November  9,  1899. 
■JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
405 
-  Concert  at  Ciiertsey.— We  learn  that  the  concert  organ¬ 
ised  by  Mr.  C.  Brown  in  aid  of  the  Gardeners’  Royal  Benevolent  Institu¬ 
tion,  and  given  on  November  3rd,  will  result  in  the  sum  of  £13  being 
handed  to  the  Fund.  Mr.  Brown  also  secured  two  yearly  subscribers. 
-  Death  of  Mr.  Samuel  Clay. — We  regret  to  have  to  record 
the  death  of  Mr.  Samuel  Clay,  which  occurred  on  October  28th  at  Great 
Clacton.  The  deceased  was  the  founder  of  the  firm  of  Messrs.  Clay  and 
Son,  of  Stratford.  Mr.  Clay  was  eighty-three  years  of  age.  lie  retired 
from  active  participation  in  the  business  that  bears  his  name  some 
few  years  ago. 
-  Winter  Moths. — These  first  made  their  appearance  this  season 
on  the  1st  inst.  For  years  they  have  been  steadily  on  the  decrease, 
so  much  so  that  I  look  upon  grease-banding  trees  as  almost  superfluous, 
with  the  aid  of  Paris  green  in  spring.  I  shall  look  on  a  week  or  two 
before  being  at  the  trouble  of  banding. — J,  IIiAM. 
-  Pear  Beurre  Capiaumont. — I  see  a  mention  of  this  Pear 
by  “  Liverpool,”  page  377.  It  is  one  of  the  best  Pears  for  stewing,  its 
flavour  being  just  what  is  wanted  for  that  purpose.  It  is  well  to  plant 
a  tree  or  two  of  it  in  every  garden,  as  its  free  bearing  propensities  are 
all  in  its  favour  for  the  object  alluded  to. — E.  M. 
-  Hessle  Gardeners’  Society. — At  the  fortnightly  meeting 
of  the  above  Society,  held  on  October  31st,  Mr.  Mason  presided  over  a 
good  attendance.  Mr.  Moody,  Chairman  of  the  Hull  Gardeners’  Asso¬ 
ciation  read  a  most  instructive  and  suggeslive  paper  on  the  raising, 
hybridising  and  grow  ing  of  the  Gloxinia.  A  good  discussion  ensued. — 
J.  F.  D.,  Yorks. 
-  Akebia  quinata. — I  have  sent  you,  by  parcel  post,  a  fruit  of 
Akebia  quinata.  The  plant  is  growing  on  a  south  wall,  and  has  been 
planted  about  three  years.  Has  it  been  known  to  fruit  before  in  the 
Midlands?  We  had  the  plant  from  Japan. — A.  McCulloch,  Newstead 
Abbey,  Nottingham.  [We  have  no  knowledge  of  the  plant  flowering  in 
the  Midlands,  but  some  of  our  readers  may  favour  with  records.] 
-  Hospital  Flower  Shows. — I  should  like  to  call  attention 
to  a  very  valuable  work  which  is  carried  out  on  an  extensive  scale  in  the 
Needle  District.  It  is  what  are  popularly  called  “  Hospital  Flower  Shows,’ 
but  it  is  of  far  more  reaching  value  than  a  flower  show  usually  conveys. 
From  the  report  of  the  annual  meeting  at  Crabb’s  Cros3  last  week  it  is 
seen  that  about  £60  from  one  locality  only  out  of  some  eight  to  ten  are 
raised  by  subscriptions,  and  from  the  show  all  surplus  from  very  moderate 
working  expenses  are  available  to  relieve  pain  and  suffering.  Shows  of 
this  description  might  be  worked  in  thousands  of  districts. — J.  HlAM, 
Astwood  Bank. 
- West  Derby  Gardeners’  Mutual  Improvement  Society. 
—  On  the  1st  inst.  the  Rev.  Percy  Stewart,  rector  of  West  Derby,  pre¬ 
sided  over  an  excellent  attendance  of  members  in  the  Social  Club, 
Hartington  Road,  when  Mr.  It.  Pinnington  of  Roby  delivered  a  lecture  on 
“Herbaceous  Plants  apd  Borders,”  tracing  their  value  for  cutting,  their 
propagation,  and  mode  of  making  the  border,  and  incidentally  mentioning 
the  most  approved  sorts  for  the  district.  At  the  close  of  the  lecture  many 
questions  relating  to  these  plants  were  most  satisfactorily  answered  by 
Mr.  Pinnington.  In  proposing  a  hearty  vote  of  thanks,  the  rev.  Chairman 
spoke  of  his  delight  at  being  present.  Herbaceous  plants  were  a  special 
feature  in  his  garden,  and  be  rejoiced  to  see  them  coming  so  much  to  the 
front  at  the  present  time.  If  planted  judiciously  in  various  aspects  a  long 
succession  of  flower  would  be  the  result,  and  he  fully  believed  that  nothing 
in  the  garden  could  be  found  more  useful.  Mr.  Bache  seconded,  also  the 
vote  passed  to  the  Chairman  by  Mr.  Pinnington. 
-  The  Nanny  Apple. — Please  do  not  run  away  with  the  idea 
that  this  Apple  is  going  to  be  lost,  because  it  is  not.  I  hope  to  graft 
at  least  fifty  trees  of  it  next  April,  as  its  valuable  qualities  are  so  well 
known  in  this  neighbourhood.  At  the  Portsmouth  Chrysanthemum 
Show  I  saw  a  grand  dish  of  it  in  the  collection  exhibited  by  Mr. 
Cousens,  Swan  wick,  Southampton,  who  thinks  most  highly  of  the  Apple. 
The  fruits  were  equal  to  Worcester  Pearmain  in  colour,  and  of  a  size 
large  enough  to  please  all — some  dessert  Apples  do  not.  The  fruiterers 
in  this  district  think  much  of  Nanny.  When  we  consider  that  it  is  the 
only  dessert  Apple  to  be  had  in  quantity  early  in  October  just  before 
King  of  the  Pippins  is  ready,  there  is  no  wonder  it  is  popular  among 
those  who  know  it.  The  only  opponent  Nanny  has  at  the  present  time 
is  that  little  known  variety  Benoni.  This  is  a  desirable  Apple,  and  l 
am  certain  when  better  known  it  will  be  largely  growm.  Nanny  does  not 
fruit  freely  in  a  young  state  ;  the  trees  require  age  or  much  space  to 
allow  of  a  quick  development  without  much  pruning. — E.  Molyneux. 
-  Erica  Cavendishiana. — A  fine  specimen  of  Erica  Cavondish- 
iana  can  be  seen  in  the  gardens  of  R.  Tedcastle,  Esq,  Marlay,  Rath- 
farnham.  The  plant  measures  nearly  4  feet  in  height  and  3  feet  in 
diameter,  and  it  is  growing  in  an  18-inch  pot. — A.  O’N. 
-  Royal  Meteorological  Society.— At  the  ordinary  meet¬ 
ing  of  the  Society,  to  be  held  at  the  Institution  of  Civil  Engineers,  Great 
George  Street,  Westminster,  on  Wednesday,  the  15th  inst.,  at  7,30  P.M., 
the  following  papers  will  be  read: — “The  Diurnal  Variation  oi  the 
Barometer  in  the  British  Isles,”  by  Richard  H.  Curtis,  F.R.Met.Soc.  ; 
“Note  on  Earth  Temperature  Observations,”  by  G.  J.  Symons,  F.R.S. 
-  Roadside  Fruit  Trees. — la  France,  Germany,  Belgium,  and 
some  other  European  countries,  it  is  the  practice  to  plant  fruit  trees 
along  the  public  roads.  The  local  governments  plant  the  trees  and  culti¬ 
vate  them  as  a  source  of  revenue,  and  it  is  said  that  in  Belgium  there  are 
three-quarters  of  a  million  roadside  fruit  trees,  which  in  one  year 
produced  £400,000  worth  of  fruit.  The  Walnut,  Chestnut,  Cherry,  Plum, 
and  Apple  are  the  favourite  trees  for  roadside  planting. 
-  Sussex  rainfall.— The  total  rainfall  at  Haywards  Heath 
for  the  past  month  was  1‘95  inch,  being  2  inches  below  the  average.  The 
heaviest  fall  was  0'70  inch  on  the  1st.  Rain  fell  on  nine  days,  lhe 
maximum  temperature  was  62°  on  27th  and  29th  ;  the  minimum  32°  on  the 
21st.  Mean  maxima  51  J5°  ;  mean  minima  40‘28°.  Mean  temperaturo 
45'71°.  November  has  come  in  stormy.  There  was  thunder  with  heavy 
rain  on  the  2nd.— R.  I. 
-  London  Rainfall. — In  London  the  rainfall  of  Friday  evening 
and  night  was  extremely  heavy,  the  amount  measured  next  morning  at 
Brixton  being  as  much  as  1T4  inch.  This  made  the  third  occasion  this 
autumn  on  which  the  daily  rainfall  had  exceeded  an  inch,  a  state  of  things 
without  parallel  in  the  London  records  extending  back  as  far  as  the  year  1871. 
Taking  the  whole  year  through,  there  were  in  the  past  twenty-eight  years 
only  two  cases  in  whioh  an  inch  or  more  of  rain  fell  on  as  many  as  three 
days.  In  London  (at  Brixton)  the  total  rainfall  for  the  present  month 
amounted  up  to  last  evening  to  as  much  as  2-16  inches.  The  aggregate 
for  five  days  was,  in  fact,  within  2-lOths  of  an  inch  of  the  average  for  the 
whole  of  November,  and  was  nearly  a  tenth  of  an  inch  more  than  we  had 
during  the  whole  of  the  three  summer  months,  June,  J uly,  and  August. 
-  The  Mildness  of  the  Season.— Mr.  E.  Molyneux  writes 
from  Swanmore  :  “  I  send  you  a  few  Dahlias,  about  thirty  varieties  of 
the  Cactus  type,  to  show  how  mild  it  still  is  here  in  South  Hants. 
The  plants  are  flowering  quite  as  freely  now  as  they  have  done  at  any 
time  during  the  summer  ;  it  is  wonderful.  I  also  enclose  some  Sweet 
Pea  blooms.  These  are  a  little  spoilt  by  the  recent  heavy  rains,  but 
fancy  Sweet  Peas  flowering  now,  the  same  plants  having  been  con¬ 
tinuously  in  bloom  since  June!”  [The  flowers  came  as  a  pleasant 
surprise,  and  the  bright  colours  of  the  Dahlias  were  the  more  welcome 
now  that  everyone  is  smitten  with  Chrysanthemum  tever  to  such  an 
extent  as  to  believe  that  there  is  no  other  plant  in  the  floral  kingdom. 
The  blooms  were  exceptionally  well  developed,  were  stout  in  petal,  ot 
good  size,  and  stood  well  up  on  strong  footstalks.  From  several  sources 
we  learnt  of  the  practical  termination  of  the  Dahlia  season  upwards  of 
three  weeks  ago.  The  Sweet  Peas  were  delightfully  fragrant,  and  their 
presence  at  this  time  of  the  year  is  even  more  exceptional  than  that  of 
the  Dahlias.] 
METEOSOIOGICAL  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. 
1 
1899. 
October 
and 
November. 
At  9  A.M. 
Day. 
Night 
At 
1-ft. 
deep. 
deg. 
547 
54-4 
50- 8 
48-5 
48-5 
51- 6 
51 -9 
At 
2- ft. 
deep. 
At 
4-ft. 
deep. 
Dry 
Bulb. 
Wet 
Bulb. 
-O 
VI 
A 
to 
5 
V 
S* 
o 
Hi 
Sunday  ..29 
Monday .  .30 
Tuesday  31 
Wed’sday  1 
Thursday  2 
Friday  . .  3 
Saturday  4 
- - j - - 
Means  .. 
s.s.w. 
N.N.W. 
W.S.W. 
5.5. B. 
5.5. E. 
S.W. 
s.w. 
deg. 
68"2 
48-2 
47'0 
5X-9 
58-9 
50*8 
591 
deg. 
65-8 
47- 5 
43-7 
48- 8 
67-5 
51-6 
58-4 
deg. 
60-5 
51 T 
55'5 
63-3 
60 ‘0 
59- 0 
60- 9 
deg. 
60-5 
47- 9 
35-9 
34-5 
48- 5 
52-5 
4S’9 
ins. 
0-27 
0-02 
0-04 
0-32 
1-33 
0-31 
deg. 
52- 9 
53 '2 
53- 2 
62-3 
61-5 
51- 8 
52- 2 
deg. 
62-9 
53-1 
53  "3 
53 ’4 
53  3 
53-2 
53'1 
deg. 
43- 9 
47- 8 
35-9 
26-4 
25-9 
44- 5 
48- 1 
£4'3 
51-9 
58*6 
45-5 
Total 
2 '29 
51*5 
52-4 
53-2 
38-9 
The  weather  has  again  been  dull,  mild,  and  very  wet. 
