JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  265 
September  28,  1899. 
_ 
“  Evil  is  wrought  through  want  of  thought”  often  and  often  again, 
and  it  is  because  the  subject  is  not  presented  to  us  that  we  forget  that 
there  are  others  not  so  fortunate  as  ourselves.  If  we  don’t  want  to  be 
bothered  by  a  yearly  subscription,  there  is  another  way  out  of  it — a 
lump  sum  down — and  it  strikes  me  that  is  a  good  plan  where  it  can 
be  afforded.  Let  us  be  where  we  may,  the  Society  will  have  got  the 
money,  and  know  how  to  make  good  use  of  it. 
The  third  institution  that  lias  come  under  our  notice  is  the  LTnited 
Horticultural  Benefit  and  Provident  Society.  Its  objects  and  aims 
can  be  easily  stated.  Firstly,  by  allowing  sick  pay  until  the  member 
reaches  his  seventieth  birthday;  secondly,  by  assistance  from  the 
Benevolent  I  und  after  attaining  seventy  years  of  age,  in  time  of 
sickness  or  in  seasons  of  distress.  There  is  also  an  arrangement  by 
which  members  can  be  given  a  change  of  air  during  convalescence. 
This  will  often,  it  appears  to  us,  be  the  quickest  way  of  working  a 
cure.  Change  of  air  is  worth  many  bottles  of  medicine,  however 
skilfully  compounded. 
We  often  wonder  if  the  gardeners’  wives  ever  read  “  the  Journal,” 
because  these  Societies  ought  to  appeal  to  them.  They  generally  plan 
ont  the  spending  of  the  wages,  and  wonderful  managers  they  are  ! 
Talk  about  a  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  why  I  know  many  a  poor 
village  woman  who  can  manipulate  faits  and  figures  with  the  best  of 
them.  It  must  be  a  tight  fit  sometimes — many  little  comforts  and 
pleasures  sternly  put  to  one  side  io  that  all  demands  may  be  met 
fairly  and  honestly.  I  could  tell  tales  of  cottage  management  which 
ought  to  put  many  educated  women  to  the  blush.  Small  means, 
[large  families,  with  unpreventible  sickness,  and  a  surplus  at  the 
year’s  end  ! 
The  management  of  these  Societies  is  in  such  good  hands,  and  the 
financial  basis  so  firm,  that  none  may  fear  to  risk  their  hard-earned 
shillings.  It  seems  to  me,  too,  that  by  supporting  and  helping  this 
work  the  wealthier  classes  may  do  so  much  good  without  laying  them¬ 
selves  open  to  the  charge  of  pauperismg.  It  is  a  case  of  helping  those 
who  help  themselves,  and  it  in  no  way  deprives  a  man  of  his  own 
independence. — The  Missus. 
APPLE  THOMAS  ANDREW  KNIGHT. 
Such  is  the  name  given  by  tho  raiser,  Mr.  C.  Ross,  gardener  to 
Col.  Archer  Houblon,  Welford  Park,  Newbury,  to  one  of  the  most 
promising  Apples  that  has  been  shown  at  the  Drill  Hall.  It  is  from  a  cross 
between  Peasgood  s  Nonesuch  and  Cox’s  Orange  Pippin,  and  combines 
tho  characters  of  both  these  standard  sorts.  Generally  speaking,  it  rather 
favours  the  latter,  inasmuch  as  it  has  assumed  its  colour  and  retained  its 
flavour  ;  while  it  follows  the  former  in  size  and  in  the  formation  of  the 
crown  of  the  fruit.  The  one  shown  in  fig.  52  is  rather  below  average  size, 
but  was  chosen  as  a  perfectly  typical  example  in  all  other  respects.  The 
fruit  is  quite  symmetrical,  and  slightly  wider  than  it  is  high.  The 
wide  open  eye,  set  in  a  very  broad  and  shallow  basin,  has  the  segments 
almost  absent  ;  the  tube  is  conical  and  the  stamens  median.  The  knobbed 
stalk  varies  considerably  in  length — that  of  the  specimen  shown  being 
three-quarters  of  an  inch  —  and  is  inserted  (sometimes  obliquely)  in  a 
comparatively  shallow  cavity  which  shows  slight  signs  of  grey  russeb 
The  flesh  is  very  firm,  juicy,  sweet,  of  excellent  flavour  and  delicate  aroma. 
The  ground  colour  is  bright  yellow,  almost  obscured  on  the  side  next  the 
sun  by  brilliant  crimson  scarlet,  with  numerous  splashes  of  livelier  crimson 
und  more  or  less  frequent  green  spots.  When  the  specimens  were  shown 
before  the  Fruit  Committee  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  there  was 
a  unanimous  vote  in  favour  of  an  award  of  merit.  We  have  no 
particulars  of  the  habit  of  the  tree,  but  judging  by  its  fruit  we  regard  this 
new  Apple  as  worthy  of  the  long-famed  name  it  bears. 
SOME  BEAUTIFUL  TREES  OF  THE  WORLD. 
^  What  important  features  in  a  country  are  the  nature  and  variety 
of  its  trees  !  In  some  lands,  indeed,  they  are  almost  the  uppermost 
impression  which  one  carries  away.  Who  can  fail,  for  instance,  after 
passing  through  British  Columbia  or  parts  of  Norway  to  retain  a 
vivid  remembrance  of  their  aim' st  illimitable  forests  of  Pines  with 
their  gigantic  proportions  of  girth  and  enormous  height  p  America, 
pregnant  in  records,  outdistances  any  other  country  in  the  world  I 
suppose  with  its  big  tree  groves  of  Mariposa,  though  I  was  more 
myself  astounded  by  the  stupendous  arboreal  marvel  in  the  Botanical 
Gardens  outside  Calcutta — viz ,  the  colossal  Baobab  tree  with  its 
thousands  of  aerial  roots,  the  whole  covering  an  area  of  ground 
perfectly  incredible.  The  celebrated  Grizzly  Giant  of  the  Yosemite  is, 
however,  the  thickest  of  the  Sequoia  tribe,  and  is  a  wonder  in  itself, 
being  by  measurement  94  feet  round,  and  is  probably  1500  years  old. 
I  he  other  world  renowned  specimen  of  the  Sequoia  gigantea  is  the 
Wawona  or  Tunnel  T  ree  so  often  depicted  in  connection  w.th  American 
sights,  and  through  which  your  entire  carriage  is  drawn  with  space 
enough  and  to  spate  on  either  side. 
It  must  he  mentioned,  however,  that  mighty  as  these  Californian 
trees  are  in  girth  and  altitude,  they  are  far  surpassed  in  the  latter 
respect  by  some  of  the  Australian  Eucalyptus,  there  being  one  of 
these  on  record  of  a  height  attaining  to  480  feet,  thus  topping  by 
155  feet  the  tallest  of  the  Sequoias. 
For  beauty  combined  with  variety  I  suppose  the  tropical  growths 
of  Ceylon  are  as  pleasing  to  the  eye  as  the  tiees  of  any  other  country. 
Tno  Palm  tribe  here  are  in  their  greatest  profusion,  and  mingling 
with  the  hundred  and  one  other  kinds  of  trees  make  the  surroundings 
of  marvellous  beauty.  I  suppose  the  perfect  lake  at  Kandy  would  be 
robbed  of  half  its  charm  without  its  protecting  fringe  of  these  elegant 
growths.  In  Japan  I  was  chiefly  struck  by  the  slender  waving  character¬ 
istics  c  f  the  bluey-tinged  Bamboo  forests.  In  some  parts,  notably  round 
about  Kioto,  the  Bamboo  attains  the  size  of  a  really  large  tree.  They 
are  peculiarly  graceful,  and  of  a  subtly  indescribable  attraction.  In 
tho  temple  gardens  and  parks  the  Cryptomeria  is  a  stately  and  magni¬ 
ficent  object.  At  Nara  they  were  enormous,  and  the  coup  d'ceil  of 
the  spotted  deer  grazing  on  the  mossy  slopes  beneath  these  fine 
spreading  trees  was  a  particularly  alluring  one.  In  speaking  of  JapaD, 
too,  I  must  mi’  e  mention  of  the  lovely  Camellia  trees  about  the  coast 
Fig.  52.— Apple  Thomas  Andrew"  Knight. 
d'sfrict  of  Enoshima.  In  Nubia,  and  the  desert  cases  of  the  Sahara, 
the  tall  and  stately  Date  Palm  reigns  almost  supreme,  and  affords  a 
slight  respite  from  the  scorching  heat  of  Africa’s  sun. 
As  regards  India,  the  immense  forests  of  the  Himalayas,  seen  to 
such  advantage  on  the  way  up  to  Darjeeling,  are  very  impressive  ;  as 
also,  though  of  a  totally  different  appearance,  are  the  Eucalyptus 
groves  on  the  Nilgiri  Hills,  round  Coonoor  and  Ootacamund.  These 
Hue  Gum  Trees,  to  use  their  common  name,  are  of  a  most  rapid 
growth,  and  attain  a  tremendous  height,  as  before  mentioned.  The 
scent,  though  certainly  very  strong,  is  an  extremely  healthy  cne. 
Bombay  itself  is  well  supplied  with  fine  timber,  the  renowned  Mango 
trees  being  perhaps  as  frequent  as  the  Baobab,  while  some  of  the 
suburbs,  such  as  Bandra,  are  in  the  midst  of  myriads  of  Cocoa-nut 
Palms.  Further  south,  at  the  extreme  corner  of  India,  I  was  much 
surprised  and  pleased  at  the  size  and  appearance  of  the  Tulip  Trees, 
which  at  the  time  of  my  visit  at  Cape  Tuticorin  were  in  full  flower, 
with  both  yellow  and  red  blooms. 
In  Palestine  the  indigenous  Olives  have  charms  of  their  own  — 
sombre,  gnarled,  and  century  worn  though  they  for  the  most  part 
appear,  being  in  many  parts  the  only  representa'ive  of  tree  kind,  though 
of  course  in  beauty,  if  not  in  interest,  they  yield  largely  to  the  stately 
and  superb  Cedars  of  the  Lebanon  district. — J.  A.  Carnegie-Ciieales. 
A  Novel  Edging. — On  a  recent  visit  to  Eaton  Gardens,  Chester, 
I  noticed  one  of  the  broad  walks  in  the  vegetable  quurteis  edged 
with  the  common  English  Oak,  which  to  me  was  a  novelty.  It  was, 
however,  so  distinct  and  effective  that  it  appeared  to  be  worthy  of  recom¬ 
mendation.  Mr.  Barnes  informed  me  that  it  had  been  planted  at  least  a 
dozen  3 ears,  but  it  showed  no  appearance  of  being  rough  or  untidy  ;  in 
fact  it  was  compact  and  uniform  throughout,  the  average  height  not 
being  more  than  10  inches.  At  the  time  of  my  visit,  which  was  in  the 
early  part  of  this  month,  it  was  well  furnished  with  foliage,  and  the  growth 
being  young  the  leaves  would  adhere  to  the  wood  pretty  well  all  winter. 
For  ordinary  gnrden  walks  it  would  not.  of  course,  bo  suitable,  but  for 
walks  sufficiently  wide  for  the  passage  of  a  cart  it  appeared  to  be  well 
suited. — George  Paxton. 
