November  2,  1899. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
381 
-  Preserving  Green  Peas. — A  correspondent,  “  S.  D.,”  desires 
to  know,  through  our  columns,  of  a  good  method  of  preserving  Green 
Peas.  As  we  have  not’oxperiraented  in  this  direction,  we  shall  be  glad  if 
any  of  our  readers  can  give  the  desired  information. 
-  Spiraea  Van  Houttei.  —  Frequent  praise  is  bestowed  on 
various  Spiraeas,  and,  in  fact,  as  a  whole  they  are  indispensable  among 
shrubs.  But  it  is  seldom  that  Van  Houttei  is  mentioned.  In  the 
wriler’s  estimation  —  and  many  others  would  willingly  concede  its 
worth — it  is  the  best  of  the  shrubby  Spiraeas.  It  is  supposed  to  be  a 
hybrid,  but  its  parents  are  not  positively  known.  But  from  the  foliage 
and  flowers,  one  would  pick  out  Reevesiana  (cantoniensis)  as  a  possible 
parent.  In  grace  and  beauty  it  far  surpasses  the  one  mentioned  by  its 
part-pendulous  habit,  forming  a  beautiful,  symmetrical  specimen  with  a 
maximum  height  ol  6  feet,  and  fully  the  same  breadth.  The  leaves  have 
considerable  resemblance  to  the  Maidenhair  Fern,  which  at  once  speaks 
favourably  for  it. — (“  Meehan’s  Monthly.”) 
-  Treatment  for  Soils. — The  productiveness  of  the  soil 
depends  largely  upon  how  it  is  cultivated,  and  also,  ot  course,  to  a  consider¬ 
able  degree  upon  the  heat  and  moisture  it  receives.  Uncultivated  land, 
according  to  J.  H.  Bone,  of  the  Okla  Experiment  Station,  contains  2  per 
cent,  less  moisture  than  cultivated  s<  il  when  both  are  kept  free  from  weeds. 
In  most  soils  of  the  Central  West  the  question  of  moisture  is  of  more 
importance  than  direct  plant  food.  Increasing  the  supply  of  decaying 
vegetable  matter  is  desirable,  as  this  aids  in  the  retention  of  soi 
moisture.  The  frequency  of  cultivation  will  depend  largely  upon  the 
season.  Enough  should  be  given  to  keep  the  weeds  down  and  the  soil  in 
good  condition.  In  the  Okla  experiments  land  ploughed  in  March  con¬ 
tains  more  moisture  than  that  ploughed  about  the  middle  of  April. 
Shallow  ploughing  will  not  maintain  as  much  moisture  in  the  soil  as  deep 
ploughing,  while  subsoiled  land  contains  more  moisture  than  unsub- 
soiled. — (“  American  Agriculturist.”) 
- Bristol  Gardeners’  Association. — The  fortnightly  meeting 
of  the  Society  was  held  at  St.  John’s  Parish  Room  on  Thursday  last, 
Mr.  C.  Lock  presiding  over  a  large  attendance.  Mr.  A.  M.  Ross,  of 
Downside,  Stoke  Bishop,  read  an  interesting  paper  on  Grape  culture. 
He  dealt  with  the  subject  from  the  making  of  the  Vine  border  to  the 
colouring  of  the  fruit,  stating  his  opinion  as  to  the  method  of  procedure 
most  likely  to  secure  good  results.  The  border,  he  said,  should  be  partly 
inside  and  partly  outside  the  house,  well  drained,  and  3  feet  in  depth, 
made  with  a  compost  consisting  of  good  loam,  lime  rubble,  wood  ashes, 
bone,  and  a  small  quantity  of  Thomson’s  Vine  manure,  the  young  Vines 
to  be  planted  in  a  growing  state.  Prizes  for  single  bunches  of  Grapes 
were  awarded — First,  Mr.  EJwards  ;  second,  Mr.  Sutton  ;  third,  Mr. 
Shelton. 
-  Bute  Botanical  Society. — The  opening  meeting  of  this 
session  was  held  on  October  24th.  There  was  a  good  attendance  of 
members,  several  ladies  being  present.  Miss  Douglas  (Vice-President) 
presided,  and  after  the  preliminary  business  had  been  disposed  of,  called 
upon  Mr.  Cuthbertson  to  deliver  his  presidential  address.  Mr.  Cuthbertson 
said  that  at  the  beginning  of  last  winter  some  of  them  wondered  if  there 
would  be  sufficient  energy  left  in  ths  Botanical  Society  to  carry  it 
through  another  session.  Looking  back  they  must  say  that  last  session 
was  the  most  profitable  one  they  had  had.  That  was  owing  to  the 
actual  work  done  at  the  meetings  in  the  way  of  dissecting  flowers 
which  Mr.  Ballantyne  placed  before  them.  They  started  the  present 
winter  with  the  most  encouraging  prospeets,  and  their  Society  would 
continue  its  successful  course  so  long  as  the  members  took  part  as 
before.  Owing  to  the  number  of  new  members  the  Committee  had 
arranged  for  several  nights  being  taken  up  with  elementary  work.  This 
would  be  advantageous  to  both  new  and  old  numbers.  They  did  not 
claim  that  their  Society  was  for  anything  more  than  the  study  of  popular 
botany,  and  to  make  them  take  a  more  intelligent  interest  in  the  common 
plants  of  the  wayside.  After  referring  to  the  three  systems  of  botany, 
the  speaker  dealt  more  particularly  with  that  of  Jussieu,  and  which  he 
termed  the  naturul  system.  By  it  the  vegetable  kingdom  was  divided 
into  two  parts — flowering  plants  and  flowerless  plants.  Mr.  Cuthbertson 
spoke  of  both  classes,  and  illustrated  his  remarks  by  several  diagrams 
which  were  hung  round  the  room.  Mr.  Ballantyne,  in  the  course  of  a 
short  address,  gave  some  interesting  and  valuable  instructions  regarding 
the  drying  and  mounting  of  plants.  He  exhibited  several  specimens  of 
mounted  plants,  which  were  handed  round  and  much  admired  by  those 
present.  Mr.  Whyte  gave  some  of  his  experiences  in  drying  and 
mounting  specimens,  more  particularly  with  reference  to  the  preserva¬ 
tion  of  the  colours,  which  in  some  cases  he  found  impossible, — 
(“  Rothesay  Express.  ”) 
-  A  Scoundrel. — Mr.  John  Thomson  writes  from  Clovenfords  : 
— “We  have  found  out  who  stole  the  Gardeners’  Orphan  Fund  collecting 
box.  He  pled  guilty  in  court  and  received  sentence  for  his  theft.  Part 
of  the  stolen  money  has  been  recovered.’’ 
-  Concert  at  Chertsey. — On  page  358  of  our  last  issue,  in 
referring  to  a  concert  at  Chertsey  on  November  2nd,  it  was  stated  to  be 
in  aid  of  the  Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan  Fund,  whereas  it  is  being 
organised  for  the  benefit  of  the  Gardeners’  Royal  Benevolent  Institution. 
-  Another  Monster  Vegetable  Marrow.— Two  notices 
of  large  Marrows  have  recently  appeared  in  the  Journal,  and  now  another 
specimen  has  come  forward  to  break  the  record.  It  was  grown  by 
Mr.  Cooper — a  cottager  I  believe — at  Saltley,  a  suburb  of  Birmingham, 
and  weighs  63£  lbs.,  being  nearly  20  lbs.  heavier  than  that  grown  by 
Mr.  J.  Eales,  Knowle  Hall  Gardens,  Birmingham,  described  on  the 
26th  inst.  Stuffed  with  sage  and  onions,  what  a  grand  mock  Christmas 
goose  it  would  afford  for  a  large  family  dinner  party. — W.  G. 
-  Violet  Princess  of  'Wales. — I  am  sending  for  your 
inspection  a  few  flowers  and  leaves  of  Violet  Princess  of  Wales, 
thinking  you  might  be  pleased  to  see  them  after  “Rambler’s”  remarks 
on  page  354.  Doubles  and  singles  are  alike  excellent  in  health,  size  and 
colour  of  blooms.  I  have  gathered  to-day  (October  30th)  172  bunches 
of  eighteen  to  twenty  blooms,  and  could  pick  many  more.  If  you  would 
like  to  see  a  sample  of  doubles  I  will  send  them. — Wm.  Jas.  Penton. 
[The  Violets  are  superb— indeed  we  have  rarely,  if  ever,  seen  finer.  The 
richly  colouied,  delightfully  fragrant  flowers  (one  of  which  was  nearly 
2  inches  across),  were  on  very  stout  footstalks  from  10  to  12  inches  in 
length.  The  leaves,  too,  were  of  great  substance  and  shone  with  the 
glow  of  health.  It  is  very  apparent  that  Mr.  Penton  understands  Violet 
culture  thoroughly,  and  he  would  be  doing  a  service  to  many  readers  of 
the  Journal  of  Horticulture  if  he  would 'give  his  methods  of  procedure  in 
complete  detail.  We  shall  be  delighted  to  see  the  double  varieties.] 
-  Fruit  and.  Medicine.— “ Fruit,”  says  “Modern  Medicine,” 
“  is  chiefly  water,  the  amount  of  nutrient  material  it  contains  varying 
from  5  to  8  or  10  per  cent,  in  most  fruits,  rising  to  a  higher  figure  only  in 
dried  fruits,  such  as  dried  Grapes,  Prunes,  and  Dates.  The  writer  has 
succeeded  in  reducing  excessive  weight  fcin  the  most  satisfactory  manner 
by  prescribing  a  diet  consisting  almost  exclusively  of  Grapes  or  Apples, 
allowing  only  a  small  bit  of  thoroughly  dried  bread  in  connection 
with  the  fruit.  In  some  cases  the  fruit  may  ^be  allowed  as  often  as 
three  or  four  times  a  day,  to  relieve  a  sensation  of  emptiness.  Remem¬ 
bering  the  interesting  fact  pointed  out  by  Bouchard,  that  rheumatism  is 
really  a  toxemia,  resulting  from  the  decomposition  of  food  stuffs  in  a 
dilated  or  prolapsed  stomach,  we  may  also  attribute  the  beneficial  effects 
of  a  fruit  diet  in  rheumatism  and  allied  conditions  to  its  value  in 
suppressing  the  formation  of  poisonous  substances  in  the  alimentary 
canal.”  We  must  remember,  says  Mr.  Meehan,  that  an  article  in  a 
magazine  is  only  the  opinion  of  one  person,  and  that  in  medical  magazines 
especially  we  find  the  truth  of  the  saying  that  “  doctors  differ.”  In 
practice,  the  last  thing  taken  is  too  often  regarded  as  the  cure.  A  large 
series  of  observations  is  necessary  before  a  fair  deduction  canj  be  made. 
In  relation  to  the  use  of  natural  fruits  in  rheumatism  it  may  be  said, 
however,  that  there  is  good  reason  for  the  belief  that  they  are  very  useful. 
METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS  i  AT  CHISWICK. 
—Taken  in  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  Gardens — height  above 
sea  level  24  feet. 
Date. 
Direction  of 
W  ind. 
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. 
-O 
03 
Q 
A 
to 
a 
■£ 
<» 
* 
O 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
ins. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
Sunday  ..22 
43T 
42-9 
53-3 
39-9 
_  • 
46-4 
49-9 
53’3 
39-0 
Monday . .  23 
JN .  W  . 
43’S 
43-8 
54-0 
39'1 
_ 
46-9 
49-9 
53T 
36-4 
Tuesday  24 
W.N.W. 
47-5 
47-5 
59-9 
42*5 
_ 
47-1 
60-2 
52’9 
33  T 
Wed’sday  25 
E.S.E. 
49'7 
47-9 
59-7 
39-8 
_ 
491 
60-5 
52-9 
34-9 
Thursday  25 
S.S.W, 
55-1 
52'6 
67'2 
44-9 
0-21 
49-7 
50-9 
62-8 
33'9 
Friday  . .  27 
!S.  W  . 
57-8 
56-3 
60-2 
53-9 
1-08 
61-8 
51-3 
52-8 
51.5 
Saturday  28 
s.s.  w. 
58-8 
57-2 
827 
57  T 
54*2 
52T 
52-8- 
51*9 
Total 
Means  .. 
£0-8 
497 
58  T 
45-3 
1'29 
49 '3 
50-7 
62-9 
404 
Another  week  of  dull  sunless  mild  weather,  with  thick  fogs  during  the 
first  three  days. 
