Noren  b3r  28, 1395. 
JOURNAL  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
507 
Elderberries  and  Strawberries. — Is  your  correspondent 
Old  Traveller,”  (o.  478},  quite  correct  in  ihis  statement  about  “  E  der 
busbes  with  a  profusion  of  purple-black  fruit,”  by  the  road  side  on 
which  be  was  travelliug  to  see  ripe  early  Strawberries  ?  The  two  fruits  do 
not,  I  believe,  ripen  at  the  same  time  on  this  side  of  St.  George’s 
ChanneL  I  have  no  memoranda  respecting  the  Elder,  but  I  should  say 
the  time  of  ripe  Strawberries  is  nearer  its  flowering  time. — T.  S. 
-  Weeds  that  Might  be  Useful.  —  There  are  two  plants 
regarded  as  weeds  in  America  that  might  become  useful  vegetables 
under  cultivation.  One  is  the  wild  Lettuce,  common  on  the  plains, 
which  may  be  gathered  in  abundance  in  spring.  It  resists  heat  and 
dryness  remarkably  well.  The  other  is  the  Astragalus  crassicarpus, 
whose  prolific  seeds  partake  of  the  flavour  of  the  Haricot,  Asparagus,  and 
Salsafy.  It  is  ready  in  the  beginning  of  May.  Most  of  our  succulent 
vegetables  have  a  humble  origin.  Out  of  the  many  thousands  of  wild 
plants  only  a  hundred  or  two  are  used  as  food,  but  selection  and  cultiva- 
ftion  would  no  doubt  render  many  others  edible. — (“  Echo.”) 
-  Pruning  Shrubs. — The  Kingston-on-Thames  authorities,  or 
Ihose  of  their  Committees  who  control  their  gardens,  seem  to  have 
wretchedly  vicious  notions  as  to  shrab  pruning.  Not  only  on  their  fine 
riverside  promenades,  but  also  all  round  their  recreation  grounds  the 
same  practice  prevails  of  shearing  over  all  shrubs,  evergreen  and 
deciduous  alike,  to  one  monotonous  and  unnatural  rounded  form.  This 
ogives  a  really  hideous  aspect  to  what  should  be  pleasing  and  beautiful. 
The  gardeners  seem  to  have  no  knowledge  of  pruning  knives,  or  of 
’thinning  and  pruning  to  preserve  natural  growth,  yet  keep  shrubs  in 
bounds.  Their  knowledge,  or  at  least  if  not  theirs  then  that  of  their 
employers,  seems  limited  to  shears  or  secateurs,  through  the  agency  of 
which  trimming  abominations  all  this  formal  rotund  clipping  is  per¬ 
formed.  A  few  lessons  or  lectures  on  shrub  and  tree  pruning  would 
hardly  be  wasted  in  Kingston. — D, 
-  Farm,  Root,  and  Vegetable  Show.— Sir  Thomas  Wright 
■opened  Messrs.  Harrison  &  Sons’  annual  farm,  root,  and  vegetable  show 
-at  Leicester  recently.  Owing,  it  was  stated,  to  the  excessive  tariff 
imposed  by  the  Markets  and  Tolls  Committee,  the  venue  of  the  exhibition 
was  changed  from  the  Market  Hall  to  Messrs.  Harrison’s  seed  warehouse 
on  the  Welford  Road.  There  a  splendid  collection  of  roots  and 
vegetables  was  on  view,  thanks  to  the  excellent  list  of  prizes  offered 
by  the  firm.  There  were  seventeen  classes,  and  the  show  was  open  to 
all  Euglaud,  the  chief  condition  being  that  the  exhibits  (except 
Potatoes)  were  to  be  grown  from  seed  supplied  by  Messrs.  Harrison. 
The  entries  were  more  numerous  than  usual,  some  of  the  specimens 
being  also  much  finer  than  at  previous  exhibitions,  especially  the 
Oelery,  Carrots,  and  Mangolds.  The  Corporation  Sewage  Farm 
Committee  showed  some  remarkably  good  samples  of  Mangolds,  one  of 
which  weighed  24  Ib.s.,  while  another  was  a  yard  in  circumference. 
The  Judges  for  the  roots  were  Mr.  T.  Stirton,  estate  steward  to  Lord 
Northbrook,  Stratton  Park,  Hants;  and  Mr.  J.  Burnett,  farm  steward 
to  Earl  Howe,  Gopsall  :  and  for  the  vegetables  Mr.  John  Miller, 
Mitcham,  Surrey  ;  and  Mr.  James  Cousins,  East  Ville,  Bristol.  The 
opening  ceremony  was  attended,  in  addition  to  Sir  Thomas  Wright, 
by  his  Worship  the  Mayor,  Aid.  E.  Wood ;  Aid.  G.  T.  Coleman, 
Aid.  G.  Collins;  Messrs.  J.  F.  L.  Rolleston,  G.  Ward  Ward,  J,  W. 
Sanders,  T.  Nuttall,  J.  T.  Ardron,  J.  Glover,  W.  T.  BUstock, 
Longwill,  J.  Johnson,  S.  A.  Kirkman,  C.C.  ;  Burnard,  C.V.,  Hartley  ; 
W.  H.  Chamberlin,  J.  B  Waring,  and  others.  Mr.  John  Harrison 
introduced  Sir  Thomas,  who,  in  opening  the  show,  complimented  the 
firm  on  their  development  of  public  interest  in  that  branch  of 
business.  The  exhibition  was  a  good  object  lesson  for  root  and 
vegetable  growers.  Ha  noticed  there  were  some  exhibits  there  grown 
by  working  men  which  were  extremely  creditable  to  them,  and  if 
only  such  exhibits  stimulated  still  more  the  feeling  in  favour  of 
market  gardening,  which  Leicester  had  already  shown  a  fondness  for, 
Messrs.  Harrison  would  be  conferring  a  special  benefit  on  the  com¬ 
munity.  There  were  thousands  of  acres  of  land  round  the  town 
which  were  not  producing  very  much,  though  perhaps  as  much  as 
the  means  of  the  occupiers  enabled  them  to.  If  the  Corporation 
could  acquire  that  land  or  a  portion  of  it,  they  could  convert  it  into 
allotments,  and  be  thus  conferring  a  benefit  on  men  who  were 
cooped  up  in  factories  and  other  places  during  the  daytime.  The 
Mayor  congratulated  Messrs.  Harrison  upon  their  enterprise  and  success. 
Mr.  Harrison  returned  thanks  for  the  remarks  of  S  r  Thomas  and  his 
Worship,  presenting  the  former  with  an  album  of  Leicester,  illustrated, 
as  a  souvenir. 
-  Potato  Jeanie  Deans. — “J.  P.”  writes  : — “Last  spring  a 
gardening  friend  gave  me  four  medium  size  Potatoes,  and  on  April  22nd 
I  cut  them  into  twenty  small  sets  and  planted  them.  On  October  2nd 
1  lifted  them,  when  they  yielded  99  lbs.,  some  of  the  heaviest  weighing 
2  lbs.  1  oz.  each  ;  but  they  are  not  very  perfect  in  shape,  although  I  find 
them  good  in  quality.” 
-  Wakefield  Paxton  Society. — At  the  last  meeting  of  this 
Society  Mr.  George  Gill  presided,  and  Mr.  Thomas  was  Vice-Chairman. 
Mr.  W.  E.  Corden,  storekeeper  at  the  West  Riding  Constabulary  Depot, 
Wakefield,  gave  a  very  interesting  account  of  his  holiday  trip  from 
Liverpool  to  London,  graphically  describing  the  splendid  coast  scenery, 
and  also  incidents  of  the  vessel’s  calls  at  Falmouth,  Plymouth,  South¬ 
ampton,  and  Portsmouth.  A  trip  of  this  sort  was,  in  Mr.  Cordon’s 
opinion,  far  more  beneficial  than  a  sojourn  at  a  seaside  place,  and  it 
could  be  done  very  cheaply  as  well. 
-  Flora  of  Perthshire.— The  late  Dr.  Buchanan  White 
devoted  much  of  his  leisure  to  the  preparation  of  a  “  Flora  of  Perth¬ 
shire,”  which  he  hoped  to  publish  in  the  course  of  the  current  year. 
His  lamented  death  in  December  last  prevented  its  completion  by 
himself,  but  he  left  it  in  a  state  that  permits  of  its  immediate  publi¬ 
cation.  Arrangements  have,  says  a  contemporary,  been  made  for  the 
book  to  be  issued  on  behalf  of  the  Perthshire  Society  of  Natural  Science 
and  Professor  Trail,  F.R.S.,  who  has  undertaken  to  edit  it,  will  preface 
it  with  a  sketch  of  the  author’s  life  and  scientific  work. 
-  Hunnemannia  fumari^folia.— If  seeds  of  this  beautiful 
Papaveraceous  plant  be  sown  now  and  wintered  over  in  a  cold  frame, 
the  plants  will  flower  abundantly  next  season.  This  is  one  of  the  few 
plants  common  in  our  gardens  which  seem  to  revel  in  very  hot  weather 
If  planted  out  in  a  sunny,  well  drained  border  it  very  soon  attracts 
attention  by  its  finely  cut  glaucous  leaves  and  large  Escbscholtzia-like 
flowers.  It  is,  says  a  transatlantic  journal,  a  native  of  Mexico, 
presumably  the  coldest  parts,  as  plants  without  protection  have  under¬ 
gone  zero  weather  without  hurt  ;  nevertheless,  it  is  well  worthy  a  little 
extra  care  in  the  way  of  winter  protection.  Its  period  of  blooming  is 
from  midsummer  till  frost. 
-  Death  of  Professor  Hellriegel. — We  learn  with  regret 
of  the  death  of  Professor  Hermann  Hellriegel,  at  the  age  of  sixty-four, 
removes  the  discoverer  of  the  important  fact  that  leguminous  plants  are 
capable  of  absorbing  free  nitrogen  from  the  air,  through  the  agency  of 
micro-organisms  existing  in  the  nodules  on  their  roots.  During  his 
career  he  devoted  his  attention  almost  exclusively  to  researches  dealing 
with  chemical  and  physiological  questions  relating  to  the  nutrition  of 
plants.  For  some  years  he  acted  as  Director  of  the  agricultural  experi¬ 
ment  station  at  Dahme,  Brandenburg,  and  after  occupying  other 
positions,  made  the  great  discovery  of  his  life  at  the  experimental 
station  founded  by  the  Verein  llir  Zucker-Industrie,  jointly  with  the 
Government  of  the  Duchy  of  Auhalt. — (“Pharmaceutical  Journal.”) 
• 
-  The  Forests  of  Germany.  —  These,  says  a  contemporary, 
extend  over  a  fourth  of  the  area  of  the  whole  country,  and  are  all  under 
skilful  management.  Baron  Herman  states  that  there  is  scarcely  one 
tree  in  the  whole  of  the  Fatherland  which  is  not  known  personally  to  a 
forest  officer,  and  which  has  not  been  sown  or  planted  with  more  or  less 
care  and  labour.  The  whole  area  of  wooded  land  is  almost  equally 
divided  between  State,  community,  and  private  persons,  and  it  is 
thought  that  this  is  a  very  good  state  of  affairs,  the  commonwealth  being 
in  that  way  well  interested  in  its  parts  as  well  as  in  the  whole,  in  the 
affairs  connected  with  the  forest  growth.  This,  of  course,  influences 
legislation,  and  although  laws  concerning  the  forests  are  not  passed  in 
the  Rdchstag,  but  in  the  Parliaments  of  the  individual  States,  there  is 
scarcely  a  part  of  Germany  where  one  is  allowed  to  cut  down  a  forest 
and  not  plant  it  again  without  the  permission  of  the  Department  of 
Forestry.  The  forests  are  managed  by  hundreds  of  forest  officers,  and 
these  are  educated  at  special  colleges  for  forestry,  there  being  no  less 
than  eleven  in  Germany.  The  tueoretical  study  at  these  colleges  lasts 
generally  four  years,  not  counting  the  time  a  young  man  has  ro  spend 
in  learning  practical  work  m  the  woods.  The  comparatively  long  time 
a  man  requires  for  this  training  shows  how  very  much  the  science  of 
forestry  has  been  developed  in  its  different  branches  in  Germany.  After 
a  man  has  passed  his  examinations  he  may  often  have  to  wait  several 
year*  before  he  obtains  an  appointment  ;  but  the  love  of  the  woods, 
the  poetry  which  time  has  woven  around  the  solitary  forsthans  amidst 
the  trees  and  an'mals  of  the  woods  is  so  great  they  do  not  mind  waiting 
a  long  time. 
