JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
March  10,  1898. 
208 
-  COMMUKICATIONS. — In  consequence  mainly  of  the  considerable 
amount  of  space — though  not,  we  think,  too  much — required  by  the 
description  of  Hatfield,  the  publication  of  several  interesting  communi¬ 
cations  and  illustrations  has  had  to  be  unavoidably  postponed,  but  the 
contributors  are  equally  thanked  for  their  co-operation,  whether  their 
productions  are  inserted  in  the  present  issue  or  deferred. 
-  A  VISITOR  to  Folkestone  writes  : — “  There  are  Roses  in  bloom  in 
some  of  the  gardens  here,  and  the  new  leaves  of  the  Euonymus  are  almost 
as  bright  a  gold  as  the  Gorse  on  the  banks.  In  a  sheltered  cottage  garden 
down  in  the  hollow,  near  Sandgate,  there  are  Pansies  in  full  bloom,  as 
well  as  Polyanthus,  Primulas,  Daffodils,  Primroses,  and  Bachelors’ 
Buttons.  The  flower-girls  are  selling  ISIignonette,  Stocks  and  Wall¬ 
flowers,  grown  at  Sandwich,  and  of  a  delicious  sweetness  known  only  to 
home-grown  flowers,” 
-  A  Curious  Case  of  Pear  Fructification. — I  have  a 
Jargonelle  Pear  about  seven  years  old,  on  a  west  wall,  and  in  robust 
health.  By  some  means,  seemingly  about  three  years  since,  the  bark  got 
removed  all  around  for  the  space  of  an  inch  or  so  a  short  distance  from 
the  main  stem  of  one  of  the  largest  branches.  For  several  years  fruit 
has  been  pretty  evenly  distributed  over  the  whole  tree,  but  this  year 
there  are  more  than  twenty  whorls  of  fruit  buds  on  the  branch  detached 
by  the  cutting  of  the  bark  from  the  main  stem,  and  not  a  fruit  bud  on  anj' 
other  branch.  How  is  this  accounted  for  ?  There  is  no  appearance  of 
sap  circulation,  except  it  goes  through  the  seemingly  dry  hard  wood* 
where  the  bark  was  removed. — W.  J.  Murphy,  Clonmel. 
-  February  Weather  at  Driffield. — Mean  temperature  at 
9  A.M.  (corrected),  .S8’12°.  Wet  bulb,  36’39°.  Mean  maximum,  44  5  ; 
mean  minimum,  33'75°.  Highest,  ,*>5°  on  the  1st ;  lowest,  22*5"^  on  the 
2lsi.  Mean  of  maxima  and  minima,  39T2  .  Mean  radiation  temperature 
on  ibe  grass,  29'12°.  Lowest,  19'5“  on  the  2l8t.  Rainfall,  1  28  inch. 
Number  of  rainy  days,  eighteen.  Greatest  amount  on  one  day,  0’28  inch 
on  the  3rd. — W.  E.  Lovell,  York  Boad,  Driffield^ 
-  February  Weather  at  Hodsock  Priory. — Mean  tempera¬ 
ture  of  the  month,  40'5°.  Maximum  in  the  screen,  58’1  on  the  15th  ; 
minimum  in  the  screen,  21 ’7  on  the  25th.  Minimum  on  the  grass,  12 ‘4°  on 
the  25th.  Number  of  frosts  in  the  shade,  nine  ;  on  the  grass,  twenty-  two 
Sunshine  seventy-three  hours,  or  27  per  cent,  of  the  possible  duration. 
Rainfall,  0‘68  inch.  Rain  fell  on  twelve  days  ;  maximum  fall,  0’22  inch 
on  the  28th.  Rainfall  from  January  1st,  1’13  inch  ;  difference  from 
average  — 2‘33.  Another  mild  and  dry  month,  but  with  more  frosts 
than  in  January. — J.  Mallender. 
-  A  Weather  Contrast. — It  is  reported  that  on  Saturday  last 
the  heaviest  snowfall  of  the  season  was  experienced  in  Scotland.  In  the 
central  Highlands  there  was  a  continuous  fall  for  several  hours,  and  in 
some  places  snow  lay  to  a  depth  of  8  inches.  The  Australian  mail  on 
Monday  brought  the  following  records  of  great  heat.  On  December  30th, 
under  severe  shade  conditions,  107'3°  was  registered  at  the  Melbourne 
Observatory;  and  on  January  11th  a  still  higher  record,  109’5°  was 
reached.  At  Boort  (Victoria)  the  shade  register  was  116°.  We  should 
prefer  Scotland. 
-  W EATHER  at  Dowlais. — The  following  is  a  summary  of  the 
weather  here  for  the  past  month  ; — Rainfall,  3‘49  inches,  which  fell  on 
twenty-three  days.  Snow  fell  on  four  days.  Maximum  rainfall,  0’52 
on  the  5th.  Mean  maximum  temperature,  42°  ;  highest  reading,  52°  on 
the  14th  ;  mean  minimum,  29°  ;  lowest  reading,  17°  on  the  20th.  Below 
freezing  point  on  twenty  occasions.  The  wind  was  in  the  W.  and  S.W- 
on  sixteen  days,  and  very  variable  on  the  other  days.  There  were  twelve 
sunless  days.  Very  mild  and  open  until  the  last  twelve  days  of  the 
month,  during  which  the  frost  has  been  more  severe,  with  at  times 
brilliant  sunshine  in  the  daytime. — W.  Mabbott. 
-  The  Weather  Last  Month. — February  was  much  cooler 
than  January,  with  sharp  frost  on  the  21st,  22nd,  and  23rd.  The  wind 
was  in  a  westerly  direction  on  twenty-four  days.  The  total  rainfall  was 
0*61  inch,  which  fell  on  thirteen  days  ;  and  is  1  '20  inch  below  the 
average  for  the  month.  The  greatest  daily  fall  was  0*1 1  inch,  on  the 
17th  and  25th.  Barometer  (corrected  and  reduced),  highest  reading 
30*291  inches,  on  the  llth,  at  9  P.M.  ;  lowest  29*19G  inches,  on  the  21st* 
at  9  A.M.  Thermometers,  highest  in  the  shade  56°,  on  the  1  st ;  lowest 
20°,  on  the  21st.  Mean  of  daily  maxima,  45*82°  ;  mean  of  daily  minima, 
33*21°.  Mean  temperature  of  the  month,  39*50°  j  lowest  on  the  grass, 
13°,  on  the  21st ;  highest  in  the  sun,  102°,  on  the  27th.  Mean  of  earth 
temperature  at  3  feet,  41  82°.  Total  sunshine,  ninety-eight  hours  forty 
minutes,  which  is  thirty-eight  hours  above  the  average.  There  were  two 
sunless  days. — W.  H.  Divers,  Belvoir  Castle  Gardens,  Grantham. 
-  Royal  Meteorological  Society. — At  the  ordinary  meeting 
of  the  Society,  to  be  held,  by  kind  permission  of  the  Council,  at  the  Insti¬ 
tution  of  Civil  Engineers,  on  Wednesday,  the  I6th  inst.,  at  7.30  p.m.,  a 
lecture  will  be  given  by  Mr.  Arthur  W.  Clayden,  M.A.,  E.R.Met.Soc.,  on 
“  Photographing  Meteorological  Phenomena,”  which  will  be  illustrated 
by  lantern  slides. 
-  Native  Guano. — Once  more  the  Native  Guano  Company 
favours  us  with  a  book  of  testimonials,  M’hich  cover  about  seventy  pages, 
and  come  from  all  parts  of  England,  Scotland,  and  Wales,  with  some 
from  the  Channel  Islands.  Each  year  a  fresh  list  is  compiled,  and  each 
year  brings  abundance  of  good  material  for  the  book.  The  testimonials 
refer  variously  to  flowers,  fruit,  and  vegetables  of  all  kinds,  and  the  guano 
thus  appears  to  be  admirably  suited  for  everything. 
-  “A  Strange  Theory.”— This  (page  189)  is  indeed  strange 
as  physiological  connection  in  the  issues  involved  seems  absent.  If  plant 
sap  ebbs  and  flows  as  suggested,  it  can  only  do  so  when  not  in  its  state 
of  stagnation  in  which  it  is  deemed  to  be  during  winter.  We  do  not 
ordinarily  prune.  Vines  least  of  all,  when  the  sap  is  moving,  and 
discrimination  between  the  ebb  and  flow  of  tides  during  the  dormant 
state  of  the  sap  does  not  seem  imposed  by  any  logic. — H.  H.  R.,  Forest  Hill. 
-  Sowing  Tomatoes  for  Outdoor  Culture. — The  present 
is  a  suitable  time  to  sow  Tomato  seed  thinly  in  a  pot  or  bo.x  to  raise  a 
stock  of  plants  for  outdoor  planting.  They  are  better  raised  now  than 
earlier,  inasmuch  as  the  seed  germinates  quicker,  and  the  seedlings  grow 
more  sturdily  under  the  influence  of  increased  light  and  natural  heat. 
Keep  them  close  to  the  glass  in  all  stages,  and  in  as  little  artificial  heat 
as  possible  after  becoming  well  established. — E.  D.  S. 
-  ‘*  Carnation  Manual.” — The  second  edition  of  the  “  Carna¬ 
tion  Manual,”  "which  is  edited  and  issued  by  the  National  Carnation  and 
Picotee  Society  (Southern  section)  at  the  price  of  3s.  6d.,  is  a  book  that 
should  be  very  valuable  to  all  lovers  of  these  beautiful  flowers.  There  is  a 
preface  by  Messrs.  Martin  R.  Smith  and  J.  Douglas,  introductory  chapters 
by  the  Rev.  F.  D.  Horner,  as  well  as  articles  of  various  points  in  culti¬ 
vation  by  some  of  the  best  known  specialists.  The  book,  which  is  neatly 
bound  in  red  cloth,  may  be  procured  Irom  Mr.  T.  E.  Hen  wood,  Auricula 
Villa,  Hamilton  Road,  Reading,  for  the  price  named,  plus  about  four- 
pence  for  postage. 
-  Hessle  Gardeners’  Society.— A  meeting  of  the  above 
Society  was  held  in  the  Parish  Hall  on  Tuesday,  February  Ist  (Mr.  Geo. 
Picker,  Hesslewood,  in  the  chair),  when  Mr.  Geo.  Wilson,  gardener  to  Sir 
James  Reckitt,  Bart.,  Swanland  Manor,  Brough,  a  well-known  exhibitor 
of  groups,  contributed  an  excellent  paper  on  “  Grouping  for  Effect  ; 
What  to  Imitate  and  What  to  Avoid.”  The  essayist  commenced  by 
describing  the  first  group  that  he  saw  exhibited,  which  he  said  reminded 
him  of  a  thatched  roof  with  a  gradual  slope.  Among  the  things  he  tried 
to  avoid  was  making  a  group  similar  to  what  he  had  seen  elsewhere  ; 
attempting  to  make  a  pattern  ;  taking  too  many  plants  to  shows  ;  and 
being  late  in  getting  a  start  and  overcrowding.  The  only  thing  to 
imitate,  in  his  opinion,  was  Nature,  and  in  trying  to  do  this  as  far  as 
possible  the  essayist  attributed  his  numerous  successes.  There  was  a 
large  attendance  of  members  present,  and  a  good  discussion  followed. 
Votes  of  thanks  to  the  essayist  and  Chairman  terminated  the  meeting. 
— G.  W.  G. 
-  Economic  Resources  of  the  West  Indies.  —  A  special 
issue  of  the  “  Kew  Bulletin  ”  embodies  Dr.  Morris’  views  on  the 
economic  resources  of  the  West  Indies,  and  a  more  interesting  work 
on  the  subject  could  hardly  be  wished.  The  author  accompanied  the 
Royal  Commission  to  the  West  Indies  in  the  early  months  of  last  year  ; 
but  apart  from  this  visit,  his  intimate  knowledge  of  the  Islands  qualify 
him  to  undertake  the  task.  Each  Colony  has  been  dealt  with  separately, 
and  every  point  has  been  brought  out  with  a  clearness  that  is  not  always 
fonnd  in  works  of  a  similar  nature.  That  the  Commissioners  appreciated 
the  efforts  of  Dr.  Morris  is  proved  by  the  note  below,  which  appears 
towards  the  conclusion  of  their  report ; — “We  have  had  in  the  course  of 
this  report  to  refer  frequently  to  the  very  interesting  and  valuable  survey 
supplied  by  Dr.  Morris  of  the  agricultural  resources  and  requirements  of 
the  Colonies  visited  by  us,  which  forms  Appendix  A  in  this  volume. 
Dr.  Morris  s  presence  with  the  Commission  has  been  of  great  advantage 
to  us  ;  no  adviser  could  have  been  assigned  better  qualified,  both  by 
general  and  local  knowledge,  to  assist  and  inform  us  in  regard  to  botanical 
and  agricultural  questions.  The  report  which  he  has  prepared  bears 
witness  to  the  closeness  of  his  study  of  these  questions,  and  the  assiduity 
with  which  he  has  collaborated  throughout  the  course  of  our  inquiry  to 
further  the  purposes  of  the  Commission.”  The  entire  work  may  be 
procured  from  Kew  for  Is.  6d. 
