January  9, 1896. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
31 
-  Persimmon. — The  “  American  Agriculturist  ”  says  : — “  In  the 
development  of  fruits  the  native  Persimmon  has  been  neglected. 
Attention  has  been  called  to  it  recently,  and  Professor  Troop  of  the 
Indiana  Experiment  Station  is  making  quite  extensive  experiments  in 
cross-fertilisation  and  hybridisation.  To  most  persons  even  the  wild 
fruit  is  a  delicacy.  Its  value  ought  to  be  greatly  enhanced  by  culture. 
The  hardy  Paw  Paw  is  also  receiving  consideration.  It  is  rather  delicate 
and  difficult  of  propagation,  but  careful  growers  can  succeed  with  it. 
Good  natives  are  often  overlooked  for  questionable  foreigners.” 
-  Railway  Rates. — We  learn  that  the  rates  for  the  carriage  of 
fruit  and  vegetables  to  London  by  the  London  and  South-Western 
Railway  Company  have  been  revised,  and  considerably  reduced.  From 
all  non-competitive  stations  to  London  the  rates  for  fruit  and  vegetables 
in  classes  C  and  1  and  2  of  the  general  railway  classification  in  small 
consignments  of  1  cwt.  and  under  came  into  operation  on  the  1st  inst. 
These  classes  include  the  principal  descriptions  of  fruit  and  vegetables 
placed  on  the  market,  and  exclude  only  the  more  valuable  produce,  such 
as  Apricots,  Grapes,  Peaches,  Nectarines,  and  other  fruit  from  under 
glass.  The  new  rates  show  a  reduction  in  class  C  or  1  ranging  from 
33  to  20  per  cent.,  and  in  class  2  from  29  to  14  per  cent.,  and  they  will 
include  delivery  by  cart  within  the  usual  delivery  boundaries.  The 
interest  of  growers  will  be  best  served  by  the  concentration  of  produce, 
and  its  transmission  in  large  quantities  to  the  market  salesmen.  But 
inasmuch  aB  some  time  must  of  course  elapse  before  the  necessary 
organisation  can  be  brought  into  operation,  these  reduced  rates  for  small 
quantities  of  fruit  and  vegetables  will  be  of  great  practical  benefit  to 
growers. 
- The  Cabbage  Maggot. — The  Cabbage  maggot,  which  is  the 
larva  of  Anthomyia  Brassicae,  is  a  destructive  pest  of  the  Cabbage  in 
Europe,  where  it  sometimes  destroys  entire  fields  of  young  plants.  But 
although  it  has  been  occasionally  noticed  in  America  for  the  past 
fifty  years,  it  has  rarely  appeared  in  such  alarming  numbers,  says  a 
transatlantic  contemporary,  as  it  has  during  the  present  year  on  some  of 
the  truck-farms  of  North  Carolina.  If  the  maggots  appear  in  the  seed 
bed  &  dressing  of  lime  or  muriate  of  potash  should  be  given  to  the  soil, 
or  enough  of  the  kerosene  emulsion  to  wet  the  ground  1  inch  deep. 
If  plants  in  the  fields  are  attacked  a  hole  should  be  made  near  each 
plant  with  a  sharp  stick  about  an  inch  in  diameter  and  as  deep  as  the 
roots  of  the  plant,  and  filled  with  the  kerosene  emulsion.  If  this  does 
not  moisten  the  soil  on  all  sides  of  the  plant,  a  similar  hole  on  the 
opposite  side  should  be  filled.  The  emulsion  should  be  made  of  half  a 
pound  of  hard  soap,  one  gallon  of  water,  and  one  gallon  of  kerosene 
oil,  diluted  with  nine  times  its  bulk  of  cold  water  before  using. 
When  properly  made  this  emulsion  does  not  hurt  the  plants,  but  if 
any  of  the  free  oil  rises  to  the  top  it  should  net  be  allowed  to  touch 
the  leaves. 
-  Horticultural  Lectures. — To  a  very  large  gathering  of 
the  members  of  the  Reading  Gardeners’  Association  on  the  30th  ult. 
Mr.  A.  Dean  of  Kingston-on-Thames  delivered  an  address  on  the 
horticultural  work  of  the  Surrey  County  Council.  Mr.  Woolford 
presided.  The  speaker,  after  explaining  the  nature  of  technical 
education,  and  how  the  Government  grant  for  its  promotion  originated 
and  was  distributed  amongst  the  County  Councils,  said  that  Surrey  had 
from  the  first  been  in  the  van  in  this  matter,  and  had  especially 
favoured  instruction  in  gardening.  There  was  no  subject  taught  that 
was  not  only  so  generally  useful,  but  also  so  generally  interesting  to  all 
classes,  old  and  young,  and  to  both  sexes,  as  gardening.  The  winter 
courses  of  lectures  given  in  selected  centres,  six  at  a  place,  all  over  the 
county  ;  the  cottage  garden  and  allotment  inspections  and  judging,  the 
addresses  at  village  flower  shows,  the  various  vegetable  trials 
conducted,  and,  not  least,  the  school  or  continuation  gardens,  of  which 
there  are  some  thirty  plots,  and  about  450  distinct  gardens,  all  placed 
under  the  best  local  control,  were  all  described,  much  to  the  interest  of 
the  large  assemblage  of  gardeners.  Strong  opinions  were  later  expressed 
as  to  the  sad  neglect  of  this  important  subject  shown  by  the  Berkshire 
County  Council.  On  January  3rd  Mr.  Dean  addressed  the  newly 
formed  allotment  holders  of  Feltham,  Middlesex,  in  the  Public  Hall. 
There  was  a  good  attendance.  Mr.  J.  Coppin,  C.C.,  was  in  the  chair. 
Here,  beyond  brief  reference  to  the  work  of  instruction  in  Surrey,  the 
theme  was  purely  cultural,  the  culture  of  allotments  being  touched 
upon  from  the  aspect  of  deep  working  and  reliable  manuring  and  the 
same,  and  then  most  desirable  cropping.  Mr.  Councillor  A.  Gerard  of 
Richmond,  recent  Secretary  to  the  allotment  holders  at  that  place,  also 
addressed  the  audience.  Hearty  votes  of  thanks  to  the  speakers  and 
Gbftirraan  were  awarded  at  the  close  of  the  meeting. 
-  Cocoa-nut  Fruit. — This  usually  develops  but  one  seed, 
although  there  are  indications  that  the  fruit  should  be  three-seeded, 
one  being  the  three  dark  marks  at  the  end  of  the  fruit  which  are  not 
covered  by  the  horny  shell,  and  would  serve  as  outlets  for  the  growths 
of  the  germinating  seeds.  In  an  interesting  paper  on  the  development 
of  a  single  seed  in  the  fruit  of  the  Cocoa-nut  Palm  (Cocos  nucifera), 
read  by  Dr.  Morris,  C.M.G.,  at  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Linnean  Society, 
allusion  was  made  to  the  occurrence  of  Palms  with  twin  and  trifid 
stems  arising  from  one  base.  Dr.  Morris  showed  these  were  due  to 
several  seeds  in  one  fruit,  or  to  more  than  one  embryo  in  a  seed,  or  to  a 
branching  of  the  primary  shoot.  In  cases  cited  by  Rumphius,  Forbes, 
and  others,  several  seeds  were  found  in  one  fruit. 
-  Arbutus  Unedo. — The  Strawberry  Tree,  as  this  plant  is  often 
called  on  account  of  the  slight  resemblance  of  the  fruit  to  a  Strawberry, 
is  a  native  of  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean  and  the  west  of  Ireland. 
Its  principal  claim  to  the  attention  of  the  gardeners  of  this  country  is 
its  time  of  flowering,  which  is  from  the  end  of  November  to  the  middle 
of  January,  when  it  makes  a  very  gorgeous  display  of  its  almost  pure 
white  nodding  panicles  of  flowers.  There  is,  says  “G.  W.  0.”  in  the 
“  Garden  and  Forest,”  a  large  plant  of  it  in  the  conservatories  at  the 
Botanic  Garden  atWashington  which  is  yearly  covered  with  bloom,  but, 
curiously  enough,  although  it  has  been  there  over  twenty  years  it  has 
never  been  known  to  bear  fruit.  This  is  probably  owing  to  the  absence 
of  insects  at  that  time  of  the  year.  The  fruit  is  quite  as  attractive  as 
the  flowers;  the  colour  is  reddish  yellow;  size  about  an  inch  in 
diameter,  covered  with  minute  warty  protuberances  which  give  it  a  very 
fascinating  appearance.  A  good-sized  plant,  grown  in  a  tub,  is  quite 
an  ornament  for  outdoor  decoration  in  summer,  and  few  plants  are 
found  more  useful  for  winter-flowering  in  a  cool  greenhouse  where 
there  is  abundance  of  head-room.  Cuttings  taken  about  this  season  root 
before  spring  in  a  cool  house.  The  plants  ought  to  be  grown  in  soil 
containing  a  liberal  quantity  of  peat  and  sand. 
-  Weather  in  Guernsey. — Since  writing  you  last  we  seem  to 
have  come  to  the  end  of  the  rainy  season,  wherein  we  had  rain  more  or 
less  on  sixty-one  consecutive  days.  None,  however,  has  fallen  since 
New  Year’s  Day,  the  wind  has  changed  from  S.  toE.  by  N.E.,  therefore 
much  colder,  but  as  yet  no  sign  of  either  frost  or  snow.  Grass  is  looking 
fresh  and  except  where  the  land  has  been  overdone  with  moisture  there 
is  an  abundance  of  it,  so  that  cattle  need  very  little  dry  fodder  at 
present.  As  showing  the  mildness  of  the  season,  I  picked  fresh 
Primroses  from  the  hedgebank  in  one  of  the  lanes  here  on  Christmas 
Eve.  Most  of  our  erowers  under  glass  are  now  busy  planting  for  the 
coming  season,  and  the  early  growers  who  plant  Potatoes,  French  Beans, 
and  Peas  in  October  will  have  these  ready  to  dig  and  gather  by  the 
commencement  of  the  London  season.  A  few  parcels  have  been  sent 
already.  There  is  nothing  like  the  amount  of  greenhouse  building 
going  on  this  winter  as  in  the  two  or  three  preceding  years.  I  am 
inclined  to  think  the  unremunerative  prices  of  the  past  season  have  given 
a  sensible  check  to  this,  for  a  time  at  any  rate,  not  a  few  eager 
speculators  having  burnt  their  fingers.  I  hope,  however,  the  coming 
season,  both  here  and  in  the  old  country,  will  be  a  better  paying  one  all 
round.  A  happy  new  year  to  the  staff  and  all  the  readers  of  the 
Journal,  from — X. 
-  Summer  Fete  for  Chester. — We  are  informed  that  an 
influential  meeting  was  recently  held  at  the  Grosvenor  Hotel,  Chester, 
for  the  purpose  of  considering  the  desirability  of  holding  a  monster 
summer  show  of  flowers,  fruit,  and  vegetables,  with  a  musical  fete  at 
Chester,  in  place  of  the  now  abandoned  autumn  sports.  Mr.  H.  Enfield 
Taylor  presided,  and  in  introducing  the  proposal  alluded  to  the  great 
success  that  had  attended  similar  gatherings  at  other  places,  and  pointed 
out  the  advantages  that  would  accrue  to  the  city  from  the  f§te.  Various 
points  were  discussed  at  length,  and  the  important  statement  was  made 
that  horticulture  would  be  placed  in  the  forefront  of  the  exhibition.  It 
was  unanimously  resolved  that  a  show  of  flowers,  fruit,  and  vegetables, 
combined  with  a  musical  fete,  similar  to  that  held  at  Shrewsbury, 
should  take  place  on  the  Roodee  in  August.  The  question  of  finance  was 
carefully  considered,  with  the  result  that  it  was  decided  that  a  schedule 
of  prizes  for  horticultural  produce  should  be  at  once  prepared  and 
issued.  It  was  resolved  to  invite  His  Grace  the  Duke  of  Westminster  to 
be  President,  with  Mr.  Yerburgh,  M.P.,  and  the  Mayor  as  Vice-Presi¬ 
dents.  A  committee  was  appointed  to  carry  out  the  provisional  arrange¬ 
ments,  Mr.  J.  Wynne  Ffoulkes  being  made  Hon.  Sec.,  and  Mr.  E. 
Andrews  Official  Sec.  Such  arrangements  were  made  in  the  room  as  to 
enable  the  Horticultural  Committee  to  authorise  the  issue  of  »  sehedulu 
Bet  of  prises  Up  to  the  amount  of  £4Q0i 
