June  2.'>,  )X98. 
JOUBNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
519 
-  Feost  in  Lincolnshike.  —  A  correspondent  writing  from 
North  Lincolnshire  on  the  I7ih  inst.  described  the  weather  as]  very  cold 
then,  and  stated  that  a  sharp  frost  on  the  previous  night  had  “  scorched” 
all  the  Potatoes  in  low  lying  situations.  Kidney  Beans  have  also  been 
destroyed.  This  savours  somewhat  of  winter  five  days  off  midsummer. 
-  Damage  Done  by  Hail  in  Seven  Minutes.— A  year  ago, 
it  will  be  remembered,  a  seven-minutes  storm  of  hail  swept  over  Essex. 
The  relief  fund  started  for  the  agriculturists  whose  property  was  damaged 
has  now  been  finally  distributed,  and  the  accounts  published  in  detail. 
They  show  what  terrific  destruction  such  a  visitation  can  inflict  in  so 
brief  a  space.  It  has  taken  £45,147  to  relieve  the  worst  cases,  and  a  great 
deal  of  general  damage  remains  uncompensated.  The  number  of  relief 
cases  dealt  with  by  the  fund  was  3188.  The  compensated  damage  alone, 
therefore,  amounts  to  nearly  £7000  per  minute  for  the  duration  of  the  storm. 
-  Tree  Carnation  Countess  Ferrers.  —  There  is  a  fine 
collection  of  the  best  Carnations  at  St.  Anne’s,  Clontarf,  Dublin.  Among 
these  one  of  the  finest  is  one  raised  there,  and  named  Countess 
Ferrers.  It  is  a  favourite  with  Lady  Ardilaun  ;  and  Mr.  Campbell,  the 
gardener,  speaks  highly  in  praise  of  the  flower.  Although  all  its 
qualities  could  not  be  tested — the  size  of  its  flowers,  the  beauty  of  their 
colour,  and  the  fragrance  they  exhaled  showed  it  to  be  a  desirable 
variety.  The  flowers  are  large,  well  formed,  and  are  of  a  beautiful 
blush  colour,  with  a  powerful  but  not  oppressive  Clove  scent.  It  is  als  >  a 
good  grower  and  a  perpetual  bloomer,  besides  having  the  property  of 
opening  well  in  water,  and  lasting  for  three  weeks  when  cut. — S.  A. 
-  Phenological  Observations. — We  have  received  a  report 
on  the  phenological  observations  for  1897,  by  Mr.  Edward  Mawley, 
F.R.II.S.  It  is  issued  in  the  form  of  a  manual  of  twenty-five  pages  closely 
packed  with  matter,  including  carefully  tabulated  records  and 
diagrammatic  illustrations.  It  bears  the  impress  of  admirable  diligence 
and  care,  and  will  be  appreciated  by  those  who  take  particular  interest  in 
the  weather  and  its  influences  on  vegetation.  Mr.  Mawley  sums  up  by 
saying  : — “  There  was  nothing  very  exceptional  about  the  weather  of  the 
past  phenological  year,  as  regards  its  effects  on  vegetation,  beyond  the 
heavy  rains  in  March  and  the  three  dry  periods  of  May,  July,  and 
October.  Until  about  the  middle  of  May  wild  plants  came  into  blossom 
in  advance  of  their  usual  time,  but  throughout  the  rest  of  the  flowering 
season  they  were  more  or  less  behind  their  mean  dates  in  coming  into 
bloom.  Unlike  the  previous  year  the  crop  of  wild  fruits  was  very'  poor> 
with  the  exception  of  Blackberries  and  Nuts,  which  were  unusually 
plentiful.  There  were  also  fair  crops  of  roots  and  Potatoes.  Apples, 
Pears,  and  Plums,  and  especially  the  latter,  yielded  badly,  while  the  small 
fruits  were  about  average.”  The  report  is  taken  from  the  “  Quarterly 
Journal  of  the  Royal  Meteorological  Society,”  vol.  xxiv..  No.  106, 
April,  1898. 
-  Lily  Disease. — The  cultivation  of  the  Lily  as  an  ornamental 
plant  is  rapidly  extending  in  this  country,  and  it  must  be  admitted  that 
many  of  them  well  repay  the  care  and  attention  bestowed  upon  them. 
Whether  grown  indoors,  however,  or  out  in  the  open,  these  Lilies  are 
liable  to  maladies  which  often  perplex  cultivators.  A  common  ailment  is 
characterised  by  the  spotting  and  distortion  of  the  leaves  and  flowers,  and 
usually  the  stunting  of  the  plant.  In  Bermuda  and  in  the  United  States 
this  disorder,  known  as  the  Bermuda  Lily  disease,  frequently  destroys 
from  20  to  60  per  cent,  of  the  crop.  Amongst  the  causes  of  the  malady 
are  included  worn-out  soil,  premature  cutting  of  flowers,  too  early 
harvesting  of  the  bulbs,  carelessness  in  the  selection  of  stock  for  pro¬ 
pagating,  bad  treatment  during  forcing,  and  the  ravages  of  insects. 
Investigations  carried  out  on  behalf  of  the  United  States  Department 
of  Agriculture  indicate  the  disease  to  be  due  to  a  combination  of  these 
causes.  Bulbs  become  weakened  through  improper  selection  and  pro¬ 
pagation,  and  this  weakening  is  aggravated  by  attacks  of  mites  and  of 
certain  fungi  and  bacteria.  During  forcing  the  bulbs  may  become 
weakened  by  over-watering,  or  by  allowing  the  roots  to  get  too  dry,  and 
then  using  an  excess  of  water  ;  in  such  cases  the  leaves  become  badly 
diseased.  The  blotching  and  distortion  of  the  foliage  are  often  due  to 
the  direct  attack  of  several  species  of  aphides  and  of  young  mites,  or  to 
the  injection  of  water  into  the  leaves  by  syringing.  To  check  the  disease 
proper  cultivation,  selection,  and  propagation  are  recommended,  in  order 
to  improve  the  stock  ;  suitable  rotations  will  prevent  the  increase  of 
mites  and  parasitic  fungi.  The  stems  should  be  left  on  the  bulbs  to 
secure  proper  ripening,  and  care  should  be  exercised  in  planting,  all 
injured  bulbs  being  discarded.  As  far  as  practicable,  injurious  insects 
should  be  kept  in  check  from  the  start,  and  continuous  care  should  be 
bestowed  upon  watering  and  ventilating.  Chemical  fertilisers  are  recom¬ 
mended  in  preference  to  farmyard  or  natural  manures.— (“  Times.”) 
- —  A  Potato  Boycott  in  Scotland.— The  ••  North  British 
Agriculturist”  says,  “The  attempted  boycott  in  the  Potato  trade  is 
proving  a  miserable  fiasco.  With  the  few  remaining  stocks  of  old 
Potatoes  selling  up  to  £6  10s.  per  ton,  and  new  Potatoes  in  keen  demand 
at  prices  ranging  from  £30  to  £45  per  acre,  the  early  Potato  growers 
can  well  afford  to  snap  their  fingers  at  the  boycotters.  Several  of  the 
more  extensive  and  better-class  dealers,  particularly  the  Messrs.  Paton 
are  so  disgusted  with  the  boycotting  business  that  they  are  threatening 
to  clear  out  of  it.  The  boycotters  may  not  see  it  themselves,  but  they  are 
doing  their  best  to  make  themselves  the  laughing  stock  of  the  country.” 
-  AVistaria  multijuga.— a  good-sized  bush  of  this  rather 
rare  species  is  to  bo  seen  in  flower  near  the  Pagoda  at  Kew. 
Although  not  so  useful  for  general  purposes  as  W.  chinensis  it  is  well 
worthy  of  cultivation.  It  is  a  Chinese  species,  and  is  chiefly  remarkable 
for  the  length  of  its  pendulous  racemes.  It  grows  freely,  and  may  be 
had  either  as  a  climber  or  bush.  The  flowers  are  similar  in  colour  to 
those  of  W.  chinensis,  and  are  borne  in  loose  racemes  2  to  2i  feet  in 
length.  The  leaves  are  about  15  inches  long,  and  made  up  of  about  fifteen 
leaflets  ;  each  of  those  on  the  larger  leaves  being  3  to  4  inches  long  by 
U  inch  wide.  It  can  be  grown  quite  as  readily  as  the  common  AVistaria, 
and  is  worth  remembering  by  those  who  are  seeking  variety  among  hardy 
climbing  or  sub-climbing  shrubs. — D.  K. 
-  Spring  Trenching  and  its  Results. — I  was  somewhat 
amused  on  taking  up  the  Journal  to  find  that  “  Spring  Trenching  and 
its  Results”  still  remains  an  unsettled  question.  As  no  doubt°each 
gardener  will  continue  the  practice  that  he  has  found  satisfactory,  it 
seems  useless  prolonging  the  discussion.  My  method  of  treating  strong 
soil  over  a  period  of  nine  or  ten  years  has  so  far  proved  successful  that  I 
shall  certainly  need  to  be  very  much  more  “  philosophised  ”  before  leaving 
all  my  ground  undug  through  the  winter,  especially  should  there  be  a 
spell  of  dry  weather  in  the  autumn,  as  was  the  case  in  1897.  I  take  it 
that  the  recommendations  as  to  digging  and  trenching  heavy  soils  were 
not  confined  to  any  particular  district,  but  advanced  for  universal  adoption, 
hence  my  note  of  inquiry.  No  one  respects  Mr.  D.  Thomson’s  talents 
as  a  gardener  more  than  myself,  but  it  is  possible,  even  for  the  best  of 
men,  to  be  too  exacting  on  questions  and  methods  which  are  open  to  such 
es  as  w^eather  changes  in  our  own  erratic  climate. — 
F.  Dunn. 
-  A  AVonderful  Bunch  op  Grapes.— Under  this  heading  we 
read  in  an  evening  paper  : — “  The  following  curious  circumstance  may  be 
given  credence  to  (says  a  ‘  Standard  ’  telegram  from  Paris),  as  it  is  re¬ 
ported  by  the  ‘  Temps,’  a  serious  paper.  There  is  growing  in  the  garden 
of  a  M.  Patapy  of  Condon,  in  the  Gers,  a  bunch  of  Grapes,  which,  though 
but  partly  developed,  already  measures  a  little  over  16  inches  in  length. 
It  is  put  forth  by  a  young  shoot,  grafted  on  an  American  plant,  which 
had  not  till  then  given  any  fruit.”  The  Journal  of  Horticulture  is  a 
“  serious  paper,”  and  does  not  regard  such  a  bunch  of  Grapes  as  either 
“  curious  ”  or  “  wonderful.”  It  has  registered  as  “  curious  ”  a  bunch  of 
Grapes  pushing  out  of  the  thick  hard  stem  of  a  A7ine  under  a  stage  near 
hot-water  pipes,  and  no  leaves  within  4  feet  of  it ;  and  as  wonderful  ” 
for  size  a  bunch  which  measured  27  inches  in  length  and  the  same  in 
breadth  across  the  shoulders,  with  a  circumference,  measuring  around 
the  contour  of  these,  of  96  inches.  That  is  the  record  for  “  size.”  For 
“weight”  (another  bunch)  it  is  26  lbs.  4  ozs.  These  examples  were 
produced  in  Scotland. 
-  Royal  Meteorological  Society.  —  At  the  last  monthly 
meeting  of  this  Society  at  the  rooms  of  the  Royal  Astronomical  Society, 
Burlington  House,  Mr.  F.  C.  Bnyard,  L.L.M.,  President,  in  the  chair’ 
a  paper  by  Mr.  R.  C.  Mossman,  F.R.S.E.,  was  read  on  the  “Frequency 
of  Non-Instrumental  Meteorological  Phenomena  in  London  with  Different 
AUinds  from  1763-1897.”  In  previous  papers  the  author  has  discussed 
the  secular  and  seasonal  variation  of  various  phenomena,  and  he  now 
gives  the  results  of  an  analysis  of  the  direction  of  the  surface  winds 
observed  during  the  occurrence  of  snow,  hail,  gales,  thunderstorms, 
lightning,  fog,  and  aurora.  Snow  is  of  most  frequent  occurrence  with  north 
and  east  winds,  and  least  common  with  S.W.  winds.  Hail  showers  occur 
most  often  with  AV.,  N.AV.,  and  N.  winds.  Gales  are  most  frequent  with 
AV.  and  S.  winds.  The  greatest  numlier  of  both  summer  and  winter 
thunderstorms  occurs  with  AV.  winds,  although  the  values  in  summer  are 
high  with  E.,  S.E.,  and  S.  winds.  The  greatest  number  of  fogs  are 
recorded  on  calm  days  closely  followed  by  days  on  which  the  wind  blew 
from  the  east.  A  paper  by  Mr.  A.  L.  Rotch  was  also  read  on  “  The 
'Exploration  of  the  Free  Air  by  Means  of  Kites  at  Blue  Hill  Obser¬ 
vatory,  Mass.,  U.S.A.,”  and  their  employment  was  strongly  advocated  as 
of  prime  importance  for  the  advancement  of  meteorological  knowledge. 
