74 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
January  23,  1866. 
-  Early  Red  Spider  on  Apple  Trees.  —  A  Gravesend 
correspondent  writes: — “As  a  proof  of  the  mildness  of  the  season,  a 
gardener  here  has  showed  me  some  young  Apple  trees,  upon  the  stem 
and  branches  of  which  juvenile  red  spiders  were  beginning  to  travel.” 
-  Lee,  Blackheath,  and  Lewisham  Horticultural 
Society. — We  are  informed  that  for  the  future  the  above  Society  shall 
be  known  as  the  “  Lee,  Blackheath,  Lewisham,  and  West  Kent  Horti¬ 
cultural  Society.”  The  dates  fixed  for  the  exhibition  in  1896  are 
Wednesday  and  Thursday,  July  8th  and  9th. 
-  The  Use  of  Weeds. — In  one  of  the  late  bulletins  of  the 
Cornell  Experiment  Station  the  Russian  Thistle  is  spoken  of  as  one  of 
those  weeds  whose  mission  is  to  educate  the  farmer  and  ameliorate  the 
soil.  Weeds  only  prosper  on  fields  which  have  been  mismanaged, 
and  judicious  tillage  and  cropping  will  keep  them  down.  If  the 
Russian  Thistle  spreads  seriously  it  will  be  because  our  scheme  of 
farming  makes  room  for  it  by  not  keeping  the  land  in  full  use. 
-  Mr.  George  W.  Vanderbilt  is  establishing,  on  his  estate  at 
Biltmore,  in  North  Carolina,  a  scientific  collection  of  dried  plants  in 
connection  with  an  arboretum  and  scientifically  managed  forest.  As  a 
nucleus  he  has  recently  purchased,  as  we  learn  from  the  “  Botanical 
Gazette,”  Dr.  Chapman’s  herbarium  of  Southern  American  plants,  which 
formed  the  foundation  for  his  “  Flora  of  the  Southern  States.” — 
(“  Nature.”) 
-  Royal  Botanic  Society. — The  schedule  of  a  Daffodil  show, 
to  be  held  during  the  month  of  April,  under  the  auspices  of  this 
Society,  is  to  hand.  The  classes  number  twenty-one  in  all,  of  which 
two  are  reserved  for  paintings,  the  remainder  being  devoted  to  cut 
flowers  and  to  plants  in  pots.  The  chief  class  is  for  a  collection  of 
Daffodils  staged  in  three  groups — Magni-Coronati,  Medii-Coronati,  and 
Parvi-Coronati,  the  first  prize  being  Mr.  Peter  Barr’s  handsome  silver 
cup,  designed  by  the  well-known  artist,  Mr.  H.  G.  Moon.  The  second 
and  third  prizes  will  be  medals  of  the  Society.  With  the  exception 
of  this  and  the  classes  for  paintings,  money  prizes  are  given,  and  are 
sufficiently  good  to  insure  strong  competition  if  the  weather  prove 
favourable  to  the  flowers.  In  connection  with  the  exhibition,  a 
Conference  on  Daffodils  will  be  held  before  ;  some  influential  gentlemen 
have  promised  to  read  papers.  Notice  of  the  exact  date  will  be  given 
as  soon  as  it  can  be  ascertained  when  the  flowers  will  be  at  their  best. 
Full  particulars  may  be  had  from  the  Secretary,  Mr.  J.  B.  Sowerby. 
-  Royal  Meteorological  Society. — The  annual  meeting  of 
this  Society  was  held  on  the  15th  inst.,  Mr.  R.  Inwards,  F.R.A.S., 
President,  in  the  chair.  The  report  of  the  Council  showed  that  the 
Society  was  in  a  satisfactory  condition,  thirty-four  new  Fellows  having 
been  elected  during’  the  year.  Mr.  Inwards  devoted  his  presidential 
address  to  the  subject  of  “  Meteorological  Observatories,”  which  he 
illustrated  with  numerous  lantern  slides.  After  describing  some  ancient 
observatories,  including  the  Nilometers,  and  the  Tower  of  the  Winds  at 
Athens,  he  gave  an  account  of  national  observatories,  of  which  the 
Royal  Observatory,  Greenwich,  was  taken  as  a  type.  Higb-level 
observatories  were  next  described,  of  which  that  on  Mont  Blanc  was 
taken  as  a  type.  Special  reference  was  also  made  to  the  observatory  on 
tbe  Sonnblick,  the  high-level  observatory  at  Arequipa  on  the  Andes, 
and  that  on  Ben  Nevis.  An  account  was  next  given  of  tower 
observatories,  together  with  some  of  the  results  obtained  from  the  Eiffel 
Tower  at  Paris.  Mr.  Inwards,  in  concluding,  said,  “  One  can  figure  to 
oneself  a  tower  piercing  the  air  from  any  of  the  elevated  table  lands 
of  this  country — Salisbury  Plain,  the  Stray  at  Harrogate,  or  the  downs 
between  Guildford  and  Dorking — and  from  which  the  most  interesting 
results  could  not  fail  to  accrue.  It  is  the  opinion  of  M.  Vallot,  no 
mean  authority,  that  a  high  tower  is  for  air-observing  purposes 
equivalent  to  a  mountain  station  of  ten  times  the  altitude  ;  and  this  is 
plain  when  one  considers  that  any  mountain  must  act  as  an  obstacle 
which  thrusts  upward  the  strata  of  the  atmosphere  into  a  form  almost 
like  its  own,  so  that  some  of  the  effects  are  very  little  different  from 
those  observed  below  ;  while  a  tower  like  the  Eiffel  Tower  thrusts  itself 
in  the  air  without  obstructing  its  movements.  It  is  the  boast  of  the 
Royal  Meteorological  Society  that  it  is  gradually  covering  the  country 
with  a  network  of  private  observing  stations,  and  is  collecting  together 
for  the  enlightenment  of  all  future  time  a  mass  of  accurate  knowledge 
on  the  subject  of  the  changes  in  our  atmosphere,  its  varying  moods,  its 
beating  pulses,  its  calms  and  its  convulsions,  so  that  when  the 
philosopher  is  born  who  is  destined  to  unravel  all  its  mysteries  he  will 
have  the  tools  and  instruments  ready  to  his  hand.”  Mr;  E.  Mawley, 
F.R.II.S.,  was  elected  President  for  the  ensuing  year. 
-  Gardening  Appointment. — Mr.  George  Lee,  who  during 
the  past  three  years  has  been  general  foreman  at  Humberstone  Hall, 
Leicester,  has  been  appointed  head  gardener  to  Thomas  Perkins,  Esq., 
Payne’s  Park,  Hitchin. 
-  Horticultural  Club.  —  The  usual  monthly  dinner  and 
conversazione  of  the  above  Club  took  place  on  Tuesday  evening  last  at 
their  rooms,  Hotel  Windsor.  The  chair  was  occupied  by  Mr.  Harry  J. 
Veitch,  and  there  was  a  good  attendance  of  members.  A  very  interesting 
paper  was  read  by  Mr.  H.  Selfe-Leonard  on  “  The  Arrangement  and 
Planting  of  the  Rock  Gardens.”  The  paper  gave  rise  to  a  profitable 
discussion,  in  which  most  of  the  points  touched  on  by  the  writer  were 
considered.  A  cordial  vote  of  thanks  was  accorded  to  the  author. 
-  “  The  Garden  Oracle.”— Messrs.  Collingridge  &  Sons  have 
sent  us  a  copy  of  this  useful  annual.  As  usual  it  is  varied  in  its  contents. 
Special  articles  are  given  on  various  subjects,  also  selections  of  plant* 
and  flowers,  lists  of  societies,  tabulated  matter  of  various  kinds,  and  the 
inevitable  calendar.  In  one  table  we  note  an  increase  of  nearly  37,000 
acres  of  Potatoes  last  year  over  the  area  of  1894,  and  it  appears  that  we 
import  more  than  500,000  bushels  of  Onions  a  year,  which  seems  very 
absurd. 
-  Vines  :  Feeding  and  Sportin6. — A  recent  number  of  the 
Journal  contained  remarks  as  to  generous  feeding,  sometimes  forcing  one 
variety  to  come  like  another  in  its  fruit.  Is  there  such  a  thing  as  a  Vine 
sporting  ?  Some  years  back  I  was  working  in  a  large  market  nursery 
near  London.  In  one  of  the  Alicante  houses  I  had  charge  of  was  a  Vine 
with  four  rods  or  canes.  They  were  16  feet  in  length,  and  carried  about 
30  lbs.  of  Grapes  each.  Half  way  up  one  of  these  canes,  or  rather  from 
the  middle  to  the  top,  the  growth  was  of  remarkable  vigour  and  quite 
distinct  from  the  rest  of  the  Vine.  The  bunches  were  unlike  Alicantesi 
being  short  and  very  broad  shouldered,  the  berries  quite  round,  very 
large,  and  ripened  a  fortnight  sooner  than  any  of  the  others  in  the 
house  (one  of  280  feet).  We  used  to  feed  very  heavily.  Would  this  be 
the  cause  of  such  a  decided  difference  1 — P.  B. 
-  Drill  Hall  Lectures. — The  lectures  arranged  to  be  delivered 
at  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  Drill  Hall  meetings  during  the 
current  year  are  as  follows  : — “  Melons,”  by  Mr.  J.  Barkham  ;  “  Salad  - 
ings,”  by  Mr.  W.  Iggulden  ;  “  The  Movements  of  Plants,”  by  the  Rev. 
G.  Henslow,  M.A.  ;  “  Pine  Apples,”  by  Mr.  H.  W.  Ward  ;  “  The  Species 
and  Varieties  of  Cultivated  Tulips,”  by  Mr.  J.  G.  Baker,  F.R.S.  ;  “  The 
Rights  of  Plants  as  Living  Creatures,”  by  Mr.  Walter  Gardiner,  F.R.S.  ; 
“  Gardeners — Past,  Present,  and  Future,”  by  Mr.  S.  Heaton  ;  “New 
Roses,”  by  the  Rev.  H.  J.  Pemberton  ;  “  Cacti,”  by  Mr.  E .  H.  Chapman  ; 
“Fern  Generation,”  by  Mr.  C.  T.  Druery,  F.L.S.  ;  “Forcing  Lilies  of 
the  Valley,”  by  Mr.  T.  Jannoch  ;  “  Gladioli,”  by  Mr.  J.  Burrell ;  “  Hardy 
Summer  Flowers,”  by  Mr.  E.  Burrell  ;  “  Chrysanthemums,”  by  Mr. 
W.  H.  Lees  ;  and  “  Seed  Growing,”  by  Mr.  Robert  Fife. 
-  The  Potato  Crop  of  1895. — The  United  Kingdom  and  the 
Continent  of  Europe  generally  harvested  a  large  crop  of  Potatoes  in 
1895.  From  statistics  derived  from  the  best  data  obtainable  a  contem¬ 
porary  finds  that  out  of  fourteen  different  countries  thirteen  of  them 
show  a  larger  yield  of  Potatoes  than  in  1894.  Italy  is  the  only  exception 
to  the  rule,  that  country  yielding  about  540,000  bushels  of  tubers  less 
than  in  1894.  Germany  stands  at  the  head  of  the  list  with  1,106,000,000 
bushels,  grown  on  7,525,000  acres ;  Russia  comes  second  in  order  with 
611,000.000  bushels,  from  6,234,000  acres  ;  France  ranks  third  with 
443,200,000  bushels,  from  3,854,000  acres.  The  United  Kingdom  is 
credited  with  192,800,000  bushels,  grown  on  1,252,000  acres.  Although 
such  enormous  quantities  of  Potatoes  are  produced  in  Continental 
countries,  yet  they,  as  a  rule,  consume  all  they  grow  at  home,  and  have 
little  to  export,  except  from  France  and  Germany  and,  to  some  extent, 
the  Netherlands,  which  ship  their  surplus  to  England.  In  the  United 
States  the  crop  of  Potatoes  for  1895  reaches  282,148,000  bushels  ;  this 
quantity  is  said  not  only  to  be  large,  but  by  far  the  largest  ever  grown 
in  that  country.  The  acreage,  which  shows  3,204,000  acres,  was 
suddenly  increased  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  demands  for  consump¬ 
tion,  in  response,  it  is  reported,  to  ill-advised  suggestions  from  high 
official  sources,  coupled  with  a  natural  desire  on  the  part  of  the  American 
farmers  to  replace  Wheat  in  the  north-west  with  some  more  paying  crop. 
The  result  is  a  crop  furnishing  a  heavy  surplus  above  food  requirements  ; 
and  this  surplus,  having  no  adequate  outlet  at  present,  has  crushed  prices 
to  a  level  below  the  cost  of  production  in  some  sections  ;  in  fact,  in 
many  of  the  north-west  districts  growers  abandoned  the  results  of  their 
year’s  work  and  did  not  lift  their  crop,  prices  not  paying  the  cost  of 
digging  and  hauling. 
