April  7,  1898. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
303 
-  Garden  Chemistry. — One  of  the  best  scientific  and  practical 
gardeners  of  the  day  writes  : — ‘‘  What  an  excellent  little  book  is  ‘  Garden 
Chemistry  ’  by  Mr.  Cousins.  1  have  been  reading  it  with  the  keenest 
relish.  It  is  a  long  way  ahead  of  all  other  treatises  dealing  with  this 
subject,  and  is  absolutely  free  from  a  suspicion  of  trade  influence,  which 
mars  several  chemistry  manuals.” 
-  Assault  on  Mr.  J.  Deacon.  —Two  men  were  remanded  at 
Birmingham  on  Monday  on  a  charge  of  assault  on  the  Eight  Hon.  J. 
Chamberlain’s  head  gardener  at  Highbury.  On  Friday  night  the  men 
were  discovered  in  the  garden,  and  afterwards  made  an  attack  on  the 
lodge  in  which  the  gardener,  Mr.  John  Deacon,  lived,  smashing  windows 
and  doing  a  considerable  amount  of  damage. 
-  Hybridisation  and  Cross-fertilisation.— These  terms 
are  not  very  clearly  defined  even  by  the  best  botanists  ;  that  is  to  say, 
the  line  which  separates  them  is  not  a  hard  and  fast  one.  Some  say  that 
the  union  of  different  varieties  of  the  same  species  is  hybridisation,  while 
others  term  it  cross-fertilisation.  It  is  on  this  point  we  find  botanists 
differ.  There  is,  however,  no  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  term 
hybridisation  when  a  union  is  effected  between  two  distinct  species. 
— E.  D.  S. 
-  Temperatures  Reversed. — An  authority  on  the  subject  says 
that  up  to  the  present  the  annual  march  of  temperature  this  year  has  been 
all  in  the  wrong  direction.  According  to  rule,  February  should,  of  course, 
be  warmer  than  January,  and  March  warmer  still.  This  year  an 
abnormally  mild  January  was  followed  by  a  colder  February,  and  by  a 
still  colder  March.  The  decline  is  not  likely  to  go  on  much  longer,  and 
it  would  therefore  be  scarcely  safe  to  predict  good  skating  in  July.  It  is, 
however,  seldom  that  the  ordinary  conditions  are  so  completely  reversed 
as  they  have  been  this  year.  In  London  the  mean  temperature  of  March 
was  about  half  a  degree  lower  than  in  February,  and  nearly  3°  lower  than 
in  January,  the  month  being  the  coldest  March  we  have  had  since  1892. 
The  coldest  of  the  past  five-and-twenty  years  occurred  in  1883,  while  the 
warmest  occurred,  singularly  enough,  in  the  year  immediately  preceding 
it.  In  March,  1883,  the  mean  temperature  in  London  was  not  much  above 
37°,  while  in  1882  it  was  exactly  47° — a  difference  between  the  two  of 
nearly  10°. 
-  Hessle  Gardeners’  Society. — There  was  a  large  attendance  of 
members  present  at  the  last  meeting  on  the  syllabus,  which  was  held  in 
the  Parish  Hall  on  Tuesday,  March  29th,  when  a  general  review  of  the 
past  session  was  taken  and  the  prize  essays  read.  This  session  has  been, 
in  every  respect  the  most  successful  the  Society  has  had,  and  hearty  vote® 
of  thanks  were  given  to  those  members  who  had  filled  the  various  offices' 
Medals  were  won  by  Mr.  Geo.  Picker  for  fruit,  and  by  Mr.  J.  T.  Barker 
and  Mr.  Blakey  for  plants.  The  essay  competition  was  divided  into  two 
classes,  one  for  foremen  and  journeymen  over  eighteen  years  of  age,  the 
subject  being  “  The  Management  of  Stokeholes  and  Boilers  and  for  those 
eighteen  years  of  age  or  under  the  subject  was  “  A  Year’s  Management 
of  the  Potting-shed  and  Tool-house.”  Seven  competed  in  the  former 
class,  and  the  prizewiners  were  : — First,  Mr.  J.  F.  Donoughue,  Tranby 
Croft  Gardens  ;  second,  Mr.  Geo.  Giles,  Hesslewood  Gardens.  Mr. 
M.  Skinner,  Bishop  Burton  Hall  Gardens,  was  placed  third.  In  the 
junior  class  the  first  prize  was  awarded  to  Mr.  C.  Hollingsworth,  Cliff 
House  Gardens;  second  to  Mr.  G.  Mason,  West  Hill  Gardens;  and 
third  to  Mr.  Geo.  Hardy,  Hesslewood  Gardens.  Messrs.  Geo.  Gordon, 
and  H.  J.  Clayton  were  the  adjudicators. — G.  W.  G. 
-  Torquay  Gardeners’  Association.  —  From  time  to  time 
we  have  inserted  notes  relative  to  the  meetings  of  this  Society,  and  we 
•now  have  the  report  and  financial  statement  that  were  presented  at  the 
annual  meeting  held  on  the  1st  inst.  The  Committee  is  evidently  well 
satisfied  with  the  state  of  affairs,  as  is  only  reasonable  when  it  is  noted 
how  successful  the  meetings  have  been,  and  also  that  the  balance  in  hand 
is  larger  than  it  was  a  year  ago.  After  this  and  other  business  had 
been  settled  satisfactorily,  the  Hon.  Secretary,  Mr.  F.  C.  Smale,  on 
behalf  of  the  members,  presented  the  President  with  a  beautifully 
illuminated  address  in  a  massive  gilt  frame,  surmounted  by  a  monogram 
(R.  H.  R.).  The  supporting  easel  was  included  in  the  presentation. 
The  exquisitely  executed  work  in  the  address  was  from  the  hand 
of  Mr.  A.  Shelly,  one  of  the  Vice-Presidents,  who  kindly  gave  his 
services.  Mr.  Shelly  also  received  a  souvenir  of  the  occasion  Lorn  the 
members.  The  address  was  signed  by  133  members,  and  ran  as  follows — 
“  To  Robert  Hamilton  Ramsey,  Esq.,  M.D.,  C.M.  We,  the  undersigned 
members  ofthe  Torquay  District  Gardeners’  Association,  desire  to  present 
to  you  this  address  as  a  token  of  our  personal  esteem  and  regard,  and 
in  acknowledgment  and  appreciation  of  the  invaluable  services  rendered 
by  you  to  the  Association  as  President.” 
-  Gentle  Spring. — Those  are  very  charming  lines  that  close 
your  leading  article  on  Spring  (page  274),  and  I  am  rather  more  disposed 
to  quote  “  Punch  ”  on  the  same  theme,  which  possibly  are  bad  enough  to 
be  good  enough  for  insertion  : — 
“  Come,  gentle  Spring  I  ethereal  mildness  come  1  *’ 
Oh,  Thompson  !  void  alike  of  rhyme  and  reason  I 
How  canst  thou  thus  unhappy  mortals  hum  ? 
There’s  no  such  season  I 
Dean  Mansell  used  to  say  that  if  March  “  went  out  as  a  lamb  ”  it  was 
indisputably  “cold  lamb.”  Certainly  this  year  it  has  gone  out  “like  a 
madman;”  its  terrible  three-days  blizzard,  and  accompanying  loss  of 
life,  will  not  soon  be  forgotten. — A.  C. 
- Rbaj)ing  and  District  Gardeners'  Mutual  Improve¬ 
ment  Association.— Mr.  W.  H.  Lees  of  The  Gardens,  Trent  Park, 
New  Barnet,  read  a  paper  on  “Profitable  Orchids”  before  the  members 
of  the  above  Association  on  Monday  evening,  Mr.  C.  B.  Stevens 
presiding.  The  formal  business  having  been  transacted,  and  a  sum  of 
£5  5s.  been  voted  to  the  special  fund  raised  by  the  Reading  Horticultural 
Society,  the  President  called  upon  Mr.  Lees  to  give  his  paper.  In 
introducing  his  subject  the  essayist  said  that  it  was  not  his  intention  to 
treat  the  subject  from  a  market  grower’s  p  jint  of  view,  as  the  title  seemed 
to  imply,  but  from  that  of  the  private  gardener,  dealing  with  those 
varieties  most  suitable  for  cutting  and  decorative  purposes.  The  general 
routine  of  the  cultivation  was  briefly  dealt  with  under  the  following 
headings  : — Ventilation,  Heating,  Staging,  Watering,  Manuring,  Potting, 
Compost,  Insects  and  Fumigating.  An'interesting  discussion  ensued.  A 
splendid  exhibit  of  Orchids  was  made,  which  added  greatly  to  the  interest 
of  the  meeting  and  helped  to  illustrate  many  of  the  remarks  made  by  the 
speaker.  A  hearty  vote  of  thanks  was  passed  to  Mr.  Lees  and  to  those 
members  who  had  been  the  means  of  bringing  together  such  a  beautiful 
collection  of  flowers. 
-  The  Nurserymen,  Market  Gardeners’,  and  General 
Hailstorm  Insurance  Association. — Three  Good  P’s. — Mr. 
Alex.  James  Monro,  Secretary,  1  and  2,  King  Street,  Covent  Garden, 
places  in  condensed  form  the  growth  of  this  useful  Corporation.  As  we 
published  the  report  on  page  287,  last  week,  we  can  now  only  indicate  the 
position  in  1895-6  and  in  1897-8.  In  the  period  first  named,  the  premier 
income  was,  in  round  figures,  £681  ;  at  the  end  of  the  financial  year  just 
closed,  £1360 — a  gain  of  more  than  100  per  cent.  During  1895-6  the 
policies  in  force  numbered  235  ;  square  feet  of  glass  insured,  10,408,161  ; 
value,  £132,215.  During  1897-8  the  policies  increased  to  550  ;  glass 
insured,  20,098,104  square  feet  ;  value,  £263,590.  Claims  paid  in  1895-6, 
£283  ;  in  1897-8,  £1532 — all  within  six  days  of  the  storms  occurring.  Mr. 
Monro  might  not  inappropriately  head  his  prospectus  the  three  P’s — 
Prudence,  Progress,  and  Promptitude — prudence  in  insuring ;  progress 
in  business  ;  promptitude  in  payment.  Mr.  Monro  evidently  thinks  there 
is  another  not  very  bad  P — -Publicity,  and  we  have  pleasure  in  giving  him 
a  friendly  advertisement  for  the  good  of  the  cause.  If  he  wants  more  of 
this  “  P,”  he  must  Patter  out.  Mr.  Harry'  J.  Veitch  is  Chairman  of  the 
Corporation. 
-  “Blacks  ”  in  Potatoes. — Is  not  the  dictum  of  the  writer  on 
this  topic  in  last  week’s  issue  (page  276)  rather  strained  when  he  avers 
that  “  worse  Potatoes  were  never  known  within  the  past  fifty  years  than 
the  present  day  varieties,  as  grown  and  placed  on  the  market  ?  ”  Perhaps 
I  might  ask.  Is  it  not  untrue  ?  Because  in  some  districts  Potatoes  may  be 
indifferent  in  quality,  it  far  from  follows  that  they  are  bad  everywhere* 
and  indeed  they  are  not  so.  We  should  have  had  just  as  good  Potatoes 
during  the  present  season  as  at  any  time,  had  we  not  had  to  suffer  last 
summer  from  a  severe  attack  of  the  Potato  fungus.  Even  in  spite  of  that, 
what  tubers  were  sound  have  given  little  relatively  to  complain  of.  But 
we  cannot  overlook,  in  relation  to  tuber  quality,  the  grave  harm  that  is 
done  when  the  foliage  is  destroyed  fully  a  month  or  six  weeks  before  the 
tubers  are  matured.  There  is  no  cause,  in  my  estimation,  so  productive 
of  that  discolouration  of  the  tuber  when  cooked,  which  the  writer  terms 
“  blacks,”  as  is  this  early  denudation  of  leafage.  There  may  be  defects 
in  the  soil  undoubtedly,  especially  absence  of  lime,  for  that  is  a  valuable 
constituent  in  the  production  of  starchy  matter  in  the  tuhers  ;  but  nine- 
tenths  of  the  varied  soils  in  which  Potatoes  are  grown  do  produce  good 
tubers  when  the  tops  are  not  early  destroyed  by  the  disease.  The  value 
of  spraying  with  Bordeaux  mixture  there  can  be  no  doubt  is  not  so 
much  the  protection  of  ,the  tubers  from  disease,  as  in  maintaining  the 
foliage  some  few  weeks  longer  in  a  green  vigorous  condition,  and  thus 
enabling  it  to  manufacture  starch  granules  for  tuber  requirements  at  the 
most  important  period  of  the  tuber’s  life — that  is,  just  as  it  is  becoming 
matured  or  ripened.  This  phase  of  the  matter  demands  the  fullest 
consideration. — A.  D. 
