January  2,1896. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
9 
-  Supper  and  Presentation  to  Mr.  M'Kelvie.— Mr.  Wm. 
M'Kelvie,  lately  head  gardener  at  Broxmouth,  waa  recently  entertained 
to  supper,  and  made  the  recipient  of  a  handsome  presentation  marble 
clock,  on  the  occasion  of  his  taking  up  the  tenancy  of  Duncanlaw  Farm. 
There  was  a  large  gathering,  and  an  exceedingly  pleasant  time  was 
spent. 
-  Tangerine  Oranges. — The  Tangerine  Orange,  and  possibly 
some  other  varieties,  are  formed  through  the  effort  of  the  Orange  to 
make  a  secondary  fruit  at  the  apex  of  the  original  one,  only  that  it 
failed  to  make  any  original  at  all.  In  other  words,  the  Tangerine 
Orange  is  a  well-developed  secondary  fruit.  How  this  can  be  brought 
about,  says  “  Meehans’  Monthly,”  may  be  readily  understood  by  care¬ 
fully  examining  the  Oranges  known  in  the  markets  as  the  Navel  variety. 
In  these  cases  a  small  Orange  can  often  be  found  at  the  apex,  some¬ 
times  of  considerable  size.  When  this  small  one  is  largely  developed, 
and  the  larger  one  wholly  suppressed,  then  we  have  the  Tangerine. 
-  Gardening. — An  American  contemporary  says  “  Not  long 
ago  Professor  Bailey  told  one  of  his  classes  that  he  was  impressed  more 
and  more  with  the  fact  that  persons  who  know  nothing  about  horti¬ 
culture  to  begin  with  often  become  most  successful  when  they  once 
enter  the  business.  This  simply  means  that  these  men  start  without 
any  prejudice  and  with  everything  to  learn,  full  of  enthusiasm,  and  with 
minds  open  to  accept  any  new  teaching  which  commends  itself  to  them. 
Not  long  ago  he  visited  one  of  the  largest  and  most  successful  establish¬ 
ments  for  growing  Mushrooms  and  forcing  vegetables  in  the  country, 
where  the  manager  but  a  few  years  ago  knew  nothing  whatever  of  the 
business.  Perhaps  many  of  the  best  farmers  of  the  future  may  be 
those  who  have  not  been  brought  up  on  farms  of  the  present  time.” 
- Cooper’s  Black  Grape. — I  should  have  told  you  when  I 
wrote  before  that  Mr.  George  Cooper  died  in  the  spring  of  this  year 
from  influenza,  after  a  few  days’  illness,  aged  seventy-three.  He  was 
one  of  your  oldest  subscribers.  For  the  last  eighteen  years  he  was  a 
most  successful  market  gardener,  convenient  to  the  military  camp  at  the 
Curragh.  He  often  spoke  of  the  Vine  borders  at  Trentham,  which  he 
assisted  to  make  under  the  orders  of  the  late  Mr.  Fleming,  a  great 
Grape  grower.  I  am  sorry  I  cannot  send  you  a  bunch  of  “  Cooper’s 
Black  ”  this  year,  but  1  hope  to  have  that  pleasure  next  year.  I  may 
repeat,  the  original  Vine  was  at  the  “Palace”  when  Mr.  Cooper  went 
there.  The  berries  with  me  are  more  round  than  oval. — William 
Thompson,  llarristown  Garden s.  [Some  of  the  berries  of  Cooper’s 
Black  sent  to  us  were  more  “  round  than  oval,”  but  then  others  stated 
to  have  been  produced  by  Vines  raised  from  the  Armagh  parent  were 
more  oval  than  round.  With  the  names  removed  from  the  several 
bunches  it  waa  impossible  to  separate  the  “  Cooper’s  ”  from  the 
“  Maroc’s.”] 
-  December  Weather. — The  decided  rise  of  temperature  which 
set  in  over  England  on  Saturday  last  continued,  though  to  a  more 
gradual  extent,  throughout  the  whole  of  Sunday  and  Monday.  On 
Saturday  the  thermometer  over  our  central  and  southern  districts  rose 
to  between  45°  and  48°.  On  Sunday  it  slightly  excedeed  50°,  and  in  the 
course  of  the  ensuing  night  it  fell  very  little  below  45°,  the  minimum 
in  London  being  as  high  as  46°.  On  Monday  the  day  readings  were  even 
higher  than  on  Sunday,  the  thermometer  rising  well  above  50°  in  most 
places,  and  touching  56°  in  London.  The  maximum  temperature  in  the 
metropolis,  was,  however,  not  unusual  even  for  the  time  of  year.  One 
striking  feature  in  the  weather  of  an  English  winter  is  that  while  the 
thermometer  may  sink  to  zero,  or  may,  on  the  other  hand,  fall  very  little 
below  the  freezing  point,  it  is  almost  certain  to  rise  at  some  time  or 
another  to  50°,  and  is  more  likely  than  not  to  reach  55°.  Taking  the  month 
of  December  alone,  we  find  that  in  London  the  thermometer  has  reached 
55°  or  more  in  eighteen  out  of  the  past  twenty-five  years,  and  that  in 
three  years  it  has  reached  58°.  In  only  two  years  did  it  fail  to  reach 
50°,  and,  omitting  these,  the  range  of  the  absolute  maximum  temperature 
for  the  twenty-five  Decembers  was,  therefore,  only  8°.  With  the 
minimum  temperature,  however,  things  have  been  very  different,  for 
while  there  have  been  ten  Decembers  in  which  the  thermometer  has 
sunk  below  20°,  and  that  in  which  it  has  fallen  below  15°,  there  have 
been  eight  in  which  it  has  not  gone  below  25°,  and  one  in  which  it  never 
went  below  30°.  The  warmth  of  Monday  was  accompanied  by  great 
humidity,  and  although  no  rain  fell  in  London  after  midday  the  roads 
and  pavements  remained  very  wet.  The  maximum  temperature  in  the 
metropolis  was  at  least  17°  higher  than  anything  registered  during  the 
earlier  portion  of  last  week,  and  was  22°  higher  than  on  Christmas  Day. 
— (“  Daily  News.”) 
-  Experiments  with  Coloured  Glass.— In  cultivating 
Strawberries  under  glass  of  various  colours  Prof.  Zacharewii  z  of 
Vaucluse,  France,  has  obtained  the  following  results  : — Ordinary  clear 
glass  gave  the  best  and  earliest  fruit ;  orange  glass  increased  the 
vegetation,  but  injured  the  quality,  size,  and  earliness  of  the  fruit ; 
violet  glass  increased  the  yield  at  the  expense  of  the  quality  ;  red,  blue' 
and  green  glass  were  hurtful  to  all  kinds  of  vegetation. 
-  Shirley  Gardeners’  and  Amateurs’  Mutual  Improve¬ 
ment  Association. — The  last  monthly  meeting  wa3  held  at  the  Parish 
Room,  Shirley,  Southampton,  the  President,  W.  F.  G.  Spranger,  Esq.> 
C.C.,  being  in  the  chair,  and  about  forty  members  attending.  Two 
prizes  had  been  offered  for  essays  on  “  The  Best  and  Most  Economical 
Method  of  Heating  Pit,  Stove,  and  Greenhouses  with  One  Apparatus,” 
open  to  members  under  twenty-five,  and  not  to  exceed  1000  words. 
There  were  only  two  entries,  both  advocating  hot-water  heating,  but 
differing  as  to  choice  of  boilers.  The  first  prize  was  awarded  to  Mr. 
P.  L.  Morris,  The  Gardens,  Blighmont,  Millbrook.  The  papers  were 
read  by  the  essayists,  and  considerable  discussion  ensued.  A  vote  of 
thanks  was  afterwards  accorded  the  authors  of  the  essays. 
-  Centropogon  Lucyanus.— Showy  in[  colour  and  graceful  in 
habit,  this  stove-perennial  of  the  Campanula  family  is  one  of  our  best 
winter-flowering  plants.  The  flowers  are  curved,  tubular,  about  2  inches 
long,  with  recurved  segments  ;  colour  bright  rosy-carmine.  They  are 
produced  several  together  on  short  3ide  shoots,  and  when  the  plant 
is  in  full  bloom  it  is  very  attractive.  This  is  a  plant  for  the  warm 
greenhouse  ;  it  should  be  grown  in  a  half-shady  position  in  well  drained 
pots,  in  a  mixture  of  rich  loam,  leaf  mould  and  sand,  with  an  addition 
of  some  well-decayed  horse  manure.  During  the  growing  season  too 
much  water  cannot  be  given.  Old  plants  may  also  be  planted  out  in 
the  open  air  in  a  moist  and  half-shady  position,  where  it  will  grow 
rapidly  and  form  numerous  side  shoots.  As  the  flowering  during  winter 
depends  on  these,  the  plants  should,  of  course,  not  be  pruned  until  after 
they  flower,  when  they  can  be  dried  off  slightly  and  cut  down  to  the 
ground  before  being  planted  out.  Plants  treated  in  this  way  should  be 
lifted  early  and  potted  in  moderately  sized  pots.  They  may  also  be 
planted  out  in  a  border  in  the  conservatory,  where  they  can  be  left  for 
years.  For  ordinary  use  small  plants  raised  by  means  of  herbaceous 
cattings  in  the  spring  and  grown  on  as  rapidly  as  possible  are  the  best. 
These  will  reach  a  considerable  size  during  the  first  season,  and  if 
grown  in  pots  should  be  gradually  ripened  as  winter  draws  near.  As 
this  is  one  of  the  best  plants  of  its  class,  and  suitable  for  all  kinds  of 
winter  decoration,  it  is  surprising,  says  an  American  contemporary,  that 
no  enterprising  florist  has  taken  it  in  hand  long  before  this. 
-  Annual  Re-Union  of  Messrs.  Dobbie  &  Co ’s  Employees. 
— This  interesting  annual  event  took  place  recently  in  the  Lesser  New 
Public  Halls,  Rothesay,  and  was,  as  in  previous  years,  a  very  great 
success.  The  company  numbered  about  120,  and  was  presided  over  by 
Mr.  Wm.  Cuthbertson,the  head  of  the  firm,  supported  by  ex-BailieBurness, 
Mr.  A.  M.  Burnie,  Mrs.  Cuthbertson,  Miss  Burnie,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  A.  S. 
Christie,  Messrs.  Dunn,  Jones,  M'Murchie,  and  others.  The  Chairman,  in 
the  course  of  his  address,  said  that  from  a  business  point  of  view  1895 
had  been  the  most  successful  year  yet  experienced  in  the  history  of  the 
firm.  Tho  volume  of  trade  had  been  much  larger,  as  they  all  knew, 
and  the  firm  had  consequently  been  enabled  to  give  employment  to  an 
increased  number  of  men.  People  might  imagine  that  they  had  a  mania 
for  taking  land,  as  no  sooner  was  their  Orpington  seed  farm  under  way 
than  a  new  farm  was  secured  in  Bute  ;  but  it  had  been  his  desire  for 
years  to  go  in  for  select  agricultural  seeds,  and  when  the  opportunity 
presented  itself,  along  with  such  a  man  as  Mr.  Mitchell  to  work  it  out, 
there  was  not  a  moment’s  hesitation  on  his  own  part  or  that  of  his 
partners.  Most  of  those  present  already  knew  Mr.  Mitchell  by  reputa¬ 
tion,  and  if  they,  and  he  included  himself  in  this,  did  their  duty  as  Mr. 
Mitchell  would  do  his  there  was  greater  prosperity  than  ever  in  store 
for  them.  He  counselled  the  young  men  to  strive  to  attain  a  reputation 
for  being  depended  on.  Anyone  could  see  the  force  of  what  be  meant. 
It  was  a  great  relief  to  an  employer  to  feel  absolutely  certain  that  things 
remitted  to  an  assistant  would  be  faithfully  carried  out.  Mr.  Burness 
congratulated  the  firm  on  its  increasing  prosperity,  which  he  hoped 
would  long  continue.  Mr.  Burnie,  in  the  course  of  his  remarks,  said 
that  Mr.  Cuthbertson,  in  speaking  of  the  satisfactory  increase  of  business, 
might  have  mentioned  at  the  same  time  the  still  more  pleasing  fact, 
from  the  employees’  point  of  view,  that  wages  had  been  increased  on 
the  average  almost  £4  per  head.  A  very  attractive  programme  of  vocal 
and  instrumental  music  was  gone  through,  the  various  items  being 
received  with  many  expressions  of  pleasure. 
