November  17,  1898.  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
-  Hessle  Gardeners’  Society. — At  a  meeting  of  the  above 
Society,  held  on  the  8th  inst.,  Mr.  G.  Wilson  of  Swanland  Manor  pre¬ 
siding,  Mr.  Wilkinson,  Elloughton,  read  a  highly  interesting  and  practical 
essay  on  “  Buttonhole  Bouquets  :  Making  and  Showing,”  illustrating  his 
paper  by  what  he  considered  properly  and  improperly  made  ones.  There 
were  a  good  attendance,  and  a  discussion  in  which  a  great  many  members 
took  part.  The  usual  vote  of  thanks  brought  an  enjoyable  evening  to  a 
close.  — J.  T.  B. 
379 
-  Cantor  Lectures  on  Indiarubber  Plants.  1  he 
lectures  delivered  at  the  Society  of  Arts  in  April  last,  by  D.  Morris, 
Esq.,  C.M.G.,  D.Sc.,  Commissioner  of  Agriculture  for  the  West  Indies, 
late  Assistant-Director  of  the  Royal  Gardens,  have  been  issued  in  separate 
form  as  a  pamphlet.  They  give  a  complete  account  with  numerous 
figures  of  the  known  plants  yielding  commercial  indiarubber,  with 
special  reference  to  the  rubber  industries  connected  with  Her  Majesty  s 
Colonial  anti  Indian  possessions. — (“Kew  Bulletin.  ) 
-  Bunching  Violets.— Bunching  Violets  for  market  is  an  item 
on  which  it  pays  to  take  trouble.  Good  flowers  frequently  fail  of  a  good 
sale  through  unskilful  bunching.  Two  methods  are  in  use — one  with  the 
flowers  all  of  uniform  height,  and  the  other  with  the  flowers  of  varying 
heights  in  the  bunch  ;  but  in  either  case  each  individual  bloom  must 
show  for  its  full  value,  and  an  abundant  edging  of  good  hard  Violet 
leaves  should  surround  each  bunch.  Rose  leaves  are  hardly  appropriate, 
and  suggest  that  the  Violets  are  lacking  in  fragrance.  We  recently  saw 
a  bunch  of  fifty  Violets  untied  ;  when  entirely  unwound  the  string 
measured  over  10  feet  1  The  grower  who  put  them  up,  says  the  “  American 
Florist,”  must  have  been  a  rich  find  for  the  twine  man. 
-  Royal  Sovereign  Strawberry. — At  the  Cobham  Vineries 
the  proprietor,  Mr.  Bennett,  has  shown  great  faith  in  Royal  Sovereign 
Strawberry  for  late  forcing  in  pots.  He  has  not  grown  Strawberries  in 
this  way  before,  but  resolving  to  do  so,  planted  late  in  the  autumn  of  last 
year,  on  some  good  soil,  several  hundreds  of  strong  runners,  taking  from 
them  early  in  the  summer  nearly  12,000,  layering  the  young  runners 
direct  into  7-inch  pots.  I  saw  them  the  other  day — realJy  a  splendid 
collection,  standing  in  huge  blocks  of  1000,  and  throughout  the  entire 
lot  there  was  not  a  weak  plant.  Literally  every  one  was  alike.  Leafage 
wa3  good  and  hard,  but  not  at  all  coarse,  whilst  crowns  were  stout  and 
firm.  Such  plants  should  give  a  wonderful  quantity  of  fruit,  and  no 
doubt  a  fine  sample  also. — A. 
-  Grape  Sports. — There  seems  to  have  been  quite  an  outbreak 
of  Grape  sports  of  late,  as  several  have  been  heard  of.  How  far  they  may 
prove  to  be  distinct  when  on  their  own  roots,  after  propagation,  time  will 
show.  I  recently  saw  a  very  interesting  one  at  the  Ashford  Vineries, 
Cobham,  Surrey.  Here  on  one  of  about  400  Gros  Column  Vines 
planted  in  a  new  range  two  years  since  there  has  this  season  appeared 
two  fine  bunches  having  huge  berries  of  almost  inordinate  size,  quite 
round,  and  colouring  superbly.  Just  below  these  hangs  a  bunch  of  the 
normal  type.  The  wood  of  the  sport  is  very-  rough,  and  the  nodes  very 
close  together,  really  almost  doubly  close  compared  with  the  season’s 
shoots  of  Gros  Colman  proper.  This  sport  will  be  propagated  during 
the  winter,  and  should  it  later  retain  its  present  character,  it  will 
prove  to  be  one  of  the  finest  black  Grapes  yet  seen. — A.  D. 
-  Watering  Palms. — When  should  a  Palm  be  afforded  water? 
is  with  gardeners  and  amateurs  an  all-important  query  ;  and  so  far  we 
have  never  seemed  to  have  the  right  answer,  because  there  have  been 
mainly  guesses  at  the  reasons  that  should  govern  the  application.  Dr. 
Dammorsays,  “By  the  turgidity-  of  the  leaves  and  stem,  which  can  readily 
be  ascertained  by  the  inability  of  the  tips  to  be  bent  easily  around  the 
finger.”  If  a  plant  be  dry,  the  tips  can  be  coiled  round  the  finger  with 
ease.  The  whole  matter  is  made  clear  to  the  least  botanically  instructed 
reader  by  a  description  of  the  construction  of  the  stem  and  the  leaves.  A 
little  withering,  says  Mr.  Meehan,  does  no  harm.  Warm  water  should 
always  be  used  for  Palms  kept  in  booms  and  hothouses — as  warm,  indeed, 
as  68°  Fahr. 
-  Cotton  Growing  in  Australia.— Such  marked  success  has 
attended  some  casual  efforts  in  growing  the  cotton  plant  on  the  Clarence 
River,  that  it  is  believed  the  Government  should  make  the  endeavour  to  find 
out  what  the  possibilities  of  the  cotton-growing  industries  are  in  New 
South  Wales.  The  climate  and  soil  on  the  northern  rivers  are  remarkably 
similar  to  the  cotton  States  of  America,  and,  as  Mr.  Barry,  the  manager  of 
the  Harwood  Sugar  Mill,  says,  “  there  seems  to  be  little  doubt  that  cotton 
will  grow  quite  as  well  on  the  northern  rivers  as  Maize.”  Last  year  I  saw 
some  specimens  of  the  cotton  plants  that  were  growing  on  the  Clarence  ; 
they  were  quite  equal  to  any  I  have  seen  in  Alabama  and.Florida.  No 
doubt  the  plant  can  be  grown  here  successfully,  but  the  labour  question  is 
the  difficulty  to  profitable  cultivation.  Mr.  Campbell,  Secretary  for 
Agriculture,  thinks  that  small  farmers,  who  have  a  number  of  children  to 
do  the  picking,  might  make  a  profitable  thing  of  cotton-growing,  but  the 
thing  must  be  gone  in  for  on  a  big  scale  or  not  at  all.  Cotton  will  grow 
where  Sugarcane  will  grow,  but  it  will  not  grow  always  where  Maize  will 
grow.  The  northern  river  land  is  so  rich,  however,  that  all  the  semi- 
tropical  plants  will  thrive  to  perfection. — ('■*  Australian”). 
-  October  Weather  at  Driffield.— Mean  temperature  at 
9  A.M.  (corrected),  53-10°.  Wet  bulb,  50-96°.  Mean  maximum,  58-02°  ; 
mean  minimum,  45*25°.  Highest,  71"8°,  on  the  3rd  ;  lowest,  34  4  ,  on  the 
9th.  Mean  of  maxima  and  minima,  51*63°.  Mean  radiation  temperature 
on  the  grass,  41-56°;  lowest,  29°,  on  the  11th.  Rainfall,  4-18  inches. 
Number  of  rainy  days  nineteen.  Greatest  amount  on  one  day,  1  05  inch, 
on  the  16th. — W.  E.  Lovell,  Observer ,  York  Road ,  Driffield. 
-  October  Weather  at  Dowlais. — Rainfall  7-54  inches, 
greatest  fall  141  inch  on  the  17th,  number  of  days  on  which  rain  fell 
twenty-one.  There  were  only  four- days  without  rain  in  the  last  thirt) 
days.  Mean  maximum  temperature  55°,  highest  reading  77  on  the  2nd, 
Mean  minimum  41°,  lowest  reading  25°  on  the  3lst  .  There  were 
twenty-two  sunless  days,  and  only  thirty-seven  hours  sunshine.  The  wind 
was  in  the  W.  and  S.W.  for  fourteen  days,  and  in  the  E.  and  N.E.  for 
fourteen  days.  A  very'  wet,  cheerless  month,  with  very  cold,  strong  winds, 
and  on  several  times  blowing  quite  a  gale. — W.  M Abbott. 
-  Sussex  Rainfall. — The  total  rainfall  at  Stonehurst,  Ard- 
ingly,  for  October  was  3*80  inches.  This  exceeds  any  previous  month 
this  year,  but  is  045  inch  short  of  the  average  of  the  month.  The 
heaviest  fall  was  1*45  inch,  on  the  29th.  Rain  fell  on  thirteen  days.  Tbe 
maximum  temperature  was  65°,  on  the  3rd  and  4th  ;  the  minimum  40  , 
on  10th,  11th,  and  12th.  Mean  maximum,  60-02°  ;  mean  minimum, 
47-16°  ;  mean  temperature  53  59°,  which  is  5-10°  above  the  average. 
Rain  has  now  come  in  abundance,  and  vegetation  has  revived,  as  if  by 
magic.  No  frost,  and  we  are  still  (1st  November)  gathering  Runner 
Beans. — R.  I. 
-  October  Weather  at  Hodsock  Priory,  Worksop. — 
Mean  temperature,  52*4°.  Maximum  in  the  screen,  70'3;>  on  the  2nd  ; 
minimum  in  the  screen,  31-6°  on  the  14th.  Minimum  on  the  grass,  27-6  on 
the  13th.  Number  of  frosts,  in  the  shade  one  ;  on  the  grass  four.  Sunshine, 
64  hours,  or  20  per  cent,  of  the  possible  duration.  Difference  from 
average  —  21.  Rainfall,  2-40  inches.  Difference  from  average  —  0-38. 
Rain  fell  on  eighteen  days.  Maximum  fall  0-47  on  the  16th.  Rainfall 
from  January  1st  16-39  inches,  difference  from  average — 4-70.  lhe 
minimum  in  the  screen  and  mean  temperature  are  higher  than  in 
any  previous  October  since  observations  commenced  in  1876. 
,T.  Mallender. 
-  October  Weather  at  Belvoir. — Very  little  rain  came  until 
early  on  the  17th,  when  a  good  fall  commenced  which  lasted  several  days 
The  month  was  unusually-  mild,  and  at  the  present  date  (November  5th) 
our  tender  plants,  such  as  Dahlias,  Iresines,  Tomatoes,  and  Scarlet  Runner 
Beans  are  untouched  by  frost.  The  wind  was  in  a  southerly  direction 
seventeen  days.  The  total  rainfall  was  2-55  inches.  This  fell  on  nineteen 
days,  and  is  0'53  inch  below  the  average  for  the  month.  The  greatest 
daily  fall  was  0'55  inch  on  the  16th.  Barometer  (corrected  and  reduced), 
highest  reading,  30-399  inches  on  the  4th  at  9  P.M.  ;  lowest,  28-910  inches 
on  the  18th  at  9  A.M.  Thermometers,  highest  in  the  shade,  67°  on  the 
2nd  and  3rd;  low-est,  34°  on  the  1st.  Mean  of  daily  maxima,  5812°; 
mean  of  daily  minima,  46-45°.  Mean  temperature  of  the  month,  52"58° 
Lowest  on  the  grass,  30°  on  the  1st,  9th,  and  13th  ;  highest  in  the  sun 
115°  on  the  2nd  and  9th.  Mean  temperature  of  the  earth  at  3  feet,' 
54-03°.  Total  sunshine,  ninety-four  hours  forty  minutes.  There  wrerc 
seven  sunless  days. — W.  II.  Divers. 
-  Dutch  Horticultural  and  Botanical  Society. — At  a 
meeting  of  the  Floral  Committee  held  on  October  12th,  1898,  first-class 
certificates  were  awarded  to  Mr.  T.  E.  Houtvester  of  Utrecht  for 
Chrysanthemums  President  Nonin  and  Soieil  d’Octobre  ;  to  Messrs. 
E.  H.  Krelage  &  Son  of  Haarlem  for  Cactus  Dahlias  Hohenzollern. 
Mary  Service,  Mrs.  Dickson,  and  True  Friend  ;  to  Mr.  Egbert 
Kloosterhuis  of  Veendam  for  Populus  trichocarpa,  Pirus  erythrocarpa, 
Stephanandra  Tanakas,  and  Ulmus  argentea  albo-marginata  ;  and  to 
Mr.  C.  Meynen  of  Groningen  for  Vriesea  hybr.  retroflexa  X  brachy- 
stachys.  Certificates  of  merit  went  to  Messrs  E.  H.  Krelage  &  Son 
of  Haarlem  for  Cactus  Dahlias  Aegir,  Falka,  Island  Queen,  Maid  of 
Honour,  and  Mrs.  John  Goddard  ;  and  to  Mr.  II.  D.  Willink  van 
Collen  of  Breukelen  for  Iochroma  Warscewiczi. 
