March  3,  1898. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
1S9 
Weather  in  London. — Very  changeable  weather  has  visited  the 
metropolis  during  the  past  seven  days.  On  Thursday  and  Friday, 
until  the  evening  of  the  latter  day,  when  it  rained  heavily,  it  was  fine,  as 
also  was  Saturday,  the  mornings  of  each  day  being  very  frosty.  Sunday 
was  a  wet  day,  though  there  were  occasional  glimpses  of  sunshine  during 
the  afternoon.  In  the  evening  it  cleared,  the  stars  shining  brightly,  and 
was  followed  by  a  sharp  white  frost  on  Monday  morning,  which  day 
was  clear  and  cold.  There  were  very  heavy  showers  on  Tuesday,  but 
Wednesday  opened  clear  and  cold. 
-  Weather  in  the  North. — During  the  last  week  of  February 
the  weather  continued  very  unsettled — rain,  sleet,  snow,  frosts  of  from 
7°  to  11°,  and  bright  sunshine,  with  occasional  high  winds,  following 
with  short  permanence  of  any.  Saturday,  with  sleety  showers,  was  very 
disagreeable  in  the  former  part  ;  the  afternoon  improved,  but  much  rain 
fell  during  the  night.  Sunday  also  brought  cold  showers,  but  Monday 
was  brighter,  with  2°  of  frost  in  the  morning.  March  entered  with  heavy 
showers  of  snow,  alternating  with  gleams  of  sunshine. — B.  I).,  8.  Perthshire. 
-  Koyal  Horticultural  Society.  —The  next  Fruit  and  Floral 
meeting  of  the  Koyal  Horticultural  Society  will  be  held  on  Tuesday, 
March  8th,  in  the  Drill  Hall,  James  Street,  Victoria  Street,  Westminster, 
1  to  4  P.M.  A  lecture  on  “  Some  of  the  Plants  Exhibited,”  will  be  given 
by  the  Rev.  Professor  G.  Henslow,  M.A.,  V.M.H.,  at  three  o’clock.  The 
Committees  will  meet  as  usual. 
-  Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan  Fund.— A  meeting  of  the 
Committee  was  held  on  February  25th,  Wm.  iMarshall,  Esq.,  being 
re-appointed  Chairman  for  the  ensuing  year.  The  guardians  for  the 
children  elected  at  the  recent  meeting  were  appointed,  the  mother  in  most 
cases  undertaking  the  duties.  Authority  was  given  to  draw  cheques  for 
their  payment  from  date  of  election.  The  following  special  donations 
were  announced — viz.,  M.  Todd,  Edinburgh,  sale  of  cut  flowers,  £30  10s.  . 
H.  J.  Jones,  Esq.,  Lewisham,  boxes  at  his  show  of  Chrysanthemums^ 
£14  3s.  Id.  ;  J.  Gammie,  Chiswick,  £5  5s.  ;  H.  Eckford,  Wem,  £2  ; 
B.  [Marks,  Hardwick,  box,  lOs. ;  A.  W.  G.  ITeeks,  box,  10s.  j  .Jones  and 
Sons,  box,  9s.  3d.  ;  .1.  Hamilton,  Byrkley,  box,  8s. ;  J.  Pearce,  6s.  6d.  ; 
Hook  Cottage  Gardeners’  Society,  box,  128.  6d. 
-  Hall  eor  Horticulture — Provincial  Generosity. — iMy 
remarks  on  page  176  of  last  week  seem  to  appear  at  an  opportune 
moment,  for  we  read  of  the  magnanimity  in  matters  horticultural  shown 
by  Mr.  Henry  Yates  Thompson  of  Liverpool  in  a  handsome  provision 
of  £6000  for  a  second  Palm  house  after  one  of  double  that  cost  having 
been  previously  granted  by  the  same  public  spirited  benefactor  to  another 
Liverpool  Park.  I  should  not  like  to  imply  that  because  London  is 
some  ten  times  larger  than  Liverpool,  the  proportional  equivalent  should 
be  justifiably  anticipated  for  London  magnificence.  The  reminder 
supplied  by  the  said  gifts  should,  however,  quicken  generosity  by  others 
for  this  metropolis,  not,  however,  without  the  horticultural  societies 
making  earnest  in  helping  themselves,  as  I  Indicated  last  week,  so  as  to 
deserve  support  for  the  creation  of  the  Central  Hall  for  Horticulture. — 
H.  H.  R.,  Forest  Hill. 
-  The  Walker  Promenade,  Gate  acre. — A  gift  of  importance 
to  the  residents  in  this  pretty  suburban  village,  which  is  visited  by 
numbers  of  the  Liverpool  inhabitants  during  the  summer,  is  the  handsome 
promenade  in  honour  of  the  Diamond  J ubilee,  which  has  been  constructed 
at  the  sole  expense  of  Colonel  W.  Hall  Walker,  a  son  of  the  late  Sir 
Andrew  Barely  Walker,  Gateacre  Grange.  For  years  the  footpath  has 
been  narrow  and  inconvenient,  but,  thanks  to  the  generous  donor,  a  new 
promenade  of  some  quarter  mile  in  length  has  taken  its  place.  This  has 
necessitated  the  removal  of  the  old  boundary  wall  and  hedge,  and  the 
erection  of  a  new  boundary.  This  stands  back  in  the  field,  and  consists  of 
a  stone  wall  surmounted  by  a  4-feet  oak  palisade.  The  average  width  of 
the  footpath  is  about  24  feet.  A  fine  row  of  old  forest  trees  has  been  care¬ 
fully  preserved,  and  will  lend  a  charm  to  the  appearance  during  the 
summer  months.  Some  large  Elms  have  wisely  been  topped,  and  altogether 
the  solid  stone  foundation,  covered  with  limestone  chippings,  extending 
from  the  station  past  the  church,  cannot  fail  to  become  the  highly  popular 
resort  that  Colonel  W alker  intended  it  should  be. — R.  P.  R. 
-  Keeping  Apples. — A  cool  dry  cellar  is  an  excellent  place  to 
preserve  Apples  in  good  condition  until  the  present  time.  I  recently  saw 
some  good  examples  of  Blenheim  Orange,  King  of  the  Pippins,  and 
Striped  Beefing  which  had  been  stored  in  a  cellar  of  the  above  descrip¬ 
tion.  A  damp  ill-ventilated  cellar  would  naturally  lie  detrimental,  and  a 
too  dry  arid  atmosphere  tends  to  shrivel  fruit, — E.  D.  S. 
-  Planting  Horseradish.— The  ground  on  which  Horeradish 
is  to  be  planted  ought  to  be  trenched  2  feet  deep  at  least.  Manure,  if 
added,  should  be  placed  at  the  bottom.  Roots  of  the  thickness  of  the 
little  finger  and  about  12  inches  long  with  a  crown  attached  are  the  best 
for  planting.  Discard  those  with  more  than  one  crown.  Break  off  any 
small  roots  issuing  from  the  principal  root  An  open  sunny  position  is  the 
best,  but  Horseradish  will  succeed  in  less  favourable  situations,  but  avoid 
planting  under  the  shade  of  trees  or  in  competition  with  their  roots. — S. 
-  Cardiff  Horticultural  Society.  —  The  ninth  annual 
general  meeting  of  this  Society  was  held  in  the  Town  Hall  recently, 
some  thirty  members  being  present.  Mr.  W.  C.  Peace  occupied  the  chair. 
The  accounts  for  the  past  year  were  duly  considered  and  adopted.  The 
chief  matter  for  discussion  was  as  to  the  date  of  the  nest  show,  and  it 
were  felt  that  owing  to  the  large  number  of  absentees  in  August  a  change 
was  desirable,  and  it  was  ultimately  decided  to  hold  the  show  on  .July 
20th  and  21st,  which  is  some  three  weeks  earlier  than  usual.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  the  change  will  prove  beneficial. 
-  Early  Potatoes— Sutton’s  A1. — Our  correspondent  “H.  D.,” 
in  his  useful  article  on  page  118,  February  10th,  observed,  “  It  is  a  pity 
that  [Messrs.  Sutton  &  Sons  are  not  able  to  offer  seed  (of  Al)  this  season, 
as  it  is  one  of  the  good  things  which  everyone  is  trying  to  get.”  The 
writer  of  the  article  must  have  had  last  season  in  his  mind.  This  year 
we  are  informed  there  is  an  ample  supply,  and  there  is  an  excellent 
illustration  of  the  variety  on  page  72  in  Sutton’s  “Amateurs’  Guide. 
Our  correspondent  is  usually  as  wide  awake  as  most  gardeners,  but  he 
has  allowed  himself  to  be  paught  napping  for  once. 
-  Chester  Paxton  Society.— At  the  usu.al  fortnightly  meet¬ 
ing,  held  at  the  Grosvenor  Museum  on  Saturday,  Mr.  A.  T.  Gillanders, 
High  Leigh,  delivered  a  lecture  on  “Forest  Entomology  ’  to  the  members, 
who  were  present  in  goodly  numbers.  The  lecturer  dealt  in  a  compre¬ 
hensive  manner  with  the  life  histories  df  the  gall  mites,  sawflies,  beetles, 
and  other  insects,  often  so  injurious  to  forest  trees,  and  gave  valuable 
hints  as  to  the  best  means  of  preventing  these  pests  from  doing  damage. 
The  lecture  was  copiously  illustrated  with  lantern  slides,  at  the  close  of 
which  Mr.  Gillanders  was  accorded  a  hearty  vote  of  thanks. 
_  Presentation  of  the  Albert  Medal  to  Mr.  G.  J. 
Symons. — Prior  to  the  departure  of  H.R.H.  the  Prince  of  Wales  from 
Marlborough  House,  the  Council  of  the  Society  of  Arts  attended  there, 
when  the  Prince,  as  President  of  the  Society,  presented  the  Albert  medal 
to  Ur.  George  ,T.  Symons,  F.R.S.,  “  for  the  services  he  has  rendered  to  the 
United  Kingdom  by  affording  to  engineers  engaged  in  the  water  supply 
and  the  sewage  of  towns  a  trustworthy  basis  for  their  wor  ^  by  establishing 
and  carrying  on  during  nearly  forty  years  systematic  observations  (now 
at  over  3000  stations)  of  the  rainfall  of  the  British  Isles,  and  by  recording, 
tabulating,  and  graphically  indicating  the  results  of  these  observations  in 
the  annual  volumes  published  by  himself.” 
_  A  Strange  Theory. — There  is  a  good  deal  that  is,  to  say  the 
least  of  it,  curious  in  regard  to  plant  life,  which  never  finds  its  way  into 
the  pages  of  horticultural  journals,  and  a  highly  popular  weekly  paper 
recently  advanced  a  theory  about  trees  feeling  the  effects  of  tides.  It 
appears  that  a  Vine  grower  in  Italy  is  responsible  for  the  idea,  and  has 
come  to  the  conclusion  after  fourteen  years'  experimehting  that  the  sap 
of  a  living  tree  ebbs  and  flows  in  some  way  in  sympathy  with  the  tides 
of  the  ocean.  According  to  the  account  this  theorist  stated  that  no  tree 
should  be  pruned  except  during  the  hours  of  ebb  tide.  We  conclude,  of 
course,  that  he  lives  in  close  proximity  to  the  sea,  as  no  provision,  so  far 
as  we  know,  is  made  for  trees  and  cultivators  growing  and  living  100 
miles  inland,  where  little  generally  is  known  of  the  ebbing  and  flowing 
of  the  tide.  AYhat  is  still  more  remarkable  in  connection  with  this  theory 
is  that  the  trees  and  Vines  of  this  grower  and  ebb-  tide  primer  develop 
splendid  foliage,  bear  heavy  crops,  and  are  quite  free  from  the  attacks  of 
insects,  which  spread  devastation  in  the  neighbourhood.  It  seems  strange 
that  a  course  of  treatment  which  insures  heavy  crops  of  fruit,  and  renders 
trees  proof  against  attacks  of  insect  pests,  should  be  known  so  little  of 
in  gardening  circles.  That  experimenting  Italian  grower  would  be  a 
public  benefactor  if  he  could  prove  the  truth  of  his  theory  to  English 
fruit  growers.  Perhaps  some  other  reader  of  the  Journal  has  heard 
something  of  this  ebb-tide  pruning. — H. 
