JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  February  3,  i898. 
102 
-  A  Eose  Puzzle, — Will  any  reader  of  the  Journal  tell  us 
how  to  understand  the  following  class  for  Roses,  as  copied  exactly  from 
the  'Newcastle-upon-Tyne  summer  show  schedule  for  1898  : — “  Cut 
flowers. — Class  52,  thirty-six  Roses,  twenty-four  dissimilar,  in  triplets.'’ 
Would  it  not  have  looked  more  like  business  if  it  had  been  twelve 
varieties  in  triplets  ?  which  I  presume  it  must  infer.  Nobody  seems  to 
know.— Geo.  Fiklay. 
-  Flavoue  feom  Leaves. — M.  Jacquemin,  a  French  pharmacist, 
has  invented  a  process  by  which  he  says  he  can  form  from  the  leaves  of 
various  fruit-bearing  trees  and  shrubs  the  flavours  that  are  characteristic 
of  the  fruits  themselves.  From  Apple  tree  leaves,  crushed  and  fermented, 
he  obtains  a  liquid  possessing  the  fragrance  and  taste  of  Apples,  and  from 
Vine  leaves  a  beverage  resembling  wine.  His  theory  is  that  the  peculiar 
flavour  of  Apples,  Pears,  Grapes,  and  berries  is  prepared  in  and  derived 
from  the  leaves  of  the  plant,  and  in  our  opinion  this  is  true. 
-  The  Wolveehamptox  Floeal  Fete. — ^This  compares  well 
with  similar  undertakings  in  other  towns.  Last  year’s  show  made  a 
profit  of  £421  10s.,  the  gross  takings,  £2390  2s,  4d.,  showing  an  increase 
of  £87  16s.  9d.  on  the  present  year.  At  the  annual  meeting  of  the 
Committee  Mr.  S,  Dickenson  made  some  gratifying  observations  on  the 
success  of  the  F§te  during  the  past  nine  years,  mentioning  that  the  total 
profit  in  that  period  had  been  £3956  18s.  6d.,  out  of  which  the  Committee 
had  built  shelters,  greenhouses,  and  paid  for  music  in  the  public  parks,  as 
well  as  placed  to  the  reserve  fund  no  less  than  £786  12s.  Wolverhampton, 
therefore,  has  cause  for  gratitude  to  those  who  promoted,  and  those  who 
carried  on  this  undertaking, — (“  Birmingham  Daily  Argus.”) 
-  Liveepool  Hoeticultueal  Association. — On  Saturday 
evening  last  Mr.  Thomas  Foster  presided  at  the  nineteenth  annual  general 
meeting.  The  Secretary’s  report,  whilst  regretting  the  apathy  of  the 
public  in  supporting  the  shows,  classed  the  summer  show  held  in  Sefton 
Park  and  the  autumn  show  in  St.  George’s  Hall  as  amongst  the  finest 
held  by  the  Association.  The  Sub-Treasurer’s  account  showed  a  loss  of 
£357  13s.  3d.  on  the  two  shows,  an  item  which  ought  not  to  appear  this 
year  if  the  public  at  large  will  only  give  their  valuable  support.  Sub¬ 
scriptions  of  3  and  2  guineas  respectively  were  granted  to  the  Gardeners’ 
Royal  Benevolent  and  the  Gardeners’  Orphan  Funds.  The  balance  in 
hand  is  about  £80.  The  Right  Hon.  the  Lord  Mayor, 
Alderman  Jno.  Houlding,  was  elected  President  for  the  ensuing 
year;  Arthur  Crossthwaite,  a  Vice-President;  and  Messrs.  Jas 
Bethell,  E,  Finch,  and  Geo.  Eaton  to  fill  vacancies  on  the 
Committee.  Messrs.  Disley  and  Dickson  were  respectively  nominated 
for  the  secretaryship,  each  receiving  twenty  -  three  votes,  the 
Chairman’s  casting  vote  being  in  favour  of  Mr.  Dickson.  A  sensible 
proposal,  made  by  Mr.  Hitchman,  that  the  Committee  be  empowered  to 
fis  the  show  dates  before  the  date  of  annual  meeting,  was  received 
with  approval.  It  is  proposed  to  hold  a  grand  spring  show  in 
St.  George’s  Hall  and  the  usual  popular  Chrysanthemum  and  fruit  show. 
The  usual  votes  of  thanks  closed  the  proceedings. — R.  P.  R. 
-  The  R.H.S.  Examination. — I  observe  you  have  been  giving 
an  inquirer  some  useful  advice  with  respect  to  this  examination.  It  tallies 
entirely  with  my  own  views.  April  is  not  far  off,  and  those  who  purpose 
sitting  at  the  next  exam  should  make  the  best  use  of  their  time. 
Generally  the  examinations  have  little  value  for  anyone  except  those  who 
may  be  gardeners,  or  contemplating  to  become  such.  Then  the  grades 
should  be  dissociated,  having  a  purely  practical  one,  and  a  purely' 
theoretical  or  scientific  one,  leaving  to  students  option  as  to  which  they 
should  enter,  but  granting  no  first-class  awards  until  both  grades  had 
been  well  passed.  That  sort  of  exam  w'ould  tend  then  to  show  what 
amount  of  practical  knowledge  the  coUege,  laboratory,  and  correspondence 
crammed  candidates  possessed.  That  questions  in  theory  get  a  higher 
number  of  marks  than  do  more  important  ones  for  gardeners  in  practice, 
seems  to  be  the  case.  But  apart  from  all  the  existing  defects  of  the 
present  system,  I  always  strongly  advise  young  gardeners  to  submit 
themselves  to  the  examination.  If  they  set  themselves  earnestly  to  work 
to  master  the  desired  knowledge,  and  even  then  fail  to  obtain  a  high 
number  of  marks,  they  will  have  done  themselves  immense  good.  That 
is  a  result  worth  more  than  any  mere  pass  honours.  Shakespeare  puts 
into  the  mouth  of  the  fallen  Wolsey  the  bitter  lament,  “  Had  I  but  served 
my  God  as  diligently  as  I  have  served  my  king.  He  would  not  in  mine 
age  have  left  me  naked  to  mine  enemies.”  This  represents  throughout 
all  time  the  inevitable  bitter  cry  of  old  age  over  the  follies  and  wasted 
opportunities  of  youth.  How  many  a  young  gardener  of  to-day  is  there 
fooling  away  time  and  opportunity  who  later  in  life  may  not  have 
occasion  to  re-echo  in  paraphrase  the  remorseful  cry,  all  too  late,  of  the 
fallen  Cardinal. — A.  D. 
-  Notes  on  Peaes. — My  experience  of  Beurre  Ranee  in  this 
district  for  the  past  five  years  is  identical  with  Mr.  Easter’s  and  Mr. 
Dyke’s — namely,  useless  for  dessert,  and  I  may  say  the  same  about  Nec 
Plus  Meuris,  I  have  them  here  on  a  good  south  wall  in  fairly  good  loam 
on  a  sandstone  formation,  but  I  have  not  yet  had  the  pleasure  of  tasting 
a  good  fruit.  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  wants  a  warm 
atmosphere.  Glou  Morceau,  Beurrd  Diel  and  Louise  Bonne  of  Jersey  have 
done  excellently  on  the  same  wall  and  situation. — T.  Hanson,  Garforth, 
near  Leeds, 
-  Massachusetts  Hoeticultueal  Society.  —  We  have 
received  the  schedules  of  the  six  exhibitions  of  this  Society  that  are  to 
be  held  during  the  year  1898.  We  observe  that  at  the  six  shows  a  total 
of  upwards  of  8000  dollars  is  offered  in  prizes  in  786  classes.  These 
comprise  practically  all  phases  of  gardening,  including  those  for  green¬ 
houses  and  gardens.  The  rules  for  exhibitors  are  brief  and  generally 
straight  to  the  point,  and  no  difficulty  should  be  experienced  in  interpret¬ 
ing  them.  The  shows  will  be  held  in  the  Horticultural  Hall,  Boston, 
as  follows  : — Spring  Show,  March  22nd,  23rd,  24th,  and  25th  ;  Rhodo¬ 
dendron  Show,  .Tune  2nd  and  3rd  ;  Rose  and  Strawberry  Show,  June 
23rd  and  24th  ;  Plant  and  Flower  Show,  August  31st  and  September  1st  ; 
Fruit  and  Vegetable  Show,  September  29th  and  30th  ;  and  Chrysanthe¬ 
mum  Show,  November  8th,  9th,  10th,  and  11th.  The  Secretary  of  the 
Society  is  Mr.  Robert  Manning. 
-  Hessle  Gaedenees’  Mutual  Impeovement  Society. — 
A  meeting  of  the  above  Society  was  held  on  Tuesda}’,  January  25th) 
Mr.  Geo.  Picker,  Hesslewood,  in  the  chair.  The  essayist  for  the  evening 
was  Mr.  H.  .J.  Clayton,  Grimston  Park  Gardens,  Tadcaster,  and  the 
subject,  “Notes  on  Gardens  and  Garden  Management.”  The  essayist 
dealt  with  gardens,  first  going  right  back  to  the  Creation — e.g.,  the 
Garden  of  Eden.  He  then  followed  with  other  notable  gardens  men¬ 
tioned  in  history,  and  finished  by  describing  an  ideal  garden  of  the 
present  day.  In  his  notes  on  the  management  of  gardens  he  spoke  of 
the  advantages  probationers  derived  by  serving  at  least  three  years  in 
the  outside  gardens,  and  pointed  out  that  to  grow  good  vegetables  and 
hardy  fruits  was  equally  as  hard  a  matter,  and  required  as  much  care 
and  forethought,  as  to  cultivate  the  choicest  Orchids.  Mr.  J.  S.  Barker 
showed  well-flowered  plants  of  Lycaste  Skinneri  in  variety. — G.  W.  G. 
-  Romance  of  Insect  Life.— At  the  Public  Hall,  Woking,  on 
Sunday  afternoon,  Mr.  Fred  Enoch,  F.L.S.,  F.E.S.,  once  a  resident  of  that 
town,  spoTe  about  “  The  Wonder?  and  Romance  of  Insect  Life.”  There 
was  a  good  attendance,  and  the  lecture,  which  was  illustrated  by  lime¬ 
light  views  of  exquisite  beauty,  was  intensely  interesting.  Mr.  Enock 
first  dealt  with  the  green  fly.  Millions  and  millions  may  be  found  on  a 
single  tree,  sucking  away  its  life-sap,  and  incalculable  injury  would  be 
done  by  this  pest  were  it  not  for  the  check  which  Nature  has  provided  in 
the  wasp  fly.  This  parasite  lays  its  eggs  in  the  body  of  the  green  fly, 
and  the  maggot  feeds  upon  the  flies,  which  it  destroys  at  the  rate  of  a 
hundred  or  more  per  hour.  Gardeners  destroy  these  maggots,  but  they 
are  among  their  best  friends,  for  each  one  lives  a  fortnight,  and  during 
the  whole  of  that  time  is  destroying  the  green  fly.  The  maggots  may  be 
known  by  the  way  they  wave  their  bodies  about.  The  wasp  fly,  it  is 
interesting  to  note,  has  two  compound  eyes,  each  containing  some  11,000 
separate  lenses.  Then  there  is  the  gall  mite,  only  one-four-hundredth  of 
an  inch  long,  which  is  terribly  destructive  to  Black  Currant  bushes  ;  but 
here,  also,  there  is  a  parasite  in  the  shape  of  a  maggot  which  eats  these 
tiny  grubs.  The  Willow-tree  gall  is  produced  by  the  saw  fly,  whose  egg- 
laying  apparatus  is  shaped  exactly  like  a  saw.  This  insect  does  not  saw 
right  through  the  Willow  leaf,  but  only  half  way.  It  then  forces  its  saw 
between  the  upper  and  lower  skin  of  the  leaf  and  lays  its  egg  in  the 
farther  extremity.  The  irritation  thus  set  up -on  the  same  principle  as 
a  thorn  in  our  finger— produces  the  gall,  which  is  the  home  of  the  maggot 
into  which  the  egg  changes,  and  likewise  its  food,  until  it  is  big  enough 
to  leave,  when  it  becomes  a  chrysalis  and  fly  in  the  ordinary  course. 
But  although  these  galls  are  so  common  the  fly  itself  is  comparatively 
scarce,  owing  to  the  destruction  of  its  eggs  by  a  parasite.  This  parasite 
pierces  the  gall  and  kills  the  grub  with  a  tiny  drop  of  acid,  and  then  lays 
an  egg  of  its  own  inside  the  gall,  the  grub  of  which,  when  hatched,  eats 
all  the  poisoned  grub  except  its  skin,  which  it  utilises  as  a  cocoon,  to  save 
itself  the  trouble  of  spinning  one.  The  devil’s  coach-horse  beetle  is 
another  interesting  insect,  and  has  a  marked  predilection  for  green 
caterpillars — or  London  restaurant  caterpillars,  as  the  lecturer  prefers  to 
call  them.  It  is  therefore  useful,  and  should  not  be  destroyed.  The 
lecturer  concluded  with  an  account  of  some  discoveries  in  the  insect 
world  which  he  had  made,  and,  referring  to  his  three  years’  residence  in 
Woking,  said  he  believed  he  was  then  locally  known  as  “The  Madman,’* 
because  of  his  fondness  for  insect  hunting. 
