  of  a  Pansy,  and  it  was  also 
stated  that  blooms  must  be  over  a  minimum  in  size,  which  was  given. 
Now,  I  have  always  observed  how  dilBcult  it  is  to  get  men  to  equally 
interpret  and  appreciate  an  undefined  standard.  Size,  form,  quality 
are  each  in  their  way  standards  at  present  undefined  ;  but  it  is  quite 
clear  to  my  mind  that  if  one  of  the  three  could  be  reduced  to  writing  or 
figures  the  other  two  would  cease  to  be  so  troublesome,  and  it  is  equally 
clear  that  the  only  one  it  is  possible  to  reduce  to  writing  or  figures  is 
that  of  size.  Once  an  Onion,  a  Cauliflower,  a  Leek,  a  Turnip,  or  a 
Potato  has  attained  a  “  given  size  ”  quality  should  be  practically  the 
only  determining  feature. 
What  we  want,  it  seems  to  me,  is  to  agree  as  to  a  “  given  size.” 
Take  an  Onion  weighing  3  lbs.,  and  take  one  weighing  half  the  weight ; 
unless  the  3  lb.  one  were  equally  as  well  ripened  and  formed  as  its 
smaller  neighbour,  there  is  no  reason  in  the  world  why  it  should  get 
first  prize.  Asain,  I  might  auote  “Ex-Exhibitor”  with  effect,  “The 
products  should  be  large  enough  to  repre.sent  the  greatest  commercial 
value.”  That  might  be  adopted  to  arrive  at  what  I  have  chosen  to  term 
a  given  size.  Let  us  see  how  it  would  look  in  black  and  white. 
Onions. — Minimum  12  inches  in  circumference  ;  15  inches  is  a  very 
fine  exhibition  size.  Well-ripened  bulbs  always  tell  best. 
Caidifloioers  — Minimum  5  inches  in  diameter  ;  any  larger  size,  say 
up  to  9  inches,  if  quality  is  perfect. 
Leelis. — Minimum  blanch  6  inches  long,  by  1  inch  in  diameter. 
Perfect  specimens  are  often  shown  12  inches  by  2  inches.  An  Omon- 
head  is  considered  a  defect,  and  coar.eeness  is  most  objectionable. 
Turnips  — 3.^  to  flinches  in  diameter  ;  skin  smooth,  and  root  fine. 
Potatoes. — Kidneys,  3^  to  4  inches  in  length  ;  Rounds,  2^  to  3  inches 
in  diameter. 
These  measures  are  somewhat  arbitrary.  I  only  use  them  just  now 
for  the  purpose  of  argument,  and,  in  fact,  my  whole  letter  is  oniy  meant 
to  be  suggestive.  Like  so  many  others,  I  have  been  waiting  anxiously 
for  the  report  of  the  R  H.S.  Committee  on  this  subject,  and  hope  it  will 
soon  make  its  appearance. — Wm.  Cuthbertson,  of  Pobiie  4'  Co., 
P.othesay. 
[We  believe  the  Committee  is  now  engaged  on  the  last  revise  of 
what  has  proved  to  be  a  by  no  means  light  undertaking.', 
