226 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
September  22,  1898. 
_ Mr.  G.  Springthorpe. — We  learn  that  owing  to  Coombe 
Court,  Kingston,  having 'changed  hands,  this  excellent  gardener  is  about 
to  remove  to  Leicester,  having  taken  the  West  Leigh  Nursery,  Fosse 
Road,  in  that  town.  Particulars  are  given  in  our  advertising  columns. 
_  Gardening  Appointments. — Mr.  G.  W.  Burrows,  lately 
head  gardener  at  Berwick  House,  Shrewsbury,  has  been  appointed  in  a 
similar  capacity  to  —  Beilis,  Esq.,  The  Dell,  King’s  Norton,  Birmingham. 
Mr.  William  Wallace,  late  foreman  at  Clumber,  Worksop,  has  been 
appointed  head  gardener  to  Hugh  Colin  Smith,  Esq.,  Mount  Clare, 
Roehampton. 
_  Begonia  Northiana  (French).— This  is  a  stocky  grower  in 
a  small  bed  at  Madresfield  Court  that  is  a  very  long  way  superior  to 
the  old  Hampton  Court  variety  now  so  common  in  gardens.  Without 
doubt  it  is  the  most  brilliantly  flowered  of  all  single  Begonias  for  bedding 
purposes,  and  once  it  gets  abundant  the  large  singles  will  be  no  longer 
used.  The  habit  is  somewhat  similar  to  that  of  the  old  Northiana,  but  is 
more  stiff  and  erect,  and  the  flowers  are  wide,  brilliant  in  colour,  and  fully 
double  the  size.  The  variety  was  obtained  from  France,  hence  its  affix 
to  distinguish  it  from  the  ordinary  Northiana.  D. 
_  Dutch  Horticultural  and  Botanical  Society. — At 
a  meeting  of  the  Floral  Committee,  held  on  August  10th,  1898,  first- 
class  certificates  were  awarded  to  the  Horticultural  School  of  Wageningen 
for  Canna  hybrid  0.  F.  Quintus.  To  Messrs.  E.  H.  Krelage  &  Son  of 
Haarlem  for  Chrysanthemum  maximum  Triumph,  Dahlias  (Cactus) 
Leonora,  Regulus,  and  Ruby  ;  Gloxinias  hybrid  grandiflora  Cyclop  and 
Goliath.  To  Mr.  W.  Van  Yeen  of  Leiden  for  Chrysanthemum  maximum 
Triumph,  and  Dahlia  (Cactus)  Britannia  ;  to  Mr.  K.  Wezelenburg  of 
Hazerswoude  for  Chrysanthemum  maximum  Triumph  ;  to  the  Horti¬ 
cultural  School  of  Frederiksoord  for  Heliotropium  peruvianum  fol.  var.  ; 
to  Messrs.  Gratama  &  Co.  of  Hoogeveen  for  Rosa  hybrid  bifera  Souvenir 
de  Madame  Joseph  Moline,  and  Rosa  indica  fragrans  Madame  Y  vonne 
Gravier  ;  and  to  Mr.  G.  A.  Van  Rossem  of  Naarden  for  Rosa  indica 
fragrans  Auguste  Waltine.  Certificates  of  merit  to  the  Horticultural 
School  of  Wageningen  for  Cannas  hybrid  Oranjevlag  and  Wageningen  ; 
to  Mr.  K.  Wezelenburg  of  Hazerswoude  for  Centaurea  montana  rosea, 
and  Chrysanthemum  maximum  filiferum  ;  and  to  Mr.  G.  A.  Van  Rossem 
of  Naarden  for  Rosa  indica  fragrans  Mdlle.  Anna  Chartron. 
_  Glover’s  Island.  —  The  question  of  the  purchase  of  this 
island  by  the  Corporation  of  Richmond  has  been  disposed  of,  that 
body  declining  to  make  the  purchase.  At  a  recent  meeting  the  Mayor 
presiding,  the  Amenities  Committee  reported,  with  regard  to  the  option 
of  the  purchase  for  £4000  of  the  island,  in  the  Thames  beneath  Richmond 
Hill,  which  the  Mayor,  acting  as  agent  for  the  vendor,  had  secured  for 
the  town,  the  Committee  reported  that  only  £50  had  as  yet  been  secured 
in  public  subscriptions  towards  the  scheme.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  the 
assessment  of  the  island  was  at  the  yearly  value  of  £18  only,  that  it  had 
been  purchased  twenty-four  years  ago  for  £72,  that  it  was  extremely 
unlikely  to  be  bought  for  the  purposes  of  an  advertisement  station  or  for 
any  of  the  other  objectionable  purposes  mentioned  in  the  advertisement* 
they  recommended  the  Council  not  to  accept  the  offer.  The  Committee 
further  declared  that  they  felt  that  public  opinion  would  condemn  in  the 
strongest  manner  any  proposal  to  injure  the  world-renowned  view  of 
which  Glover’s  Island  formed  a  part.  The  recommendation  of  the  Com¬ 
mittee  was  unanimously  accepted. 
_  Shrubs  Beneath  Trees.— Frequent  inauiries  are  made  for 
a  list  of  flowering  shrubs  that  will  thrive  beneath  old  trees.  The 
chief  difficulty  is  in  the  matter  of  feeding  material  in  the  soil  and 
not  so  much  a  question  of  shade,  which  is  not  expected  to  he  really 
dense.  Near  the  surface  of  the  ground  beneath  old  trees,  there  is  a 
^reat  network  of  roots,  which  must  extract  a  very  large  amount  of  mois- 
ture  and  food.  These  roots,  being  more  numerous  and  stronger,  do 
not  permit  a  newly  planted  shrub  to  get  much  of  the  necessaries  of 
life,  and  the  new-comer  is  slowly  starved  to  death.  There  are  a 
number  of  plants  that  delight  in  shade,  and  if  the  soil  be  kept  in 
condition,  there  should  be  no  difficulty  in  growing  them  in  such  loca¬ 
tions.  The  main  attention  should  be  in  heavily  mulching  the  ground 
above  the  roots  with  well-decayed  manure,  which  will  furnish  both  food 
aud  moisture.  The  following  selection  would  prove  very  desirable  and 
well  adapted  for  such  locations  Ceanothus  americanus.  Azaleas, 
Rhododendrons,  Pyrus  japonica,  Clethra  alnifolia,  Cornus  mas,  I  tea 
virginica,  Ligustrum  vulgare,  Pavia  parviflora,  Berberis  Thunbergi, 
Spirma  Bumalda,  Laurus  Benzoin,  Hamamelis  v  irginica,  Mahonias, 
Kalmias,  Hypericums,  Diervilla  trifida.  Many  additions  could  be  well 
made  to  this  list.— (“  Meehan’s  Monthly.”) 
-  Deflected  Peach  Trellises. — In  the  various  lean-to  Peach 
houses  at  St.  James,  Malvern,  the  front  trellises  are  at  the  upper  part  so 
deflected  downwards  that  the  trees  on  the  back  wall  obtain  a  full  exposure 
to  sunlight,  hence  they  make  good  ripened  wood  and  fruit  from  bottom  to 
top.  Mr.  Fielder  states  that  this  deflection  of  the  upper  portion  of  the 
semicircular  front  trellises  gave  fully  2  feet  more  of  complete  exposure  of 
the  back  wall  trees  to  the  light  over  what  could  be  obtained  if  the 
trellises  were  kept  up  at  the  tops  in  the  customary  form.  There  was  just 
the  same  wired  area  for  the  trees,  and  it  was  found  that  they  ripened  the 
wood  and  fruited  quite  as  well  as  if  the  wires  were  not  so  deflected. 
That  is  a  matter  of  some  interest,  especially  where  it  is  desired  to  have 
trees  on  back  walls  in  good  fruiting  condition.  Even  if  but  a  few  score 
more  of  fruits  are  obtained  from  them  much  is  gained.— D. 
-  The  Potato  Disease.— Generally  the  assurance  is  given  that 
the  Potato  fungus  is  this  season  practically  non-existent.  I  do  not  think  it  is 
wise  to  be  too  sanguine  on  that  head.  I  saw  recently  in  a  garden,  the  soil  of 
which  is  light  and  sandy,  but  highly  enriched  with  manure,  that  many 
very  fine  tubers  were  after  a  few  days  lifted  sadly  diseased.  That  may, 
however,  have  been  materially  due  first  to  the  strong  dressing  of  manure 
applied,  and  second  to  the  shallow  covering  of  very  porous  soil  over  the 
tubers.  I  have  not  lifted  any  of  those  stocks  under  my  control  in  various 
places  yet  ;  but  I  have  no  reason  to  assume,  judging  by  the  general 
appearance  of  the  tops,  that  disease  is  with  them  materially  prevalent. 
Passing  through  Oxfordshire  and  Worcestershire  recently,  I  noticed  great 
breadths  of  Potatoes  green  as  grass,  yet  in  the  middle  of  September. — 
Wanderer. 
-  The  Flora  of  China. — It  is  satisfactory  to  be  able  to 
announce  that  the  enumeration  of  Chinese  plants  (in  the  Journal  of  the 
Linnean  Society)  is  near  completion  in  its  original  form  ;  but  a  long 
time  must  elapse  before  the  enormous  accumulation  of  additional  material 
can  be  worked  out.  Dr.  A.  Henry  has  recently  presented  a  further 
collection  of  some  2500  numbers,  which,  he  estimates,  contains  about 
2000  species.  This  collection  is  from  Eastern  l'unnan,  and  it  has  been 
roughly  classified  and  some  of  the  more  striking  novelties  taken  out  for 
early  publication  in  Hooker’s  “  leones  Plantarum.”  The  novelties  are 
numerous,  but  no  distinct  or  obviously  new  generic  type  was  detected  in 
the  sorting.  Messrs.  Bourne,  Carles,  Ford,  and  Hancock,  and  other 
correspondents,  have  sent  smaller,  though  not  less  interesting,  collections. 
— (“  Ivew  Bulletin.  ”) 
-  Non-Rotation  in  Cropping. — How  from  time  to  time  our 
preconceived  notions  respecting  the  proper  rotation  of  crops  get  knocked 
on  the  head  !  But  then  what  is  permissible  to  the  gardener  with  his 
deep  cultivation  must  not  be  sanctioned  to  the  gardener  whose  crops  have 
perhaps  not  more  than  a  depth  of  9  to  10  inches  of  soil  to  revel  in. 
When  recently  at  Sandhurst  Lodge  I  observed  several  rows  of  Scarlet 
Runner  Beans,  luxuriant  in  growth  and  podded  profusely  ;  also  beside 
them  the  finest  bed  of  Marrows  I  have  seen  anywhere.  Remarking  on 
the  excellence  of  these  crops  to  Mr.  Townsend,  he  replied  that  these 
same  crops  had  been  grown  on  the  very  self-same  soil  and  in  exactly  the 
same  places  for  over  ten  successive  years.  I  am  reminded,  too,  that  Mr. 
T.  Bowerman  at  Hackwood  produces  his  superb  exhibition  Onion  bulbs 
on  exactly  the  same  piece  of  ground  yearly.  It  is  the  trick  of  deep 
cultivation  every  winter  that  does  the  business. — A.  D. 
- Hospital  Flower  Show.— For  the  fifteenth  year  in  succes¬ 
sion  the  Committee  of  the  Crabbs  Cross  and  Redditch  Hospital  Show 
have  met  with  the  encouragement  their  efforts  deserve.  On  Saturday 
10th  inst.,  this  popular  show  was  favoured  with  weather  just  suitable  for 
an  outdoor  event,  and  if  the  attendance  was  not  quite  up  to  that  of 
previous  years  the  deficiency  was  more  than  made  up  by  extra  receipts 
from  the  sale  of  exhibits.  In  the  three  departments — fruit,  flowers,  and 
vegetables — the  exhibits  were  as  numerous  as  ever,  and  while  there  were 
some  beautiful  floral  displays  the  productions  of  the  soil  were  excellent 
for  quality  and  quantity,  the  samples  of  a  great  variety  of  Potatoes  being 
remarkably  good.  Leeks  and  Carrots  also  attracted  considerable  notice. 
In  the  tent  where  the  vegetables  were  arranged  there  was  a  combination 
of  curiosities  which,  judging  from  the  number  of  eager  listeners  that 
crowded  round  the  gentleman  who  brought  these  articles,  plainly  showed 
that  it  was  a  most  attractive  item  in  the  exhibition.  There  were  birds’ 
nests  which  had  been  built  in  the  most  unlikely  things  and  places,  wasps’ 
nests  where  the  workers  could  be  seen  actively  engaged  in  their  homes  ; 
the  various  processes  of  honey-making  were  also  to  be  seen,  the  habits  of 
birds,  wasps,  and  bee3  being  explained  by  Mr.  James  Iliam  of  the  Wren’s 
Nest,  Astwood  Bank,  who  seemed  as  happy  in  handling  wasps  as  a  child 
would  be  in  eating  honey,  and  a  variety  of  questions  were  put  and  answered 
in  Mr.  Hiam’s  genial  way.  The  number  of  exhibitors  was  very  great. 
