June  9,  1898. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
4S1 
-  Early  Potatoes. — Mr.  J.  V.  Leadbetter,  The  Gardens,  Tranby 
Croft,  Hessle,  East  Yorks,  writes  Notwithstanding  the  unpropitions 
nature  of  the  spring  season,  you  will  be  astonished  to  hear  that  to-day, 
June  1st,  I  have  dug  over  2  lbs.  of  new  Potatoes  from  the  open  border. 
For  East  Yorkshire  this  is,  I  think,  a  record  accomplishment.  Three 
kinds— viz.,  Sharpe’s  Victor,  Britannia,  and  the  new  American  called 
‘Bovee,’  the  latter  being  the  best  cropper,  but  Sharpe’s  Victor  takes 
preference  in  point  of  earliness ;  several  tubers  of  the  latter  kind 
measuring  2  inches  in  length,  and  5  inches  in  girth.” 
-  Cardiff  Horticultural  Society. — We  have  been  favoured 
with  a  schedule  of  the  Show  to  be  held  in  the  Sophia  Gardens,  Cardiff,  on 
July  20th  and  21st.  We  find  particulars  of  upwards  of  120  classes,  of 
w  hich  some  are  open,  while  others  are  subject  to  various  restrictions.  In 
several  of  the  classes  the  prizes  are  generous,  and  should  bring  forth  keen 
competitions  from  the  many  excellent  growers  in  the  W est  country  and 
the  principality.  This  is  the  tenth  show  of  the  Society,  and  full  particulars 
may  be  had  from  Mr.  H.  Gillett,  66,  Woodville  Rd.,  Cardiff,  the  Secretary. 
_  A  Fruit  Tree  Pest. — I  notice  fruit  trees,  especially  stone 
fruits,  are  being  injured  by  a  maggot,  about  three-eighths  of  an  inch 
in  length,  dark  brown  in  colour,  with  a  black  head.  It  attacks  the  tips 
of  the  tender  leaves,  and  forms  them  into  a  bunch,  thus  preventing  for 
the  time  extension  of  the  shoot.  The  best  remedy  appears  to  be  hand¬ 
picking,  though  this  can  only  be  carried  out  on  a  small  scale  in  most 
gardens,  time  not  allowing  for  a  thorough  examination  of  every  tree. 
From  the  fact,  however,  that  the  shoot  afterwards  produces  fresh  growth, 
I  am  led  to  suppose  that  the  enemy  undergoes  some  change,  it  may  be 
into  the  chrysalis  state,  from  that  to  emerge  into  a  moth  later  on  in 
autumn,  the  moth  in  its  turn  laying  its  eggs  deep  down  in  the  buds,  to 
be  naturally  covered  over  as  the  bud  develops,  and  thus  protected  during 
winter,  hatched  out  the  following  spring.  Is  this  so  ?  If  any  able  writer, 
such  as  Mr.  Abbey,  would  kindly  give  the  life  history  of  this  pest,  and 
suggest  preventive  measures,  the  information  would  be  of  service. — T.  P. 
_  Mr.  Peter  Bare  in  New  York. — The  New  York  Gardeners’ 
Society  met  recently.  One  of  the  features  of  the  meeting  was  the 
distribution  of  medals  and  certificates.  In  the  absence  of  Mr.  D.  Turner, 
who  was  to  be  the  speaker  of  the  evening, his  paper  on  “Lettuce  Forcing” 
was  read  by  Mr.  R.  Angus.  Quite  a  lively  discussion  followed,  in  which 
Messrs.  A.  Herrington,  W.  Scott,  and  James  W.  Withers  took  part. 
Mr.  Peter  Barr,  V.M.H.,  of  London,  who  was  present,  also  spoke,  and 
yf^Yy  highly  praised  the  black-seeded  head  Lettuce  named  Petite  Noir, 
which  Avas  exclusively  used  by  French  growers  for  the  Covent  Garden 
Market.  Other  points  brought  out  were  :  that  Lettuce  should  be  grown 
in  a  temperature  of  about  45°  ;  that  tobacco  stems  should  not  be  used  in 
fumigating,  but  rather  tobacco  dust — this  last-named  being  more  effective 
against  insects,  and  less  liable  to  injure  the  leaves.  The  system  to  follow, 
the  placing  small  heaps  of  the  powder  on  the  paths,  and  igniting  these 
by  the  aid  of  a  tablespoonful  of  kerosene,  and  then  allowing  them  to 
smoulder. —  (“  American  Gardening.”) 
_  The  Rating  of  Glass  Houses.— A  meeting  of  the  glass 
house  owners  in  the  Hartford  Union  was  held  at  the  Bull  Hotel,  Hart¬ 
ford,  a  few  days  ago,  Mr.  Emerson  of  Hextable  in  the  chair.  The  Chair¬ 
man  said  they  would  have  been  glad  to  have  left  the  assessments  as  they 
were,  but  the  Hartford  Assessment  Committee  seemed  to  have  formed  a 
conclusion,  he  did  not  know  upon  what  grounds,  that  the  horticultural 
industry  was  a  gold  mine.  If  they  had  accepted  the  increased  assessments 
that  the  Hartford  Assessment  Committee  wanted  to  impose  on  the  glass 
houses  and  nurseries  it  would  have  meant  almost  the  annihilation  of  the 
industry.  Considering  the  competition  that  now  existed,  and  was  likely 
to  increase,  with  such  conditions  as  were  imposed  they  could  not  have 
made  things  meet ;  therefore  they  were  compelled  to  take  the  action  they 
did.  He  traced  the  history  of  the  appeal,  the  result  of  which  was  that 
the  assessments  were  reduced  63  per  ceni.,  or  8s.  6d.  in  the  pound.  This 
successful  result  had  not  been  brought  about  without  a  great  deal  of 
expense.  Mr.  Ayres,  Swanley  Bottom,  gave  some  particulars  showing 
what  benefit  they  had  gained  by  the  appeal.  In  the  first  place,  it  was 
established  that  all  glass  houses  should  be  rated  by  the  amount  of  land 
they  covered,  and  the  structure  not  taken  into  value.  A  glass  house 
100  feet  by  12  feet  had  thus  been  reduced  in  net  rateable  value  from  758. 
to  428.  6d.,  so  that  a  grower  having  twelve  houses  of  these  dimensions 
would  save  £25  I6s.  in  rateable  value,  and  if  the  rate  for  the  year  in  his 
parish  averaged  5s.  in  the  pound  he  would  save  £6  7s.  6d.  per  year.  Mr. 
Ayres  said  that  thus  one  year’s  savings  by  the  appeal  would  cover  the 
cost  of  the  litigation.  The  Chairman  suggested  the  formation  of  a  Glass 
House  Owners’  and  Occupiers’  Association,  and  said  he  hoped  those 
present  would  give  it  their  consideration.— (“  South-Eastern  Gazette.”) 
-  May  W eather  at  Hriffield. — Mean  tempc  rature  at  9  A.M. 
(corrected),  51*03°  ;  wet  bulb,  47*89°  ;  mean  maximum,  55*84°  ;  mean 
minimum,  40*94°  ;  highest,  62*2°  on  the  22nd  and  29th  ;  lowest,  32*8° 
on  the  15th.  Mean  of  maxima  and  minima,  48*39°.  Mean  radiation 
temperature  on  the  grass,  38*09° ;  lowest,  31°  on  the  7th  and  13th 
Rainfall,  2*555  inches.  Number  of  rainy  days,  eighteen.  Greatest  amount 
on  one  day,  1*04  inch  on  the  20th. — W.  E.  Lovel,  Observer,  Driffield. 
-  Sussex  Rainfall. — The  total  rainfall  at  Stonehurst,  Ardingly, 
for  the  past  month  was  3*77  inches,  being  1*82  inch  above  the  average. 
The  heaviest  fall  was  0*65  inch  on  the  13th.  Rain  fell  on  twenty-one 
days.  The  maximum  temperature  was  69°  on  the  22nd,  the  minimum  32° 
on  the  13th.  Mean  maximum,  57*05°  ;  mean  minimum,  48*04°  ;  mean 
temperature,  52*54°,  which  is  0*98°  below  the  average.  Since  May  came 
in  the  season  has  completely  changed,  and  a  little  more  sun  would  be 
welcomed.  There  has  been  no  frost  to  hurt  fruit,  and  there  is  promise  of 
a  full  crop. — R.  I. 
- The  Weather  in  May  at  Hodsock  Priory,  Worksop, 
Notts. — Mean  temperature,  50°.  Maximum  in  screen,  69*1°  on  the  23rd  ; 
minimum  in  screen,  32*9  on  the  13th ;  on  grass,  24*7  on  the  13th. 
Number  of  frosts  in  shade,  0;  on  grass,  14.  Sunshine,  144  hours,  or 
30  per  cent,  of  possible  duration  ;  difference  from  average,  —  30.  Rain¬ 
fall,  2*12  inches  ;  difference  from  average,  —  0*24.  Rain  fell  on  seventeen 
days.  Rainfall  since  Ist  January,  7*24  inches  ;  difference  from  average, 
—  1*97.  Month  cool,  especially  in  the  daytime  No  warm  days,  but  no 
severe  frosts.  Showery,  but  total  rainfall  not  quite  up  the  average. — 
J.  Mallender. 
-  New  York  Botanical  Gardens. — We  learn  that  these 
gardens  are  about  to  be  enriched  by  the  erection  of  a  range  of  thirteen 
glass  houses,  which  it  is  estimated  will  cover  an  area  of  45,000  square  feet. 
The  houses  will  enclose  a  large  court,  which  is  to  be  utilised  for  the  culti¬ 
vation  of  aquatic  plants.  The  central  feature  of  the  southern  front  of  the 
range  will  be  the  large  circular  Palm  house,  which  will  have  a  diameter  of 
100  feet,  and  a  height  of  90  feet.  The  wings  running  east  and  west  from 
this  will  be  30  feet  wide,  116  feet  long,  and  26  feet  high,  measuring  to  the 
ridge,  and  they  will  be  terminated  by  more  roomy  erections  46  feet  high 
and  84  feet  wide.  The  connecting  houses  which  run  south  from  these 
will  be  lower,  measuring  30  feet  in  width  by  75  feet  in  length,  terminated 
by  two  domed,  square  houses  50  feet  in  diameter,  and  35  feet  in  height. 
These  are  in  their  turn  joined  by  two  more  low  houses,  each  38  feet  in 
width  and  103  feet  in  length.  The  heating  apparatus  will  be  sufficient  to 
maintain  an  atmosphere  of  70°  Fahr.  whatever  the  weather,  and  the  houses 
are  to  be  all  well  supplied  with  hot  and  cold  water. 
-  Rampion. — It  is  very  unusual  to  find  this  grown  in  the  vegetable 
garden,  although  in- some  large  establishments  it  is  occasionally  inquired 
for.  On  account  of  the  minuteness  of  the  seeds  it  is  no  easy  matter  to 
get  a  good  bed,  especially  in  dry  periods.  It  is  almost  as  fine  as  the 
Begonia  in  its  seeds,  a  fact  that  renders  even  shallow  drills  unnecessaryt 
so  far  as  the  need  of  soil  for  covering  is  concerned.  Sow  seeds 
immediately  for  next  winter’s  crop,  where  a  demand  exists,  or 
where  an  addition  to  the  list  of  root  vegetables  is  favoured.  Sown  too 
early  they  are  prone  to  run  to  seed  ;  the  plants  when  in  bloom  much 
resemble  the  taller  wild  forms  of  Campanula.  Scatter  the  seeds  thinly 
on  the  surface  of  a  bed  made  moderately  firm,  and  very  fine,  or  the 
seeds  would  probably  be  too  deeply  buried  to  germinate.  Fresh  manure 
is  best  avoided,  or  it  would  have  the  same  effect  as  is  common  to  all  root 
crops.  That  manured  for  a  previous  crop  would  be  in  good  condition 
for  the  growth  of  Rampion.  Choose,  if  possible,  a  showery  time  for 
Sowing,  and  prevent  the  weeds  from  suffocating  the  tiny  plants. — W.  S. 
-  Hevon  and  Exeter  Gardeners’  Association.  —  The 
summer  outing  of  this  Society,  which  will,  by  favour  of  the  Huke  of 
Bedford,  be  Endsleigh,  one  ot  the  most  charming  family  seats  in  the 
county.  The  excursion  will  therefore  be  to  Tavistock  and  Endsleigh, 
on  Wednesday,  the  6th  of  July.  The  L.  and  S.W.  Railway  have 
been  good  enough  to  undertake  to  provide  saloon  carriages  for  the 
party  to  and  from  Tavistock  ;  and  Mr.  Squire,  of  the  Bedford  Hotel 
there,  has  arranged  to  drive  the  visitors  to  Endsleigh  and  back  in  brakes. 
The  party  will  leave  Queen  Street  Station  at  9.5,  and  reach  Tavistock 
at  10.45.  Oi^portunily  will  then  be  taken  to  inspect  the  various  interest¬ 
ing  memorials  in  that  historic  town,  and  at  12.30  a  light  lunch  will  be 
served.  The  brakes  will  leave  at  one  o’clock  for  Endsleigh,  where  two 
hours  will  be  spent.  On  returning  to  Tavistock  a  substantial  meat  tea 
will  be  served,  and  the  return  journey  be  made  from  Tavistock,  leaving 
at  7.55,  arriving  at  Exeter  at  9.28.  Tickets  to  members,  including 
railway  and  brake  fare,  light  lunch  and  meat  tea,  7s.  6d.  ;  tickets,  friends 
of  members,  10s.  All  tickets  must  be  taken  by  Friday,  Ist  July.  No 
tickets  will  be  issued  at  the  station. — Andrew  Hope,  Son.  Sec, 
