October  27,  1898. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
- -  Apple  Royal  Jubilee. — This  acquisition  to  the  list  of  useful 
Apples  seems  to  be  substantiating  the  good  things  spoken  about  it  when  it 
was  sent  out.  I  have  recently  seen  trees  of  the  variety  in  gardens  and 
plantations  that  were  growing  in  a  creditable  manner,  and  though  only 
small  were  carrying  handsome  spec  imens'of  fruit.  Royal  Jubilee  is  a  fine 
handsome  Apple,  and  is  said  to  be  a  better  keeper  than  many  others  of 
the  same  type.  In  Kent  it  assumes  a  rich  yellow  tint  when  ripe,  and  is 
sound  and  heavy.  These  are  qualities  credited  to  make  it  a  good  market 
variety,  and  growers  who  have  tried  it  are  impressed  in  its  favour.  This 
season  is  not  noted  for  heavy  Apple  crops  generally,  and  the  one  under 
notice  appears  to  have  cropped  as  wcdl  as  most  others. — II. 
-  Obchabd  House  at  Basing  Park. — Whilst  opinions  differ 
materially  as  to  the  value  of  unheated  houses  for  fruit  culture,  there 
can  be  no  doubt  but  that  the  fine  lean-to  orchard  house  at  this  place, 
the  residence  of  W.  Nicholson,  Esq.,  is  a  great  success.  It  is  just  300  feet 
long,  and  some  12  feet  wide.  The  entire  back  wall  is  planted  with  Peaches. 
Apricots,  Nectarines,  and  Plums.  In  front  is  a  low,  half-circular  trellis 
covered  throughout  with  trees  of  these  fruits,  whilst  at  short  intervals 
along  the  front  and  at  the  back  of  the  trellis  there  are  run  up  semi-cordons 
of  Pears  and  Plums.  Really  the  house  produces  annually  an  enormous 
quantity  of  fruit  at  comparatively  trifling  cost,  and  fully  exemplifies  the 
exceeding  value  in  fruit  culture  of  a  glass  covering.  Such  a  house  would 
greatly  help  to  make  gardeners  gtnerally  independent  of  outside  weather. 
—A.  D. 
-  BtenoCARPUS  Cunningham r. — A  specimen  of  this  Australian 
I’rotead  is  at  the  present  time  flowering  in  the  winter  garden  at  Kew. 
It  was  discovered  in  1828  by  Mr.  A.  Cunningham,  and  records  of  its 
flowering  were  chronicled  in  1817,  among  other  places  in  the  Botanical 
Gardens  at  Birmingham  and  Edinburgh.  Since  that  time  mention  has 
seldom  been  made  of  its  flowering.  It  is  an  interesting  plant  of  decidedly 
ornamental  appearance.  The  leaves  are  pinnatifid,  dark  green,  glossy 
and  leathery,  often  1  foot  in  length  and  7  or  8  inches  across.  The  flowers 
are  produced  in  umbels,  fifteen  or  twenty  flowers  composing  each  umbel  ; 
they  are  scarlet  in  colour,  and  about  inch  long.  At  Kew  it  has  not 
flowered  for  at  least  twenty  years,  which  makes  it  all  the  more  acceptable. 
Plants  grown'in  small  pots  are  very  useful  as  decorative  plants. 
-  ECCBEMOCARPUB  SCABER. —  Few  outdoor  climbing  plants 
have  a  longer  flowering  period  than  this  obi  favourite,  and  for  variety 
of  purposes  and  ease  of  culture  it  has  few  equals.  It  is  a  herbaceous 
perennial,  but  can  be  used  as  an  annual  with  almost  equal  success,  its 
quick-growing  nature  making  it  particularly  adaptable  for  covering 
walls,  bushes,  trellises,  or  other  things  in  a  short  space  of  time.  By 
sowing  seeds  in  February  plants  2  to  3  feet  in  height  can  be  had  for 
planting  out  in  May,  and  from  that  time  until  a  sharp  frost  comes  in 
autumn  it  is  covered  with  racemes  4  to  6  inches  long  of  scarlet  and 
yellow  flowers,  each  flower  1  inch  in  length.  By  putting  a  layer  of 
ashes  or  dry  leaves  over  the  base  of  the  stem  it  can  be  kept  through 
ordinary  winters  uninjured  ;  but,  as  it  seeds  with  great  freedom,  it  is 
almost  as  well  to  raise  plants  annually.  If  once  the  plant  is  obtained  it 
is  an  easy  matter  to  keep  it. —  I).  K. 
-  Some  Newer  Potatoes. — Messrs.  Bobbie  <k  Co.,  Rothesay, 
very  kindly  sent  me,  late  in  the  spring,  half  a  dozen  tubers  of  a  new 
Scotch  Potato,  Crofter,  which  I  was  enabled  to  grow  under  very  imperfect 
conditions  ;  but  at  least  I  was  enabled  to  see  that  it  is  a  fine  cropper, 
the  tubers  flattish  round,  white,  and  of  excellent  quality.  It  must  have  a 
better  opportunity  next  year.  Grown  under  more  favourable  conditions, 
without  doubt  the  best  new  Potato  has  been  Challenge.  This  Mr.  W. 
Sydenham,  of  Birmingham,  kindly  sent  me  for  trial.  It  was  with  me  just 
as  it  was  at  Chiswick,  the  finest  cropper,  and  producing  the  greatest  bulk 
of  handsome  even  sized  table  tubers  of  any  grown.  This  variety  should 
be  in  great  demand  during  the  winter.  Its  nearest  compeer  was  Syon 
House  Prolific,  also  a  flattish  round  ;  that  too  was  excellent.  Devonian, 
kindly  sent  by  Mr.  Owen  Thomas  from  Erogmore,  gave  a  capital  crop  of 
medium-sized  good  table  tubers  of  semi-long  or  kidney  shape.  These  are, 
when  cooked,  of  the  finest  quality.  Ivo,  as  grown  at  Chiswick,  sent  by 
Major  Curtois,  also  a  medium  white  kidney,  was  a  capital  crop,  and  of 
superior  quality.  As  this  variety  came  from  the  Canaries,  I  obtained  some 
Teneriffe  kidneys  from  a  shop  in  the  spring  and  planted  them  beside  Ivo, 
but  because  growth  was  so  late,  I  could  not  say  whether  it  was  the  same  or 
not.  The  tubers  differ  little.  Still  a  better  test  will  be  furnished  next 
year.  Webber’s  Pride  of  Tonbridge,  certificated  at  Chiswick  two  or  three 
years  since,  a  handsome  white  kidney,  gave  a  fine  crop,  and  a  very  even 
sample.  So  also  did  Webber’s  White  Beauty,  but  that  is  older.  Of  others, 
Prime  Minister,  Chancellor,  Conference,  Satisfaction,  and  Windsor  Castle 
were  good.  Not  a  single  diseased  tuber  has  been  lifted. — A.  Kingston. 
319 
-  Records  of  the  Botanical  Survey  of  India. — No.  9  of 
this  publication  consists  of  a  report  on  the  botany  of  the  Chitral  Relief 
Expedition,  by  Mr.  J.  F.  Duthie,  Director  of  the  Botanic  Department  ot 
Northern  India.  The  plants  were  collected  by  General  Gatacre,  C.B., 
Colonel  Davidson,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Hamilton,  and  Surgeon-Lieutenant 
Ilarriss.  Nearly  a  thousand  species  are  enumerated,  belonging  to  459 
genera  and  93  natural  orders.  The  list  has  a  special  value,  inasmuch  as 
the  altitudes  are  carefully  recorded.  It  is  gratifying  to  find  so  many 
officers  of  the  Army  taking  an  active  interest  in  botany.  No.  10  is  devoted 
to  an  interesting  account  of  a  botanical  tour  in  Chamba  and  Kangra,  by 
Mr.  G.  A.  Gammie,  supplemented  by  a  list  of  the  plants  observed. — (“  Kew 
Bulletin.”) 
-  Shirley  Gardeners’  Association. — At  a  meeting  on  the 
17th  inst.,  in  the  Parish  Room,  Shirley,  Southampton,  Mr.  B.  Ladhams, 
F.R.H.S.,  presided  over  a  fair  attendance  of  members.  Mr.  I.  Miles, 
The  Gardens,  Portswood  Park,  Southampton,  opened  a  discussion  on  the 
“  Best  Apples  for  the  District,”  which  is  chiefly  shallow  loam  with  a 
gravelly  subsoil.  The  list  given  by  Mr.  Miles  was  a  comprehensive  one, 
and  he  was  asked  to  state  the  best  twelve  kitchen  and  dessert  to  suit  a 
small  garden,  and  at  last  the  list  was  reduced  to  the  best  three  of  each  to 
suit  a  cottager.  The  discussion  was  further  continued  as  to  canker, 
which  is  very  prevalent,  some  varieties  of  Apples  being  much  more 
subject  to  it  than  others,  Ribston  Pippin  amongst  the  number.  A  hearty 
vote  of  thanks  was  accorded  to  Mr.  Miles  at  the  close  of  the  discussion, 
also  to  the  exhibitors,  who  placed  a  fine  display  of  fruit  on  the  tables. 
- -  Onions  at  Kendal. — Judging  from  Mr.  Lowthwaite’s  account, 
on  page  271,  the  big  Onion  craze  has  reached  a  fair  height  in  the  land  of 
the  lakes.  Ilis  notes  were  interesting,  inasmuch  as  big  Onions  are  now 
attracting  the  attention  of  most  gardeners,  and  one  correspondent  has 
gone  so  far  as  to  coin  a  new  word  in  their  honour.  The  account  of  the 
Kendal  Show,  however,  would  have  been  more  interesting  had  your 
correspondent  gone  a  little  further,  and  given  us  the  weight  of  the 
winning  bulbs.  We  have  some  adepts  at  Onion  growing  in  the  South 
who  are  inclined  to  feel  proud  when  they  stage  half  a  dozen  specimens 
scaling  12  lbs.  in  the  aggregate— all  ripe,  and  warranted  to  keep.  Com¬ 
parisons  may  be  odious,  but,  all  the  same,  we  should  like  to  know  the 
weight  of  the  champion  Kendal  Onions,  if  only  for  satisfaction’s  sake.  I 
gather  from  your  correspondent’s  report  that  Cranston’s  Excelsior  was 
true  to  its  name  in  excelling  other  varieties,  but  down  in  the  south  we 
usually  pin  our  faith  on  Ailsa  Craig,  and  at  the  majority  of  shows  I  have 
visited  this  summer  it  was  on  bulbs  of  that  variety  that  the  judges  put 
the  first  prize  card.  It  seems  like  taking  a  long  step  to  talk  of  an  Onion 
Society,  with  a  council,  journal,  and  all  the  rest  of  it,  and  I  am  content  to 
suggest  a  combat  of  the  bulbs,  not  personal,  but  on  the  exhibition  board, 
entitled  North  v.  South.  So  great  is  the  popularity  of  the  big  Onion 
becoming  that  the  North  v.  South  Onion  match  would  soon  compare 
favourably  in  interest  with  the  famous  games  of  cricket  reported  under 
that  heading. — A  Southern  Grower. 
-  JUDGING  by  Weight.— There  is  a  grave  omission  in  the 
R.II.S.  judging  rules.  No  reference  is  made  to  the  weights  and  scales 
as  judges.  Perhaps  the  drafting  committee  thought  that  reference  to 
butchers’  boys’  functions  hardly  came  within  their  scope,  but  that  does  not 
seem  to  be  universal  belief,  as  in  a  very  recent  competition  not  the  brains 
and  knowledge  of  the  judges,  but  the  scales,  had  to  decide  which  of  the 
exhibits  should  win  the  prizes.  I  hope  the  gentlemen  who  in  this  case 
officiated  refused  to  discharge  such  vulgar  functions,  and  left  to  some 
attendant  the  duty  thus  placed  upon  them.  To  me  it  is  incomprehen¬ 
sible  that  any  capable  man  should  ever  stoop  to  discharge  such  an 
office  as  presiding  over  Weights  and  scales.  Work  that  may  be  worthy 
of  a  greengrocer  or  costermonger  is  not  at  all  worthy  of  horticultural 
judges.  What  value  is  the  knowledge  and  experience,  acquired  over 
perhaps  a  long  life,  of  the  properties  and  merits  of  various  exhibits,  if 
they  are  to  be  determined  by  scale  tests  l  Then,  too,  if  Onions,  why  not 
Potatoes,  or  Carrots,  or  Beets,  or  Parsnips,  or  Cabbages,  or  indeed 
anything  else?  We  do  not  dream  in  our  judgments,  where  the  censors, 
all  regarded  as  capable  intelligent  beings,  of  making  awards  to  products 
by  weight.  I  hope  there  is  no  flower  show  committee  in  existence  that 
would  think  of  asking  intelligent  judges  to  undertake  such  function.  If 
men  cannot  determine  by  sight  and  sense  of  feeling  which  are  the  best  of 
the  products  before  them,  they  are  unfit  to  discharge  their  duties.  But 
such  men  do  not  exist.  Unfortunately  there  seem  to  be  those  all  the 
same  who  put  them  into  the  category  of  greengrocers  or  butchers’  boys. 
_ A.  D.  [Would  it  not  be  equally  reasonable  where  weight  judging  is 
stipulated  in  schedules,  that  the  judges  themselves  be  chosen  by  weight 
too,  and  thus  carry  out  the  principle  to  its  logical  conclusion  ?] 
