September  29.  1898, 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
247 
-  De^on  Gardeners’  Association,  Autumn  Programme  of 
Session  1998-99.  Meetings  to  be  held  in  the  Council  Chamber  of  the 
Guildhall.  The  chair  to  be  taken  for  each  meeting  at  8  o’clock  prompt. 
Wednesday,  12th  October,  Mr.  Andrew  Hope,  Hon.  Sec,  “Flowers  that 
Bloom  in  the  Spring;”  Wednesday,  26th  October,  Mr.  George  Lock, 
Newcombes  Gardens,  “Vine  Culture  ;  ”  Wednesday,  9th  November,  Mr. 
F.  Edwards,  Iloneylands  Gardens,  “Deciduous  Trees;”  Wednesday, 
23rd  November,  Mr.  F.  W.  E.  Shrivell,  F.L.S.,  Thompson’s  Farm, 
Tonbridge  Kent,  “  Further  Experiments  with  Chemical  Manures  Applied 
to  Garden  Crops”  (these  experiments  have  been  carried  out  by  Dr. 
Bernard  Dyer  and  Mr.  Shrivell,  in  Kent)  ;  Wednesday,  7th  December, 
Col.  Walker,  Lee  Ford,  Budleigh  Salterton,  “The  Honey  Bee,  and  why 
it  should  Interest  Gardeners.” 
-  Honeydew.  —  In  the  “  Bee-keeper’s  Record  ”  Mr.  Brice 
combats  the  idea  that  this  is  either  a  dew  or  a  secretion  from  aphides- 
Microscopical  examination  of  thickly  coated  leaves  of  Lime  and 
Sycamore  revealed  not  more  than  three  or  four  insects  on  some  leaves, 
while  an  hour  after,  the  insects  having  been  removed,  the  beads  of  honey- 
dew  were  decidedly  thicker  than  when  first  "gathered.  He  concludes 
that  certain  atmospheric  conditions  charge  the  cells  of  some  leaves  with 
saccharine  matter,  which  on  a  change  of  temperature  cannot  be  absorbed 
by  the  ordinary  channels  rapidly  enough.  As  a  consequence  there  is  a 
rupture  of  the  cells,  or  a  copious  exudation  through  the  pores  of  the 
leaf.  Aphides,  of  course,  are  attracted  to  it,  and  also  bees.  The  fact 
that  honeydew  from  the  Oak  and  ^Sycamore  is  darker  than  that  of  the 
Lime  proves  that  it  partakes  of  the  nature  of  the  tree,  not  of  the  insects. 
— Entomologist. 
-  Crinum  Mooret. — Of  the  many  beautiful  species  of  Crinum  in 
cultivation  few,  if  any,  are  so  easily  grown  or  give  greater  satisfaction 
than  this.  It  is  a  S.  African  plant,  and  almost  hardy,  for  if  planted  at 
the  foot  of  a  warm  wall,  and  given  a  covering  of  dry  leaves  about 
the  bulbs  on  the  approach  of  frost,  it  will  stand  through  ordinary  winters 
uninjured.  For  the  greenhouse  it  has  two  recommendations,  the  foliage 
being  decidedly  handsome  — leaves  being  3  feet  long  by  6  inches  wide — 
and  the  flowers  pretty  and  abundantly  produced.  The  Howers  are  borne 
in  large  umbels — from  eight  to  sixteen  flowers  in  each — on  peduncles 
2  feet  in  length.  They  are  slightly  pendulous,  bell-shaped,  5  to  6  inches 
across,  and  bright  pink  in  colour.  When  grown  in  pots  they  should  be 
given  rich  soil,  and  fed  through  the  growing  season.  When  planted  out 
growth  is  usually  much  stronger  and  the  inflorescences  larger,  and  produced 
with  greater  freedom.  Masses  of  seven  or  eight  bulbs  continue  to  bloom 
for  four  or  five  months  during  summer  and  autumn.  There  are  several 
varieties  cultivated,  the  two  best  being  C.  Moorei  var.  alba  and  variegata, 
the  former  having  pretty  pure  white  flowers  and  the  latter  golden 
variegated  leaves. — D. 
-  Hove  Horticultural  and  Industrial  Show.  —  The 
twenty-first  annual  exhibition  of  the  newly  incorporated  town  of  Hove, 
held  at  the  Town  Hall  on  Wednesday  and  Thursday,  September  21st 
and  22nd,  was  in  every  way  a  great  success.  The  entries  were  numerous^ 
the  weather  was  delightfully  fine,  between  4000  and  5000  persons 
visited  it  each  day.  In  the  classes  devoted  to  gentlemen’s  gardeners  and 
amateurs  there  was  keen  competition.  For  hardy  perennial  and  bulbous 
flowers. — First,  Mr.  E.  Meachen,  Woodslee,  Brighton  ;  second,  Mr.  F. 
Raply,  St.  Johns,  Withdeane,  Brighton  ;  third,  Mr.  H.  Harris,  Denne 
Park,  Horsham.  Six  table  plants.— First,  Mr.  E.  Lawrance,  Tanbridge, 
Horsham.  For  a  collection  of  fruit,  four  varieties. — First,  Mr.  H.  Harris> 
with  good  Muscat  of  Alexandria  Grapes,  Barrington  Peaches,  Pitmaston 
Nectarines,  and  a  Melon.  Second,  Mr.  G.  Stovell,  Withdeane  Grange, 
Brighton.  For  a  collection  of  Apples,  six  varieties. — First,  Mr.  G. 
Stovell  with  Warner’s  King  (very  fine),  Bismarck  (good),  Mkre  de 
Menage,  Worcester  Pearmain,  Emperor  Alexander,  and  Cellini.  Second, 
Mr.  H.  Harris  with  Warner’s  King,  Peasgood’s  Nonesuch,  Lord  Suffield, 
Ecklinville  Seedling,  Gascoigne’s  Scarlet,  and  Cox’s  Orange  Pippin. 
Grapes,  white. — First,  Mr.  Harris,  good  Muscats.  Black  Ilamburghs. — 
First,  Mr.  J.  Pearl,  Withdeane  Lawn,  Brighton.  Any  other  black.  — First, 
Mr.  E.  Lawrance,  good  bunches  of  Black  Alicante  ;  second,  Mr.  Jas. 
Hill,  Springfield,  Brighton.  Mr.  E.  Meachen  was  first  for  a  collection  of 
vegetables,  eight  varieties  ;  Mr.  F.  Raply  second.  Potatoes  were  very 
good.  For  a  collection  of  six  varieties  Mr.  F.  Raply  was  first  with 
Schoolmaster,  Windsor  Castle,  Boston  QQ,  Sutton’s  Ideal,  Sutton’s  Seed¬ 
ling,  and  Reading  Giant,  all  good  even  dishes.  Tom  itoes. — Mr.  E. 
Lawrance  first  with  a  very  fine  dish  of  Cannell’s  King  of  Tomatoes.  The 
cottagers’  and  artizans’  classes  were  well  represented  in  window  plants, 
“Geraniums,”  Fuchsias,  Begonias,  and  Vallotas.  In  the  ladies’  classes 
were  some  very  pretty  baskets  and  epergnes. 
-  A  Prospective  Wet  Winter.— The  newspapers  have  of  late 
been  speculating  on  the  probable  character  of  the  ensuing  winter,  and 
intimate  that  during  the  coming  three  months  of  the  year  some  15  inches 
of  rainfall  are  due.  If  that  were  realised  we  should  have  a  wet  time 
indeed.  Without  doubt  a  thoroughly  wet  winter  is  due,  in  the  south  of 
England  especially.  I  do  not  by  saying  that  mean  in  the  course  of  seasons, 
but  that  it  is  due  because  of  the  altogether  unusually  dry  condition  of  the 
soil.  It  is  hardly  needful  to  refer  to  the  number  of  inches  of  which  the 
year  is  deficient.  There  is  no  one  who  is  not  too  familiar  in  a  very 
practical  way  with  the  fact,  and  demonstrations  of  a  statistical  nature  as 
to  the  deficiency  are  as  needless  as  well  can  be.  But  badly  as  we  need 
the  rain  we  may  well  look  with  apprehension  on  so  wet  a  time  as  a 
rainfall  of  15  inches  in  three  months  would  indicate.  It  would  be  indeed 
a  soaking  season,  checking  work,  especially  on  the  soil,  and  doing  grave 
harm  to  the  business  of  planting.  On  the  other  hand,  a  moderate  rainfall 
of  5  inches  spread  over  that  period  would  do  great  good,  and  the 
deficiency  could  be  so  much  better  made  up  in  January  and  February. 
However,  we  shall  have  to  take  it  when  it  comes  and  as  it  comes.  But 
has  anyone  ventured  to  contemplate  the  contingency— not  at  all  impos¬ 
sible — of  yet  another  dry  winter,  and  even  summer?  Were  such  to  be 
the  case,  bad  as  may  be  a  soaking  wet  winter,  the  continued  dryness 
would  be  far  worse.  Both  contingencies  are  bad,  and  the  least  trouble¬ 
some  may  well  cause  some  anxiety. — A.  D. 
-  Forestry. — Forest  education  of  a  scientific  character  has 
hitherto  received  as  little  attention  in  America  as  in  this  country,  but  its 
value,  says  a  contemporary,  is  now  recognised  in  the  United  States,  and 
in  April  of  the  present  year  the  New  York  State  Legislature  passed 
an  Act  authorising  the  Trustees  of  Cornell  University  “to  create  and 
establish  a  department  in  the  University  to  be  known  as,  and  called, 
the  New  York  State  College  of  Forestry,  for  the  purpose  of  education 
and  instruction  in  the  principles  and  practices  of  scientific  forestry.” 
In  the  same  Act  provision  was  also  made  to  establish  a  Demonstration 
Forest  of  not  more  than  30,000  acres  in  the  Adirondaeks,  to  be  pur¬ 
chased  out  of  the  funds  set  aside  for  the  Forest  Preserve  Board,  and  to 
become  the  property  of  the  Cornell  University  for  the  term  of  thirty 
years,  and  to  be  used  for  demonstrations  of  practical  forestry.  The  sum  of 
10,000  dollars  has  been  granted  tor  the  organisation  and  maintenance  of 
the  College  and  Demonstration  Forest.  This  institution,  the  director  of 
which  is  Professor  B.  E.  Fernow,  has  been  organised,  and  the  prospectus 
shows  that  the  college  will  furnish  systematic  instruction  in  the  science 
and  art  of  forestry.  The  provisions  for  teaching  the  science  relating  to 
forestry  in  the  University  are  ample,  while  the  connection  of  the  demon¬ 
stration  area  within  the  College  of  Forestry  will  furnish  additional 
advantage  for  original  work,  research,  and  experimentation,  in  advancing 
the  science  and  art  of  forestry.  Some  time  must  elapse  before  the 
College  Forest  is  in  the  best  shape  for  demonstrative  purposes,  but  there 
is  every  promise  that  the  institution  will  prove  a  success. 
-  Apple  Preservation.— To  keep  Apples  until  “  Apples  come 
again  ’’  is  a  much  simpler  matter  than  is  generally  supposed.  It  all 
depends  on  the  conditions  under  which  packing  and  storing  are  con¬ 
ducted.  Apples  are  damaged  by  the  least  knock  or  pressure  ;  that  is 
why  so  much  of  the  imported  fruit  is  found  to  be  damaged.  A  bruise 
does  not  necessarily  show  at  the  time  it  is  sustained,  but  it  is  manifest 
after  the  fruit  has  been  kept.  Mr.  G.  Manville-Fenn  has  shown  in  his 
happy  story  of  market  garden  life,  “  Brown- Smith’s  Boy,”  how  necessary 
it  is  to  handle  fruit  tenderly,  if  it  has  to  have  commercial  value,  and 
where  such  care  is  exercised  and  proper  steps  are  adopted  for  the  storage 
of  the  fruit,  Apples  may  be  maintained  in  a  sound  condition  — plump, 
juicy,  and  firm — right  into  the  middle  of  the  following  summer.  A  dry, 
airy  room,  free  from  the  taint  of  decomposing  matter  of  any  kind,  is  the 
one  to  use,  and  in  this  a  skeleton  network  of  frames  for  the  support  of 
racks  should  be  erected.  Tbe  fruit  racks  or  shelves  should  consist  of 
slips  of  wood  running  in  parallel  lines  with  sufficient  opening  between 
each  to  prevent  the  Apples  falling  through.  When  the  fruit  has  been 
collected,  it  should  be  arranged  on  the  racks,  the  Apples  being  placed 
close  together  so  as  to  economise  space,  but  with  sufficient  space  between 
them  to  admit  of  air.  Where  increased  space  might  be  desired,  the  frames 
could  be  erected  in  rows  along  the  centre  of  the  room.  This  system  of 
staging  the  shelves  is  very  convenient,  inasmuch  as  it  renders  the  fruit 
accessible.  Stagnation  of  atmosphere  should  be  avoided  without  incurring 
the  risk  of  draughts,  and  it  is  well,  too,  that  the  air  should  be  kept  as  cool 
as  possible.  Considering  the  price  realised  for  sound  fruit  in  the  early 
spring  and  summer,  a  little  attention  in  the  way  here  suggested,  with  the 
view  of  preserving  part  of  the  Apple  crop,  would,  doubtless,  produce  an 
adequate  return  for  those  who  desire  to  make  every  department  of  a  well- 
ordered  farm  remunerative. — (“  Irish  Farming  World. ") 
