November  16  H99. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
427 
Akebia  quinata.  —  In  reference  to  Mr.  A.  McCulloch’s 
interesting  note  and  inquiry  of  this  not  too  common  climber  on  page  405, 
I  may  remark  that  the  only  examples  I  have  seen  or  heard  of  in  or 
around  Birmingham  were  a  few  dozen  growing  up  Scarlet  Runner  Bean- 
sticks  in  a  small  nursery  at  Edgbaston  some  four  or  five  years  ago,  and 
were  purchased  at  an  auction  sale  of  plants  in  the  above  city.  They 
thrived  and  flowered  the  same  season,  but  did  not  fruit.  In  the  following 
year  the  whole  were  sold  to  a  distant  customer,  somewhat  to  my 
disappointment,  as  I  had  been  watching  their  progress  with  some  little 
amount  of  interest.  I  noticed  that  the  plants  bore  flowers  of  both  sexes. 
The  plant  is  a  native  of  Japan  and  China,  and  Mr.  R.  Fortune  found  it 
growing  in  Chusan  in  hedges  on  the  lower  sides  of  hills.  Tbe  small,  dark, 
purplish  brown  flowers  are  sweetly  fragrant,  but  not  very  showy.  It  is 
said  that  the  fruit  is  used  in  Japan  as  an  emollient  medicine. — W.  G. 
^New  York  Grapes. — What  is  known  as  the  Grape  belt  of 
New  1  ork  consists  of  about  60,000  acres,  of  which  25,000  acres  are  in 
nine  towns  on  the  borders  of  Chautauqua  Lake  in  New  York,  and  5000 
in  two  towns  in  Pennsylvania.  An  average  yield  is  7000  carloads  in  a 
season,  3000  baskets  to  a  car,  or  21,000,000  baskets.  Of  these  nearly 
95  per  cent,  are  Concords,  and  the  average  price  last  year  was  7  cents 
per  basket.  It  is  estimated  that  there  are  6000  pickers  employed,  and  as 
a  rule  there  are  eight  to  ten  women  to  one  man,  and  they  are  said  to 
pick  more  rapidly  and  pack  them  more  neatly  than  the  men,  who  are 
mostly  kept  doing  the  heavy  work,  as  hauling,  lifting,  and  driving.  Many 
of  the  girls  come  from  the  inland  districts  of  Pennsylvania,  northern 
Ohio,  southern  New  York,  and  even  farther  away.  A  good  picker  usually 
gets  80  to  90  cents  a  day,  when  she  boards  herself,  or  3  dols.  a  week  and 
board  for  working  ten  hours  a  day.  Some  come  in  parties  and  rent  a 
house  near  by,  one  of  them  acting  as  cook  and  housekeeper.  Others 
come  alone,  and  hire  their  board. — (“American  Cultivator.”) 
-  Swindon  Horticultural  Society.— On  Thursday  a  dinner 
was  held  in  connection  with  the  Swindon  Horticultural  Society,  the 
members  of  the  Committee  and  a  few  friends  sitting  down  to  a  capital 
repast.  The  chair  was  taken  by  the  President,  Mr.  W.  Reynolds.  After 
the  repast  and  the  customary  toasts  Mr.  Marlow  proposed  the  health  of 
the  Secretary,  Mr.  Yeo,  and  spoke  in  eulogistic  terms  of  the  services  he 
had  rendered  the  Society.  The  Chairman  then  handed  to  Mr.  Yeo  a 
barometer,  in  case,  subscribed  for  by  the  members  as  some  slight  recog¬ 
nition  of  his  services  as  Secretary,  and  said  he  was  sure  much  of  the 
success  of  the  show  had  depended  upon  Mr.  Yeo’s  efforts.  The  barometer 
bears  the  following  inscription  :  “  Presented  to  Mr.  D.  J.  Yeo  in  recog¬ 
nition  of  his  services  as  Honorary  Secretary  to  the  Swindoa  Horticultural 
Society,  1899.”  It  was  handed  to  Mr.  Yeo  amidst  applause.  Mr.  Yeo. 
who  was  well  received,  said  he  scarcely  knew  how  to  thank  them  for  their 
very  kind  present.  His  connection  with  the  Society  commenced  in  1888, 
when  they  had  no  funds  to  commence  with.  They  had  a  balance  of  £6 
odd  in  hand  at  the  end  of  1898.  This  year  they  received  from  subscrip¬ 
tions  £53  8s.  3d.  This  was  increased  by  their  garden  party  by  £25,  and 
they  had  a  balance  in  hand  of  £28  15s,  8d.  (Applause.)  A  verv  pleasant 
evening  was  spent. 
-  Farmers  and  Fruit  Culture. — Judging  by  a  report  of  the 
proceedings  furnished  in  the  “Southampton  Times”  of  the  recent 
lecture  on  fruit  growing  by  farmers,  given  at  the  Botley  Farmers’  Club 
(Hants)  by  Mr.  Trinder,  a  gentleman  of  great  intelligence,  residing  at 
Bishop’s  Waltham,  nothing  of  a  very  practical  nature  seems  to  have  been 
suggested  or  mentioned  in  tho  short  discussion  which  followed. 
Mr.  Trinder  thought  Apples  and  Plums  might  be  well  grown  in  Hamp¬ 
shire,  and  instanced  the  success  which  had  attended  on  Strawberry  culture 
near  by.  That  success  is  doubtless  very  much  due  to  excellence  of  soil 
and  climate,  and  also  because  the  growers  of  the  fruits  had  made  their 
culture  a  business  speciality.  Apple,  Plum,  or  other  hardy  fruits  may 
doubtless  prove  as  successful  as  the  Strawberries  have  been  if  the  growers 
take  to  such  culture  as  appreciably,  and  having  ample  practical  know¬ 
ledge.  It  is  just  because  farmers  are  not  experts  in  fruit  culture,  and 
cannot  embark  in  it  as  appreciably,  that  there  is  little  hope  of  success 
attending  their  efforts  in  that  direction.  One  farmer  deplored  that  in  the 
list  of  eating  varieties  furnished  by  the  lecturer  as  best  to  grow,  his 
favourite,  Ribston  Pippin,  was  excluded.  Were  he  an  expert  he  would 
have  understood  the  reason.  Another  said  there  might  be  something  in 
proper  pruning,  but  when  he  pruned  his  trees  they  did  not  fruit,  neither 
did  they  when  he  did  not  prune  them.  Probably  he  pruned  hard, 
promoting  a  crop  of  strong  wood  that  was  not  fruitful,  whereas  it 
was  rather  root-pruning  that  was  needed.  Evidently  for  high  class 
successful  fruit  culture  we  must  look  elsewhere  than  in  the  ranks  of 
farmers. — A.  D. 
-  Covent  Garden  Salesmen  and  the  Mansion  House 
Funds. — Nearly  £1000  was  subscribed  by  the  wholesale  and  retail 
fruit,  vegetable  and  flower  merchants,  at  a  meeting  in  Covent  Garden 
Market  in  aid  of  the  Mansion  House  War  Funds. 
-  Importation  of  Plants  and  Shrubs. — The  importation 
of  plants,  shrubs,  trees,  and  flower  roots  into  the  United  Kingdom  has 
been  steadily  increasing  during  the  past  twenty  years.  In  1879  the 
value  of  these  imports  was  returned  at  £137,000,  in  1884  it  reached 
£212,000,  in  1890  £308,000,  whilst  in  1898  it  was  £436,600.  Of  this  las  - 
named  sum  the  imports  from  Holland  accounted  in  1898  for  more  than 
half — viz.,  £221,800  ;  Belgium,  France,  and  Germany  each  sent  go.d^ 
valued  at  between  £40,000  and  £50,000;  the  importations  from  Japans 
the  United  States,  Colombia,  and  the  Channel  Islands  were  each  returned 
as  worth  over  £10,000  ;  while  Brazil  and  India  sent  shipments  valued  at 
£6300  and  £4900  respectively.  The  figures  given  above  do  not  include 
cut  flowers,  which  were  imported  in  1898  to  the  value  of  £219,000,  so 
that  the  combined  value  of  plants  and  flowers  imported  into  this  country 
in  the  past  year  amounted  to  over  £650,000.  The  countries  to  which 
plants  and  shrubs  of  British  production  exported  are  sent  are  not 
separately  distinguished,  but  tbe  total  value  of  these  exports  in  1898 
amounted  to  £35,500,  whilst  the  re-exports  of  foreign  plants  amounted  to 
£10,805. — (“  Journal  of  the  Board  of  Agriculture.”) 
-  October  Weather  at  Dowlais. — Rainfall,  4*16  iacbes, 
which  fell  on  eleven  days  ;  greatest  fall  1’28  inch  on  the  1st.  Tempera¬ 
tures  :  mean  maximum  53° ;  highest  reading  62°  on  the  22nd.  Mean 
minimum,  36*741° ;  lowest  reading  27°  on  the  30th ;  below  freezing 
point  on  eleven  days.  The  prevailing  direction  of  the  wind  was  N.E. 
for  the  first  part  of  the  month,  and  S.W.  for  the  latter  part.  There  were 
ten  sunless  days.  A  very  favourable  month  for  outdoor  operations,  as 
from  the  5th  to  the  24th  inclusive  it  was  only  wet  on  three  occasions, 
with  a  rainfall  of  0*40. — Wm.  Mabbott. 
-  October  Weather  at  Hodsock  Priory,  Worksop. — 
Mean  temperature,  47*0°.  Maximum  in  the  screen,  64*6°  on  the  17th  ; 
minimum  in  the  screen,  26*4°  on  the  15th  ;  minimum  on  the  grass,  17*2° 
on  the  15lh.  Number  of  frosts  in  the  shade  seven,  on  the  grass  twenty- 
three.  Sunshine,  105  hours,  or  33  per  cent,  of  the  possible  duration  ; 
difference  from  average  +  20.  Rainfall,  2*70° ;  difference  from  average 
—  0*08.  Rainy  days,  twelve  ;  maximum  fall,  1*22  on  the  1st.  Rainfall 
from  January  1st,  18*73  inches  ;  difference  from  average  —2-36.  A  fine 
month,  with  cold  nights ;  not  much  rain  after  the  1st. — J.  Mallender. 
-  October  Weather  at  Belyoir  Castle.— The  wind  was 
in  a  southerly  direction  nineteen  days.  The  total  rainfall  was  2  78  inches. 
This  fell  on  thirteen  days,  and  is  0*20  inch  below  the  average  for  the 
month.  The  greatest  daily  fall  was  0*98  inch  on  the  1st.  Barometer 
(corrected  and  reduced)  :  highest  reading,  30*456  inches  on  the  21st  a 
9  A.M.  ;  lowest,  29*162  inches  on  the  1st  at  9  P.M.  Thermometers  :  highest 
in  the  shade,  65°  on  the  12th  ;  lowest,  28°  on  the  6th.  Mean  of  daily 
maxima,  56  09° ;  mean  of  daily  minima,  '39*16°.  Mean  temperature  of 
the  month,  47*62°.  Lowest  on  the  grass,  26°  on  the  15th  ;  highest  in  the 
sun,  109°  on  the  18th.  Mean  temperature  ol  the  earth  at  3  feet,  50*38°. 
Total  sunshine,  137  hours  15  minutes,  which  is  fifty  hours  above  the 
average  for  the  month.  There  were  five  sunless  days. — W.  H.  Divers. 
MBTEOSOLOGICAL  OBSERVATION'S  AT  CHISWICK. 
— Taken  in  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  Gardens — height  above 
sea  level  24  feet. 
Date. 
o 
Temperature  of  the 
Air. 
Temperature  of 
the  Soil. 
At  9  A.M. 
<s 
H 
1899. 
November. 
.is 
o  ^ 
At  9  A.M. 
Day. 
Night 
a 
*3 
At 
At 
At 
Lowest 
Temperat 
on  Gras: 
s 
Dry 
Bulb. 
Wet 
Bulb. 
-O 
0Q 
V 
■a 
be 
5 
+3 
m 
© 
ts 
o 
a 
i-ft. 
deep. 
2-ft. 
deep. 
4-ft. 
deep. 
Sunday . .  5 
S.W. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
ins. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
55! 
53*8 
61*2 
54*0 
1*25 
54*1 
52*7 
631 
62*5 
Monday . .  6 
E.N.E. 
49*5 
48*4 
52*5 
48*8 
0*02 
53*3 
53*2 
63*1 
47*5 
Tuesday  7 
s.s.w. 
50*2 
48*8 
66*7 
35*3 
0*32 
50*2 
63*1 
53*3 
28*9 
VVed’sday  8 
S.W. 
50*8 
48*1 
55*1 
49*4 
_ 
60*9 
52*4 
63*3 
46*1 
Thursday  9 
w.s.w. 
51*9 
46*8 
65*9 
46*4 
0*44 
50*1 
62*1 
53*3 
390 
Friday  . .  10 
s.s.w. 
67-0 
64*2 
59*4 
45*2 
_ 
50*1 
61*8 
63*2 
37*9 
Saturday  11 
s.s.w. 
50*8 
46*1 
55*9 
42*3 
— 
49*6 
51*8 
63*0 
31*7 
Means  .. 
62*2 
49*5 
56*0 
45*9 
Total 
2*03 
51*2 
52*4 
63*2 
40*4 
The  first  part  of  the  week  was  mild  and  wet,  the  latter  part  being 
remarkable  for  strong  south-westerly  gales. 
