September  22,  1898. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
225 
Weather  in  London. — Both  Friday  and  Saturday  of  last  week 
brought  intense  heat,  indeed  on  the  latter  day  the  thermometer 
registered  88°  in  the  shade,  with  123°  in  the  sun.  Fortunately  Sanday 
came  with  a  little  rain,  not  sufficient  to  do  good  to  crops,  but  enough  to 
make  the  atmosphere  much  cooler  and  fresher,  those  conditions  continuing 
over  Monday  and  Tuesday.  At  the  time  of  going  to  press  on  Wednesday 
it  was  dull  but  warm, 
-  Crystal  Palace  Fruit  Show. — The  Royal  Horticultural 
Society’s  great  show  of  British  grown  fruit  takes  place  at  the  Crystal 
Palace  on  Thursday,  September  29th,  and  the  two  following  days. 
Entries  should  reach  the  R.H.S.  office,  117,  Victoria  Street,  S.W.,  by 
September  24th.  On  each  day  of  the  Show,  after  10  A.M.,  Fellows  of  the 
Society  (on  producing  their  tickets)  are  admitted  to  the  Palaoe  free. 
The  schelule  is  framed  on  the  same  comprehensive  scale  as  heretofore, 
with  the  addition  of  stipulated  county  or  district  competitions  of 
Apples  and  Pears.  For  these  twelve  classes  are  provided,  and  the 
winners  of  the  first  and  second  prizes  will  be  allowed  third-class 
railway  fares  from  their  nearest  stations  to  London.  This  section  of 
the  show  is  not  open  to  nurserymen,  but  to  gardeners  and  amateurs  only. 
-  Allamanda  neriifolia. — The  climbing  species  of  Allamanda 
are  well  known  and  deservedly  popular  occupants  of  our  stoves.  Those 
with  a  bushy  habit,  however,  which  require  no  support  from  wires  or 
stakes,  do  not  appear  to  enjoy  such  universal  popularity.  Of  the  two  or 
three  species  that  can  be  grown  in  this  way  the  one  under  notice  is 
probably  the  best.  It  is  a  South  American  plant,  with  dark  green 
leaves,  and  bears  large  quantities  of  flowers  on  short  panicles  from  the 
points  of  the  shoots.  The  flowers  are  deep  yellow,  with  a  number  of 
longitudinal  orange  lines  inside  the  tube.  It  can  be  grown  and  flowered 
well  in  pots,  but  does  better  if  planted  in  a  border.  By  planting 
out  better  growth  is  obtained,  resulting  in  richer  coloured  foliage  and 
flowers.  When  planted,  too,  the  panicles  produce  more  flowers,  and 
as  the  flowers  are  opened  two  or  three  at  once  on  each  shoot,  the 
flowering  period  is  extended  from  May  onwards  for  at  least  four  months. 
Whether  grown  in  pots  or  borders  this  plant  will  be  found  useful  for 
the  stove  or  intermediate  house,  as  few  plants  taking  up  the  same 
amount  of  room  flower  for  a  longer  period. — W.  D. 
-  The  Strange  Tale  of  a  Tail. — A  “Traveller”  sends  the 
following  enigmatical  paragraph.  Was  it  intended  for  a  sporting  paper* 
and  got  put  in  the  wrong  envelope  1  “  The  Shorn  [?  Quorn. — Ed.]  have 
just  ended  a  lovely  run.  We  started  the  fox,  and  ran  him  hard  on  scent. 
From  the  noise  made  by  the  pack  we  knew  there  was  something  out  of 
tho  common  in  store,  and  there  was  a  smile  of  mysterious  complacency 
on  the  faces  of  one  or  two  in  the  know.  It  was  whispered  by  the  Red 
Rider  that  Reynard  was  an  entirely  new  species,  with  a  tail  of  marvellous 
proportions,  and  expectation  ran  very  high.  The  pack  took  us  along  in 
fine  style,  and  we  sighted  him  at  last  at  Ghent.  Phoebus  !  what  a 
spectacle  1  It  was  not  a  case  of  one  tail,  but  many — in  fact,  quite  a 
fox-o’ -nine-tails.  We  had  hardly  finished  gasping  when  we  lost  him 
again,  but  two  well-known  hard  riders  had  taken  snap-shots.  Still  in 
full  cry,  we  sighted  him  again  at  the  Temple,  and  the  hunt  was 
clamorous  with  ejaculations  of  wonder,  admiration,  and  amazement. 
Never  was  such  a  tail  seen  before.  The  huntsman  solemnly  declared,  on 
a  triumphant  question  from  the  Red  Rider,  that  the  fox  was  indeed  new. 
Every  man  of  us  was  mad  with  eagerness  to  get  the  brush  ;  but  he  kept 
us  on  the  run  for  four  mortal  months.  Then  an  old  hand  joined  in,  and 
informed  us— to  our  consternation— that  he  was  not  new  at  all,  but,  on 
the  contrary,  was  a  very  old  fox  indeed.  We  gave  up,  dead  beaten.  Can 
it  be  true  ?  ”  [Perhaps  after  all  our  correspondent  is  only  making 
merry  over  a  paragraph  in  La  Semaine  Ilorticole,  founded  on  statements 
in  the  Revue  Hortxcole  and  Gardeners’  Chronicle,  that  Acalypha  Sanderi  is 
synonymous  with  A.  hispida  of  Sir  Joseph  Hooker,  and  of  w  hich  there 
is  a  coloured  plate  at  Kew,  dated  1812,  and  described  by  Burmann  in 
his  “  Flora  Indica  ”  under  the  name  of  A.  caturus,  both  these  being 
presumably  the  Cauda  felis  of  Rumphius.  Be  that  as  it  may,  it  does  not 
detract  from  the  merit  of  this  remarkable  plant,  which  is  new  to  present 
day  cultivators  ;  but  the  specific  name  “  Sanderi  ”  implies  that  it  was 
obtained  from  seeds  raised  by  the  enterprising  nurseryman  who  was 
fortunate  in  reintroducing  this  Cat's  Tail  Acalypha  from  New  Guinea.] 
-  United  Horticultural  Benefit  and  Provident 
Society. — The  annual  dinner  of  this  Society  will  take  place  at  the 
Holborn  Restaurant  on  Wednesday,  October  5th,  at  6.30  P.M.  George 
Bunyard  Esq.,  of  Maidstone,  has  kindly  consented  to  preside. 
-  New  Melon  “Royal  Sovereign.”— We  are  informed  that 
Messrs.  Dickson,  Brown,  &  Tait,  Manchester,  have  secured  the  stock  of 
♦his  new  Melon,  raised  by  Mr.  Thomas,  The  Royal  Gardens,  Windsor, 
and  will  [distribute  it  in  spring,  1899.  It  secured  an  “  award  of  merit  ” 
from  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  in  April,  1898,  under  the  name  of 
Lord  E.  Cavendish,  and  has  been  re-named  Royal  Sovereign.  When  this 
handsome  variety  was  first  exhibited  and  honoured  we  described  it  as 
the  best  Melon  that  had  been  seen  at  any  of  the  Society’s  meetings  in 
April.  It  may  be  expected  to  figure  successfully,  if  well  grown,  at 
summer  exhibitions. 
-  Colonial  Work  of  Kew. — In  the  course  of  the  debate  in  the 
House  of  Commons  on  August  2nd,  the  Secretary  of  State  for  the  Colonies 
made  the  following  reference  to  the  services  of  Kew  to  the  Colonies  : — 
Let  me  express  in  passing,  what  I  think  is  only  due — my  deep  sense  of 
obligation  to  the  authorities  at  Kew  for  the  assistance  they  have  given  me 
in  regard  to  the  West  Indies  and  other  colonies.  I  believe  my  pre¬ 
decessors  would  heartily  join  me  in  this  recognition  of  the  services  of 
Kew.  I  do  not  think  it  is  too  much  to  say  that  at  the  present  time  there 
are  several  of  our  important  colonies,  which  owe  whatever  prosperity  they 
possess  to  the  knowledge  and  experience  of,  and  the  assistance  given  by 
the  authorities  at  Kew  Gardens.  Thousands  of  letters  pass  every  year 
between  the  authorities  at  Kew  and  the  Colonies,  and  they  are  able  to 
place  at  the  service  of  those  colonies,  not  only  the  best  advice  and 
experience,  but  seeds  and  samples  of  economic  plants  capable  of  cultivation 
in  the  Colonies.—  (“  Kew  Bulletin.”) 
-  Wakefield  Paxton  Society. — Programme  of  meetings  for 
the  third  quarter — session  1898.  Meetings  are  held  at  the  Paxton 
Room,  Woolpacks  Hotel,  Corn  Market,  Westgate,  each  Saturday  evening 
at  eight  o’clock  prompt.  September  24th,  “  A  Naturalist’s  Rambles  in  a 
Lakeland  Valley,”  Mr.  C.  F.  Archibald,  Yorkshire  College.  October  1st, 
“The  Future — A  Geological  Romance,”  Mr.  A.  E.  Benney,  Bradford; 
8th,  “Methods  of  Propagation,”  Mr.  J.  L.  Pickard,  Leeds  ;  15th,  “The 
Apple  and  the  Pear,”  Mr.  T.  Wilson,  Silcoates  Nursery ;  22nd, 
“Perfumes  and  Odours,”  Mr.  John  Haigh,  Sheffield;  29th,  “The 
Potato,”  Mr.  W.  Allison,  Walton.  November  5th,  “A  Ramble  through 
the  Lake  District,”  illustrated  by  lantern  views,  Mr.  W.  A.  Clarke,  The 
Nurseries,  York  ;  12th,  “Hardy  Fowers,  choice  and  interesting  kinds” — 
with  some  specimens,  Mr.  John  Wood,  Kirkstall  ;  19th,  the  Chrys¬ 
anthemum  Exhibition,  Essay  by  Mr.  Moody,  Croften  ;  26th,  “  Continental 
Reminiscences,”  illustrated  by  lantern  views,  Mr.  Councillor  F.  H. 
Wigbam.— T.  H.  Mountain,  A.  S.  Nicholson,  Eon.  Secs. 
-  An  Orchid  Craze  in  the  East.— The  latest  craze  that  has 
made  its  appearance  in  Japan  is  the  Orchid  craze  ;  and  if  reports  are  true, 
the  Tulip  craze  in  Holland  may  well  look  to  its  laurels.  According  to 
the  “  Tokio  Asahi  ”  (Morning  Day),  a  new  variety  of  a  small  Orchid, 
jointly  owned  by  the  well-known  gardener  of  Shitaya,  Maru  Shin,  and  by 
two  others,  is  at  present  enjoying  the  highest  reputation.  It  is  called 
4  Amakusa,”  for  every  rare  variety  has  its  own  special  name.  Its  leaves 
measure  only  4  inches  in  length  and  1J  inch  in  width,  this  variety  being 
the  only  one  now  found  in  Japan.  The  leaves,  only  eleven  in  number,  are 
whitish,  with  yellow-hued  stripes  widely  marked,  and  the  whole  appearance 
exceedingly  graceful.  The  fame  of  the  “Amakusa”  has  sent  all  the 
circles  of  Orchid-hunters  into  a  flutter.  Numerous  applications  have  been 
received  by  the  triple  owners  asking  them  to  part  with  even  one  leaf,  for 
Orchids,  as  is  well  known,  can  be  propagated  by  root  separation.  But  all 
these  applications  have  been  courteously  declined.  The  other  day,  says  the 
“  Asahi,”  a  delegation  representing  ten  villagers  of  Chitagori  and  Okari, 
came  up  to  Tokio.  They  were  all  men  stricken  with  the  Orchid  mania, 
and  hearing  of  this  rare  variety,  each  of  them  subscribed  500  yen  (a  yen 
is  50  cents  in  United  States  currency),  and  one  of  them,  the  head  man  of 
the  village,  arrived  on  the  important  mission  of  purchasing  a  leaf.  While 
the  negotiations  were  in  progress,  the  Kyoto  Horticultural  Company 
despatched  its  President  also  on  the  same  errand.  The  owners  of  the 
precious  Orchid  conferred  with  each  other,  but  decided  not  to  accede  to 
the  offers  made  them,  for  they  have  in  mind  a  similar  case  of  another  rare 
variety  which  several  years  ago  brought  the  fabulous  price  of  10,000  yen 
per  leaf.  So  both  delegations  were  obliged  to  return  home  crestfallen  ; 
and  the  “Asahi”  adds,  “Even  supposing  that  the  owners  might  be 
persuaded  to  part  with  that  Orchid  at  5000  yen  a  leaf,  that  would  bring 
them  a  sum  of  55,000  yen,  while  if  the  price  were  to  rise  to  10,000  yen 
each,  that  amount  would  be  doubled.” — (“Western  Morning  News.’) 
