June  30,  1898. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
537 
Weather  in  London. — From  the  day  on  which  our  last  issue 
went  to  press  until  Monday  each  day  was  showery,  and  notably  on 
Friday,  Saturday,  and  Monday  rain  fell  in  torrents.  On  Tuesday  and 
Wednesday  it  was  bright,  fine,  and  far  more  seasonable. 
-  Weather  in  the  North. — Changeable  as  has  been  the 
weather  for  the  fortnight  preceding  the  28th  inst,,  it  has  on  the  whole 
been  pleasant  and  seasonable.  An  occasional  cold  evening  has  occurred 
when  the  wind  set  into  the  east,  but  bright  warm  days  have  been  frequent. 
Thunder  has  ever  and  again  been  recurring,  with  heavy  local  showers. 
JEverywhere  vegetation  is  luxuriant  and  crops  promise  well,  though  hay 
will  be  light. — B.  D.,  S.  Perthshire. 
-  Late  Cucumbers. — A  few  seeds  may  now  be  sown  for  late 
summer  and  early  autumn  fruiting.  The  plants  from  this  sowing  will  be 
ready  to  place  out  in  about  a  month.  They  do  well  in  frames,  and  come 
in  useful  when  early  plants  are  exhausted.  Plants  in  bearing  must 
have  attention  in  thinning  exhausted  growths,  removing  bad  foliage, 
stopping,  tying,  and  regulating  the  growths  so  as  to  have  a  succession 
of  bearing  wood.  Add  a  little  fresh  soil  to  the  surface  of  the  beds  from  time 
to  time,  and  let  the  atmosphere  be  moist  all  day  ;  it  is  infinitely  better  than 
shading.  With  the  roots  active  near  the  surface,  induced  by  a  light 
mulching  of  stimulating  material  and  liquid  manure  once  or  twice  a 
week,  growth  will  be  sustained.  Syringe  at  closing  time,  and  sprinkle  the 
piths  and  walls  in  the  morning  and  evening.  Avoid  too  much  moisture 
in  dull  weather,  or  the  growths  will  be  soft  and  the  foliage  liable  to 
injury  on  a  bright  period  ensuing.  Close  at  85°  for  increasing  to 
90°,  95°,  or  100°,  and  only  employ  fire  heat  to  prevent  the  temperature 
falling  below  60°  at  night.  Avoid  overcropping,  especially  of  young 
plants,  and  do  not  allow  the  fruits  to  hang  too  long,  as  these  exhaust 
them  and  prevent  in  a  great  measure  a  good  and  continuous  supply. — 
Practitioner. 
-  Magnolia  Fraseri. — Upwards  of  a  century  ago  this  species 
was  introduced  from  the  Southern  United  States,  but  large  specimens 
are  now  not  often  seen.  It  belongs  to  the  deciduous  section  of  the  genus, 
and  in  English  gardens  makes  a  small  bushy  headed  tree.  As  a  foliage 
plant  alone  it  is  decidedly  ornamental,  the  leaves  being  10  inches  in 
length  by  4  in  width,  and  varying  in  colour  from  bronzy  green,  when  not 
fully  developed,  to  a  pretty  pale  green  when  mature,  and  bright  brown 
before  falling  in  the  autumn.  The  flowers  when  young  are  greenish 
yellow,  changing  as  they  advance  in  age  to  cream.  They  are  sweetly 
scented,  and  when  fully  expanded  the  largest  measure  from  8  to  9  inches 
across.  It  is  seldom  without  flowers  during  the  summer,  but  the  greatest 
profusion  are  borne  during  May  and  June.  At  this  season  the  effect 
produced  by  the  different  shades  of  young  and  more  mature  foliage,  buds, 
half  and  fully  expanded  flowers,  is  very  striking.  A  plant  from  10  to 
12  feet  in  height,  by  the  same  in  diameter,  is  flowering  freely  in  the 
Azalea  garden  at  Kew. — W.  D. 
-  Something  New  in  Flower  Shows. — Under  the  above 
heading  the  “  Westminster  Gazette  ”  says  :  “  One  of  the  happiest  ideas  in 
connection  with  the  ‘  Children’s  Happy  Evenings  ’  is  the  Children’s 
Geranium  Club,  which  was  started  last  year,  and  includes  700  youthful 
members,  each  of  whom,  early  in  spring,  receives  a  small  Geranium  plant 
in  a  pot,  with  the  object  of  rearing  it  for  an  exhibition  to  be  held  in  the 
course  of  the  summer.  This  exhibition  is  now  fixed  for  Monday,  July  1 1th, 
at  Cambridge  House,  Camberwell,  and  the  Duchess  of  Devonshire  will 
open  this  unique  flower  show,  and  award  the  prizes  to  the  successful 
young  gardeners.  Miss  Edith  Heather  Bigg,  the  indefatigable  Hon.  Secre¬ 
tary  of  the  Club,  to  whom  the  poor  children  of  London  owe  a  considerable 
amount  of  whatever  ‘sweetness  and  light’  enters  into  their  lives,  has 
arranged  with  Messrs.  Segar  &  Wills,  of  South  Kensington,  to  carry  out 
the  floral  decorations  for  this  unique  ‘  show,’  and  the  children’s  home- 
:  grown  Geraniums  will  form  the  fringe  round  such  trophies  of  plants  as 
supplied  by  the  professional  horticulturists.  By  the  time  the  exhibition 
takes  place  the  children  will  have  had  their  Geraniums  for  nine  weeks— 
that  is  to  say,  they  have  had  ample  time  to  tend  and  care  for  the  plants, 
the  best  of  which  will  receive  the  prize  of  a  watch,  while  fifty-six  other 
■  prizes  will  be  awarded  to  the  young  gardeners  who  have  been  introduced 
!  to  one  of  the  most  charming  occupations  in  an  almost  ideal  manner.” 
-  The  Cuckoo  and  Caterpillars.— In  reply  to  Mr.  W.  C . 
Stone  (page  480),  I  have  seen  cuckoos  devour  them  by  hundreds. — 
C.  C.  E. 
-  Gardening  Appointment. — Mr.  Wm.  Humphries,  late  of  The 
Gardens,  Knowsley  Cottage,  Prescot,  Lancashire,  has  succeeded  Mr. 
Randall  as  head  gardener  at  Holme  Lacy,  near  Hereford. 
- To  Prevent  the  Sooty  Fungus  on  Apples.— There  is  no 
question,  says  an  American  authority,  but  Bordeaux  applied  at  intervals 
of  about  two  weeks  from  the  middle  of  June  until  the  middle  of  August 
will  prove  effectual.  Under  favourable  conditions  this  fungus  attacks 
most  varieties  of  Apples  and  Pears,  but  on  all  it  may  be  controlled  by  the 
use  of  Bordeaux  mixture. 
-  Rust  of  Strawberries. — The  same  authority  states  that 
this  can  be  controlled  somewhat  by  mowing  the  plants  after  picking 
and  burning  as  soon  as  possible.  This,  however,  is  seldom  completely 
satisfactory,  and  the  best  plan  is  to  spray  the  plants  three  times  with 
Bordeaux  mixture,  once  before  fruiting  and  twice  after. 
- East  Cowes  Horticultural  Society.  —  On  Wednesday 
evening,  the  22nd  inst.,  Mr.  G.  Groves,  J.P.,  C.C.,  in  the  chair,  Mr. 
S.  Heaton  gave  the  second  of  a  series  of  lectures,  his  subject  being 
“  A  Collection  of  Vegetables.”  The  subject  was  much  appreciated,  and 
resulted  in  a  good  discussion.  A  unanimous  vote  of  thanks  was  accorded 
the  lecturer.  Mr.  J.  Hygate,  The  Briary,  West  Cowes,  exhibited  a  fine 
seedling  Petunia. 
-  A  Novel  Vine  Sport.  —  There  is  a  very  interesting  Vine 
sport  in  one  of  the  houses  at  the  Tweed  Vineyard.  A  spur  on  a  Gros 
Colman  Vine  has  for  the  last  six  j  ears  produced  a  growth  that  is  as 
white  as  the  paper  I  am  writing  on.  It  grows  freely.  When  I  saw  it 
last  week  it  was  about  5  feet  in  length,  with  leaves  nearly  the  normal 
size,  and  bearing  a  small  bunch  of  equal  whiteness.  There  is  no  other 
sport  in  the  whole  vineyard.  The  remarkable  thing  in  connection  with 
it  is  that  it  is  always  from  the  same  spur,  which  does  not  produce  a  single 
green  leaf.  It  is  nearly  half-way  up  a  Vine  that  is  in  robust  health. — 
David  Thomson. 
-  Paderewski  and  the  Gardener.— There  is  probably'only 
one  gardener  in  Britain  who  has  had  the  privilege  of  being  enraptured 
in  his  own  cottage  by  a  private  performance  of  the  world-famed  pianist. 
The  gardener  thus  honoured  is  Mr.  M.  Davis,  Manresa  Gardens, 
Roehampton.  M.  Paderewski,  accompanied  by  the  Governor  of  the  Bank 
of  England,  recently  called  at  Manresa  to  inspect  the  famous  Vine.  The 
distinguished  visitor  was  both  astonished  and  delighted,  and  as  he  is 
contemplating  the  erection  of  glass  structures  on  a  considerable  scale,  he 
asked  many  questions.  He  was  evidently  so  satisfied  with  the  advice 
imparted  as  to  give  Mr.  Davis  an  opportunity  to  suggest  that  the 
greatest  honour  of  which  he  could  be  the  recipient  would  be  a  visit  to 
his  cottage  and  a  trial  of  his  daughter’s  piano.  The  invitation  was 
accepted  with  alacrity,  and,  to  quote  Mr.  Davis,  “  the  result  was  glorious.” 
So  is  the  famous  Vine  which  he  raised  a  little  more  than  a  generation 
ago,  and  from  which  has  been  cut,  during  the  past  dozen  years,  con¬ 
siderably  more  than  2  tons  of  excellent  Black  Hamburgh  Grapes.  The 
present  year’s  crop  is  now  being  removed. 
-  Sweet  Peas. — We  are  told  that  a  mistake  made  by  many 
growers  of  these  is  in  sowing  too  thickly.  Taking  this  for  granted,  is 
it  not  a  fact  that  sowing  too  early  (say  in  February),  as  so  many 
advocate,  is  likewise  undesirable  if  not  a  mistake  1  I  am  led  to  this 
statement  after  a  visit  to  Sir  William  Cook’s  garden's  the  other  day  at 
Wheatley  Park,  Doncaster,  where  I  observed  a  magnificent  row,  2  feet 
high.  Mr.  West,  the  gardener,  informed  me  he  did  not  sow  till  the 
second  week  in  April,  and  then  just  under  the  soil,  from  which  the 
plants  emerge  “in  no  time.”  For  some  reason  or  another  he  is  not 
troubled  with  birds,  but  if  there  should  be  a  thin  spot  in  the  rows  he 
quickly  fills  the  sides  of  the  earthed-up  rows  with  more  seeds,  and  these 
naturally  form  a  most  desirable  succession  of  bloom.  Mr.  West  told  me 
his  Sweet  Peas  are  invariably  much  earlier  in  bloom  than  many  of  his 
neighbours  who  sow  two  months  earlier,  and  I  may  almost  as  well  include 
myself,  who  sowed  in  February  in  my  nursery,  but  my  plants  are  not 
nearly  as  forward  as  his.  Mr.  West  also  values  Duke  of  York  culinary 
Pea  for  an  early  cropper. — Albert  Upstone.  [We  have  seen  Sweet 
Peas  from  4  to  5  feet  high  which  have  been  flowering  for  some  time. 
They  were  raised  from  seeds  sown  in  the  open  ground  last  November,  but 
near  a  wall  having  a  southern  aspect  in  the  grounds  of  Farnham  Castle, 
the  historical  residence  of  the  Bishop  of  Winchester,  to  whom  Mr.  W. 
Dowding  is  the  able  gardener.] 
