JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
August  18,  1898. 
12G 
Weather  in  London.— From  Friday  last  until  Monday  evening 
everyone  in  London  was  complaining  of  the  intensity  of  the  heat,  which 
on  the  first  three  days  reached  85°  in  the  shade,  while  on  Monday  it  was 
87°,  and  on  Friday  it  was  119°  in  the  sun.  Not  only  were  the  days  hot, 
but  the  nights  also  were  most  oppressive,  and  there  have  been  many  cases 
of  illness  and  death  from  the  heat.  On  the  evening  of  Monday  there 
came  a  breeze,  and  during  the  night  a  thunderstorm  with  heavy  rain, 
and  Tuesday  was  a  little  cooler.  Wednesday  opened  dull  and  cool. 
_ Destroying  Ants.— A  great  source  of  trouble  to  growers  of 
such  fruits  as  Peaches  and  Nectarines  are  ants,  which  will  quickly  do  an 
enormous  amount  of  damage  if  they  are  not  promptly  dealt  with.  I  have 
found  partially  picked  bones  placed  in  their  haunts  very  useful,  for 
while  the  pests  are  preying  on  the  meat,  the  bones  can  be  quickly  thrown 
into  hot  water.  The  bait  must  be  dried  before  using  a  second  time.  Very 
serviceable  are  pieces  of  sponge  squeezed  tightly  in  the  hand,  and  then 
immersed  in  treacle,  and  while  there  liberated  slightly,  so  as  to  fill  the 
sponge.  These  prove  attractive  to  the  ants,  which  quickly  swarm  over 
and  inside  the  sponge,  and  can  readily  bo  destroyed  by  putting  the 
whole  in  boiling  water.  The  operation  can  be  repeated  as  is  deemed 
necessary  by  the  grower. — A. 
_  For  getting  rid  of  ants,  Mr.  C.  H.  Fernold,  of  the  Massachusetts 
Experiment  Station,  recommends  the  following  :  Make  holes  with  a 
crowbar  or  convenient  stick  from  6  inches  to  1  foot  deep  and  about 
1 5  inches  apart  over  the  hill  or  portion  of  the  lawn  infested  by  the  ants, 
and  into  each  hole  pour  two  or  three  teaspoonfuls  of  bisulphide  of  carbon, 
stamping  the  earth  into  the  hole  as  soon  as  the  liquid  is  poured  into  it. 
The  bisulphide  of  carbon  at  once  vapourises  and,  permeating  the  ground, 
destroys  the  ants  but  does  not  injure  the  grass.  One  should  remember 
while  using  this  substance  that  it  is  highly  inflammable,  and  no  flame, 
not  even  a  lighted  cigar,  should  be  brought  near  it. 
_  Deutzia  CRENATA. — This  is  the  correct  name  of  the  handsome 
shrub  which  goes  under  several  specific  names,  such  as  D.  scabra  and 
D.  Fortunei.  It  is  a  tall,  robust-growing  species,  native  of  Japan.  Its 
propagation  is  of  the  simplest  nature.  Moderately  thick  shoots  of  the 
previous  summer’s  growth,  taken  off  as  soon  as  the  leaves  fall,  and  heeled 
in  out  of  the  reach  of  hard  frosts  till  spring,  cut  in  lengths  of  about 
6  inches  and  boxed  in  sand,  will  root  in  a  gentle  heat.  Good-sized 
cuttings  of  the  same  wood  put  in  deep  boxes  of  soil,  shaded  and  brought 
on  gradually  until  rooted,  can  be  left  in  these  boxes  all  summer,  shaken 
out  and  planted  in  rows  in  the  autumn.  There  are  double  white  and  pink 
tinted  varieties  which  are  very  desirable. 
_  Stipa  PENNATA. — I  have  in  my  room,  standing  in  an  epergne* 
a  handful  of  this  very  beautiful  and  graceful  Grass.  Seeing  how 
charming  it  is  for  room  decoration,  probably  the  most  graceful  of  all 
such  Grasses,  it  is  surprising  to  find  it  so  seldom  in  gardens.  Messrs. 
Cannell  &  Sons  employed  a  quantity  of  it  in  the  cut  state  to  dress  a  stand 
of  flowers  at  the  Drill  Hall  a  few  weeks  since,  and  mine  was  from  their 
stock.  The  variety  is  a  hardy  perennial,  and  is  grown  largely  on  the 
Eynsford  seed  farm  for  cutting  in  this  way.  Portions  may  be  used  at 
once,  and  it  will  keep  well  for  a  loDg  time  in  a  room,  whilst  other  portions 
put  away  in  paper  may  be  had  as  desired. — Wanderer. 
-  American  Mulberries. — Reading  the  note  published  at 
page  86,  last  week,  taken  from  “American  Gardening,”  I  could  but 
think  that  they  either  order  the  ripening  of  Mulberries  in  the  United 
States  differently  from  our  practice,  or  they  have  varieties  that  fruit 
very  much  earlier  than  ours  do.  No  doubt  British  gardeners  would 
smile  at  the  suggestion  that  we  should  plant  Mulberries,  on  the  fruit 
of  which  when  ripe  birds  should  feed,  rather  than  on  Strawberries  and 
Cherries.  Our  fruits  of  these  kinds  are  over  and  gone  long  before 
Mulberries  ripen  with  us,  and  I  rather  think  such  is  the  case  in 
America.  The  best  plant  to  have  in  quantity  for  such  protective 
purpose  I  know  of  is  the  Mahonia  aquifolia,  as  that  ripens  its  berries 
fairly  early,  and  I  have  known  close  to  the  Middlesex  gardens,  where 
Morellos  were  largely  grown,  that  so  long  as  there  were  ripe  Mahonia 
berries  not  a  Cherry  was  touched  by  birds. — A.  D. 
-  Royal  Horticultural  Society. — The  next  Fruit  and  Floral 
meeting  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  will  be  held  on  Tuesday, 
August  23rd,  in  the  Drill  Hall,  James  Street,  Westminster,  1  to  5  P.M.  A 
lecture  on  “Perpetual  Fruiting  Strawberries”  will  be  given  at  three 
o'clock  by  Mous.  Henri  de  Vilmorin. 
-  Recreation  Ground  for  St.  Albans.— We  learn  that  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Charles  Woollam  have  given  a  recreation  ground  to  the  St. 
Albans  City  Council  for  the  use  of  the  inhabitants.  The  land,  which 
is  near  the  centre  of  the  city,  is  7  acres  in  extent,  and  is  a  most  valuable 
gift.  This  is  the  second  recreation  ground  presented  to  the  city,  the 
Clarence  Park  having  been  handed  over  to  the  Corporation  by  Sir  J. 
Blundell  Maple,  M.P.,  four  years  ago. 
-  Dr.  Morris. — The  Colonial  Secretary,  says  the  “  Pall  Mall 
Gazette,”  having  appointed  Dr.  Morris  to  organise  the  new  Botanical 
and  Agricultural  Department  for  the  Windward  and  Leeward  Islands, 
tho  post  of  Assi.tant-Director  of  the  Royal  Gardens  at  Kew  becomes 
vacant  towards  the  close  of  September.  So  far  as  can  be  ascertained, 
it  seems  doubtful  whether  the  vacancy  thus  created  will  be  filled  up 
forsone  time  to  come.  The  assistant-directorship  is  worth  £700  per 
annum,  and  Dr.  Morris  goes  out  to  tho  West  Indies  at  an  initial  salary 
of  £1000  per  annum,  exclusive  of  travelling  and  other  allowances.  We 
have  only  to  add  that  Kew  loses  a  most  excellent  official,  and  Dr.  Morris 
will  enter  on  his  new  and  important  duties  with  the  beat  wishes  of  all 
his  friends. 
-  Grimsby  Flower  Show.— On  Thursday,  August  4th,  the 
Grimsby  Horticultural  Society  held  its  fourth  annual  show  in  the  People’s 
Paik,  Grimsby.  The  exhibits  surpassed  those  of  previous  years  for 
quality,  and  the  number  of  entries  was  much  larger.  Altogether  there 
were  162  classes.  The  chief  objects  of  attention  in  the  show  were  three 
large  groups  of  miscellaneous  plants  arranged  in  the  centre  of  the  tent. 
Mr.  T.  Campbell  secured  the  first  prize  and  the  special  award  of  a  silver 
cup  given  by  Mr.  George  Marshall,  President  of  the  Society.  Mr. 
J.  Robinson  took  the  second  prize,  and  Mr.  G.  Needham  the  third.  The 
Grimsby  Parks  Committee,  who  had  a  large  number  of  exhibits,  won  a 
special  prize  for  a  table  space  of  miscellaneous  plants.  One  of  the  chief 
attractions  of  the  day  was  a  floral  fSte  and  parade. 
-  Gooseberries.  —  The  really  wonderful  collection  of  these 
hardy  bush  fruits,  the  finest  and  most  comprehensive  yet  seen,  which 
Messrs.  Jas.  Veitch  &  Sons,  Ltd.,  staged  at  the  last  Drill  Hall  meeting, 
should  have  done  something  to  stimulate  Gooseberry  culture  for  dessert 
purposes.  In  private  gardens  these  fruits  are  more  grown  than  formerly 
was  the  case,  and  not  only  in  bush,  but  also  in  cordon  form.  But  in 
market  gardens  only  certain  popular  varieties  are  found,  and  the  beautiful 
yellows  and  greens,  especially  the  small  high-flavoured  ones,  rarely  find 
a  place  ;  the  public  therefore  have  no  opportunity  to  purchase  them. 
Tho  varieties  that  are  classed  as  white,  and  some  as  yellow,  are  not 
pleasingly  coloured  ;  but  there  a”e  real  gold  in  yellows,  and  rich  clear 
green  as  well  as  the  rich  reds,  that  are  when  ripe  singularly  atlractive. 
We  have  no  hardier,  more  constantly  productive,  more  wholesome  fruits 
than  are  clean  well-ripened  Gooseberries. — D. 
-  Winter  Onions. — It  seems  like  preaching  to  the  wind  to 
attempt  to  check  in  any  way  the  traditional  habit  of  sowing  Tripoli  or 
Italian  Onions  solely  in  the  autumn.  How  much  even  gardeners  are 
creatures  of  habit  or  tradition  is  shown  in  our  methods  in  relation  to 
Onions.  I  have  for  some  time,  when  opportunity  has  offeted,  advised 
the  sowing  of  good  hard  Onions,  Spanish  or  Globe,  such  as  are 
commonly  sown  in  the  spring,  instead  of  the  soft  and  soon  decaying 
varieties  that  are  usually  sown.  Almost  invariably  in  gardens  or 
on  allotments,  where,  as  a  rule,  winter  Onions  are  remarkably  fine, 
the  usual  varieties  are  Brown,  Red,  or  White  Tripoli,  some  round,  some 
flat.  These  Onions  come  very  fine  indeed,  but  they  are  soon  useless,  and 
immense  quantities  must  annually  be  wasted.  When  judging  some  allot¬ 
ments  at  Epsom  recently  I  saw  for  the  first  time,  out  of  nearly  350  cases, 
that  fine  summer  Onion,  Ailsa  Craig,  had  been  sown  in  place  of  Tripolis 
the  previous  autumn,  and  the  bulbs  thus  produced  were  the  finest  of 
of  all  I  had  seen  in  Surrey.  When  some  ten  days  later  the  best  of  these 
bulbs,  about  1  lb.  each  in  weight,  were  staged  at  the  local  show,  they  beat 
all  others,  even  some  remarkably  fine  Tripolis,  easily.  The  stock  was,  I 
learned,  from  Messrs.  Sutton  &  Sons,  and  certainly  it  was  a  very  fine  one. 
Now  here  is  a  fact  that  thousands  of  Onion  growers  should  take  to  heart. 
Whilst  the  Tripolis  were  ripe  the  Ailsa  Craigs  would  continue  to  grow  for 
yet  fully  six  weeks,  and  then  would  produce  grand  bulbs.  Who  can 
doubt  but  that  were  stocks  of  our  finest  Excelsiors,  Exhibitions,  and 
Lord  Keepers,  sown  in  the  autumn  in  the  same  way,  that  superb  bulbs 
would  be  produced. — A.,  Kingston. 
