October  19,  1899. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENERS 
335 
-  Killarney  Ferns. — In  the  Botanic  Gardens  of  Trinity  College, 
Dublin,  and  under  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  Burbidge,  in  one  of  the 
stoves,  is  a  glass  structure  in  which  the  Killarney  Fern  is  cultivated. 
The  plants  have  been  growing  here  for  over  sixty  years,  and  are  perfectly 
healthy  ;  they  were  presented  by  the  late  Dr.  Bull  and  his  wife. — A.  O’N. 
-  Galtonia  CANDICANS. — During  the  past  summer  the  Cape 
Hyacinth  has  been  particularly  fine,  the  spikes  being  tall,  and  the  bell- 
shaped  flowers  large  and  pure.  We  ha?e  used  the  Galtonia  extensively 
in  beds  planted  with  “  Geraniums,”  Calceolarias,  and  so  on,  by  putting 
out  the  started  bulbs  at  bedding  time.  The  tall  spikes  of  flower  assist  in 
doing  awr.  y  with  the  flatness  of  beds,  and  they  are  seen  to  advantage  in 
such  positions.  Spikes  of  Galtonia  candicans  are  also  extremely  useful 
for  decorative  purposes. — V.  T. 
-  Strawberry  St.  Joseph. — I  should  like  to  add  a  note 
respecting  this  perpetual  Strawberry  to  those  of  “  R.  M.”  (page  317). 
In  one  of  the  houses  at  Gunnersbury  Mr.  Hudson  has  a  splendid  stock 
of  St.  Josephs  in  fruit  and  flow'er  ;  in  fact,  the  house  is  filled. 
Arranged  on  portable  stages  specially  adapted  to  pot  Strawberry 
culture,  and  on  shelves  over  the  pathway  of  a  span-roofed  house,  the 
plants  are  fruiting  as  freely  as  the  ordinary  varieties  do  in  the  spring. 
The  plants  ore  net  over-large,  are  in  5-inch  pots,  and  were  layered  in 
July.  Outdoor  beds  are  still  in  blaring,  though  of  course  not  profusely, 
and  I  should  say  Mr.  Hudson  will  now  be  able  to  gather  fruit  prac¬ 
tically  all  the  year  round.  For  my  part,  I  feel  sure  that  this  variety 
will  prove  to  be  one  of  the  best,  if  not  the  best,  acquisitions  to  all 
classes  of  Strawberry  growers.  Those  who  have  not  given  it  a  trial  should 
procure  a  stock  at  once. — One  of  ‘‘The  Three  Countrymen.” 
-  Bristol  Gardeners’  Association.  —  The  opening  meeting 
of  the  winter  session  was  held  in  St.  John’s  Parish  Room  on  Thursday 
last,  when  there  was  a  very  good  attendance.  An  instructive  paper  was 
given  by  Mr.  W.  Bound  of  Wokingham,  Berks,  on  “A  Fgw  Usefcj 
Stove  and  Greenhouse  Plants.”  He  illustrated  his  remarks  with  severs! 
specimen  plants,  cut  blooms,  and  plates,  amongst  which  was  a  fine 
collection  of  Antnurium  blooms,  and  a  well-developed  plant  of  Acalypha 
hispida  (Sanderi).  The  plants  he  urged  the  audience  to  grow  both  on 
account  of  their  usefulness  and  easy  oulture  were  Anthuriums,  Poinsetlia> 
Euphorbia  jacquinimflora,  iEschynanthus,  Streptocarpus,  Begonias,  in¬ 
cluding  the  variety  Gloire  de  Lorraine,  and  Acalypha  hispida. 
Mr.  Bound  gave  cultural  directions  to  secure  the  best  results,  the  soil 
best  fitted  to  grow  the  different  plants  and  methods  of  propagation, 
laying  great  emphasis  in  each  case  on  the  need  for  good  drainage,  careful 
watering,  and  plenty  of  ventilation.  Prizes  for  twelve  Onions  were 
awarded.  First,  Mr.  Shaddick  ;  second,  Mr.  Bannister  ;  and  the  Society’s 
certificate  of  merit  was  awarded  Mr.  Shaddick  (Croton),  Mr.  Newberry 
(Odontoglossum  grande),  and  Mr.  White  (Pitcher  Plant). 
-  Notes  from  Ireland. — Situated  within  easy  distance  of  the 
City,  a  pleasant  afternoon  can  be  secured  by  visiting  the  charming 
grounds  of  Messrs.  Watson  &  Sons,  Clontarf,  Dublin.  The  firm  makes  a 
specialty  of  Carnations  and  Roses,  and  their  efforts  with  these  florists’ 
flowers  are  invariably  successful.  However,  Messrs.  Watson  grow  general 
nursery  stock  as  well,  and  I  learnt  on  a  recent  visit  that  they  had  gained 
a  silver  medal  for  a  stand  of  hardy  herbaceous  flowers,  staged  not  for 
competition,  at  the  recent  autumn  show  in  Merrion  Square.  The  award 
was  made  after  the  festival  was  over,  and  was  forwarded  by  the  Council 
about  a  fortnight  ago.  Winter  has  arrived,  the  Dahlias  made  an  unerring 
guide,  whilst  other  natural  barometers  in  the  grounds  were  links  in  the 
chain  of  proof.  At  present  the  nursery  is  in  a  transition  stage  ;  large 
plots  were  planted  with  thousands  of  Carnations,  whilst  the  Roses  as  yet 
have  not  been  touched.  The  Council  members  of  the  Royal  Horticultural 
Society  held  their  usual  meeting  on  the  11th  inst.,  when  final  arrange¬ 
ments  for  the  Chrysanthemum  and  Fruit  Show  on  November  7th  and  8th 
at  Ballsbridge  were  completed.  Very  recently  the  herbarium  attached 
to  the  botanical  department  of  the  Dublin  Museum  has  been  enriched  by 
the  Hon.  Lady  Leighton,  who  has  presented  the  specimens  of  the  deceased 
Lord  de  Talbey,  which  were  used  by  him  when  compiling  “The  Flora  of 
Cheshire”  and  published  under  the  pseudonym  of  “The  O’Byrne.” 
Professor  Johnson  is  awaiting  the  cases  to  prepare  the  coilection,  which 
is  estimated  at  20,000  specimens.  Through  the  kindness  of  Sir  W.  Thiselton 
Dyer,  this  desirable  gilt  has  been  acquired  for  our  working  botanists,  who 
will  shortly  avail  themselves  of  their  acquisition.  Weather  recently  has 
been  very  changeable.  The  result  is  apparent  on  the  Chrysanthemums, 
and  several  growers  have  found  their  plants  attacked  with  rust,  causing  a 
little  uneasiness,  owing  to  the  proximity  of  our  leading  shows. — 
A.  O’Neill. 
-  Reading  Gardeners’.  Association. — The  opening  meeting 
of  the  autumn  session  of  the  Reading  Gardeners’  Association  was  held 
last  week,  when  an  interesting  hour  was  spent  on  the  subject  of 
“  Successes  and  Failures  of  the  Past  Season.”  This  was  opened  by  Mr. 
II.  Wilson,  The  Gardens,  Lower  Redlands.  The  exhibits  consisted  of  a 
splendidly  flowered  Miltonia  Candida,  shown  by  Mr.  Lever,  The  Gardens, 
Hillside  ;  a  bunch  of  highly  coloured  Salvia  Scarlet  Queen,  by  Mr.  E. 
Fry,  The  Gardens,  Greenlands  ;  and  a  grand  specimen  of  Alf  iston  Apple* 
weighing  1  lb.  10  ozs.,  by  Mr.  Farey,  Balmore  Gardens.  As  it  was  the 
first  meeting  held  by  the  Association  since  the  decease  of  Mr.  James 
MartiD,  the  President,  Mr.  C.  B.  Stevens,  referred  to  the  great  loss  the 
Association  had  sustained  by  his  death.  It  was  suggested  that  some 
memorial  should  be  raised. 
-  Continuation  School  Gardens. — Following  the  example 
of  Surrey,  the  Staffordshire  County  Council  has  established  groups  of 
twelve  gardens  in  twenty-seven  districts  of  the  county,  and  an  interesting 
exhibition  of  the  produce  of  these  gardens  was  held  in  the  Technical 
Instruction  Buildings,  Stafford,  last  week.  All  kinds  of  useful  vegetables 
were  shown,  and  their  quality,  as  representing  the  work  of  youths,  excited 
general  admiration.  Lord  Hatherton,  speaking  on  the  occasion,  said  “he 
sincerely  hoped  these  gardening  schools  would  flourish.  They  were  being 
scattered  all  over  the  country,  and  youths  were  taught  to  make  the  best 
possible  use  of  a  plot  of  ground  for  producing  vegetables.  The  teaching 
also  tended  to  give  village  lads  healthy  occupation  during  long  summer 
evenings,  and  to  keep  them  from  the  habit  of  loafing  and  the  mischief  which 
the  temptation  entailed.”  The  plots  are  24  by  16  feet,  and  the  local 
teachers  consist  of  schoolmasters  who  have  passed  the  R.II.S.  examination 
and  district  gardeners.  The  work  is  conducted  under  the  able  super¬ 
intendence  of  Mr.  R.  Cock,  F.R.H.S.,  County  Instructor  in  Horticulture, 
-  Cauliflowers. — We  are  getting  a  plentiful  supply  of  what 
the  market  grower  tersely  terms  “Whiteheads”  in  the  market  now, 
and  excellent  they  are.  So  far  none  have  been  of  great  size,  happily, 
and  there  is  little  probability  that  any  such  will  be  seen  this  autumn. 
At  the  recent  Aquatium  Show,  whilst  some  excellent  and  massive 
heads  were  staged  in  the  collections,  there  were  none  unduly  large, 
but  some  might  have  been  rather  whiter.  The  turning  down  of  a  few 
leaves  when  the  head  begins  to  form  often  saves  it  from  discolouration. 
That  heads  of  the  Autumn  Giant  should  be  of  good  size  when  exhi¬ 
bited  or  marketed,  is  natural,  as  it  is  always  fitting  that  examples 
of  anything  that  may  be  exhibited  should  display  the  average  size  and 
character  of  the  kind  or  variety.  In  the  early  summer  half  a  dozen  of 
Snowball  heads  6  inches  over,  and  white  as  snow,  make  a  very  effective 
feature  in  a  collection  of  vegetables.  Then  in  July  and  August  Early 
London  and  Magnum  Bonura  are  useful  varieties.  But  without  doubt 
the  brunt  of  the  supply  of  Whiteheads  is  borne  by  the  popular  Autumn 
Giant,  which,  under  ordinary  conditions,  keeps  our  requirements  satis¬ 
fied  until  Christmas.  Heads  of  average  size  are  from  8  to  9  inches 
over.  Larger  ones  overpower  the  other  exhibits  in  a  collection,  smaller 
ones  seldom  do  the  variety  full  justice.  But  a  collection  of  six  or  nine 
kinds  of  vegetables  shown  in  the  autumn  which  has  for  backing  half  a 
dozen  solid  white  Cauliflowers  always  start  well.  A  collection  without 
such  a  feature  is  weak  at  the  best,  let  other  kinds  be  what  they  may. 
Apart  from  such  merits  Cauliflowers  are  amongst  our  very  best  and 
most  succulent  vegetables. — A.  D. 
METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS  AT  CHISWICK. 
—Taken  in  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  Gardens— height  above 
sea  level  24  feet. 
Date. 
Direction  of 
Wind. 
Temperature  of  the 
Air. 
Rain. 
Temperature  of 
the  Soil. 
At  9  A.M. 
Lowest 
Temperature 
on  Grass. 
1899. 
October. 
At  9  A.M. 
Day. 
Night 
At 
1-ft. 
deep. 
At 
2-ft. 
deep. 
At 
4-ft. 
deep. 
Dry 
Bulb. 
Wet 
Bulb. 
GO 
V 
bfl 
3 
tn 
O) 
& 
o 
Hi 
Sunday  ..  8 
Monday..  9 
Tuesday  10 
Wed’sday  11 
Thursday  12 
Friday  . .  13 
Saturday  14 
N.N.W. 
E.S  E. 
E.S.E. 
S.E. 
S.E. 
w.s.w. 
N.N.W. 
deg. 
36-6 
40  T 
36  T 
41-0 
61-2 
47-8 
41-0 
deg. 
36-2 
40-0 
35-6 
40-3 
50'6 
43-5 
39-7 
deg. 
51 T 
59- 7 
60- 2 
63-7 
62- 9 
63- 6 
52-5 
deg. 
32-4 
31-7 
32T 
34-6 
40- 5 
41- 2 
29-0 
ins. 
0-07 
~ 
deg. 
49-2 
48-3 
48-2 
48- 2 
49- 6 
50- 5 
47-9 
deg. 
54  T 
53-3 
52-9 
52-5 
52-5 
52-8 
52 '6 
deg. 
55-4 
56T 
55-9 
55-6 
55'4 
55  T 
54-9 
deg. 
25-4 
25-9 
24-9 
27  T 
33-2 
32-8 
20-2 
Means  .. 
42-0 
40-8 
57-7 
34-5 
Total 
0-07 
48-8 
53-0 
55-5 
27-1 
The  weather  has  been  remarkable  for  dense  fogs,  cold  biting  winds, 
and  frost  on  the  ground  nearly  every  morning  during  the  week. 
