96 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
January  30,  1898. 
-  A  Gardener’s  Calendar.— We  have  received  a  copy  of  a 
gardener’s  calendar  from  the  pen  of  Mons.  L.  Henry,  a  well-known 
French  horticulturist.  The  volume  is  of  handy  size,  as  it  will  easily  go 
into  the  coat  pocket,  and  contains  much  valuable  information  regarding 
money,  agricultural  schools,  and  practical  gardening,  of  course  all  in  the 
French  language.  In  addition  to  this  there  are  large  numbers  of  pages 
for  notes.  This  little  work  will  prove  of  much  assistance  to  French 
gardeners  and  to  French  reading  ones  of  other  nations.  It  is  published 
at  the  offices  of  “  Le  Jardin,”  167,  Boulevard  St.  Germain,  Paris. 
-  Early  Sowing. — The  open  weather  and  excellent  condition  of 
the  soil  is  no  doubt  tempting  to  early  sowings  of  various  crops.  It  is  as 
well  to  remember  that  a  mild  January  often  means  a  cold  late  spring  ; 
and  although  it  is  sincerely  hoped  the  ordinary  course  may  not  be 
followed  this  year,  yet  it  is  just  as  well  not  to  be  in  too  much  haste 
to  perform  work  that  is  usually  done  several  weeks  later.  We  cannot 
yet  tell  what  February  and  March  may  bring  forth,  although  indica¬ 
tions  do  not  point  to  severe  weather.  Still  a  spell  of  dull  cool  weather 
makes  the  soil  cold,  and  keeps  vegetable  life  stagnant  ;  that  is  very 
harmful  indeed  to  seeds  that  have  begun  to  germinate,  and  then  have 
their  growth  hung  up  for  weeks,  because  of  the  low  temperature  and 
absence  of  sunlight.  Those  will  no  doubt  be  wisest  who  sow  at  the 
customary  times  in  the  spring. — K.  T. 
-  Wakefield  Paxton  Society.  —  “  The  Propagation  and 
Cultivation  of  British  Ferns  ”  was  the  subject  of  a  lecture  by  Mr.  W.  H. 
Atkinson,  Curator  of  Batley  Cemetery,  at  a  recent  meeting  of  this 
Society.  The  propagation  of  Ferns  has  long  been  exceedingly  obscure, 
and  is  even  now  not  generally  understood.  Mr.  Atkinson  was  able, 
however,  to  make  the  process  very  clear  by  the  aid  of  a  limelight  lantern. 
The  growth  of  a  Fern  from  the  spore  to  a  perfect  plant  was  set  forth 
stage  by  stage,  a  very  intricate  subject  being  treated  in  an  exceedingly 
practical  way.  Mr.  Atkinson  also  dealt  with  the  culture  of  Ferns,  and 
showed  a  large  number  of  slides  of  the  best  types,  and  also  specimens 
of  new  varieties  he  had  himself  obtained  from  spores.  The  pictures 
were  splendidly  exhibited  by  Mr.  Harold  Parkin.  Mr.  J.  G.  Brown 
presided  over  a  good  attendance  of  members,  and  Mr.  Eastwood  (Stanley) 
was  Vice-Chairman. 
-  Reading  and  District  Gardeners’  Improvement 
Association. — While  preparing  for  press  we  learn  that  the  first  of  the 
series  of  meetings  for  the  new  year  was  held  in  the  Abbey  Hall  on 
Monday,  the  27th  inst.,  when  the  newly  elected  President,  Mr.  Arthur 
Warwick  Sutton,  kindly  invited  the  members  and  their  wives  to  a 
substantial  tea  at  six  o’clock,  the  party  numbering  170.  The  tables 
were  beautifully  and  tastefully  decorated  with  plants.  Amongst  those 
present  at  the  tea  and  entertainment  were  Mr.  and  Mrs.  A.  W,  Sutton, 
Mr.  Leonard  Sutton,  Mr.  Hubert  Sutton,  Mr.  Neve,  the  Chairman  of  the 
Association ;  Mr.  Burton,  Vice-Chairman  ;  Mr.  J.  Pound,  jun.,  Hon. 
Secretary  ;  Messrs.  Martin,  Woolford,  Bowie,  Outram,  Turton,  Dockerill ; 
R.  Webb,  Beenham ;  Townsend,  Wellington  College ;  Williamson, 
Wokingham  ;  Wise,  Blackwater ;  Dearlove,  Burghfield ;  Barefoot, 
Mortimer  ;  Johnson  and  Hatt,  Englefield  ;  Osborne,  Sonning  ;  Burton, 
Bexley  Heath,  and  a  delightful  evening  was  spent. 
-  Why  Are  Some  Flowers  Altogether  Barren  ? — In 
replying  to  this  question  a  correspondent  of  “  Pearson’s  Weekly  ”  says  : — 
“  At  the  outset  a  distinction  must  be  made  between  flowers  which  are 
sterile  when  insects  are  excluded,  and  those  which  are  incapable  of 
fertilisation  with  their  own  pollen,  or  self-sterile  as  Darwin  termB  them. 
In  the  former  case  sterility  is  merely  due  to  the  fact  that  the  pollen  is 
prevented  from  reaching  the  stigma,  or  that  the  pollen  and  the  stigma 
mature  at  different  times.  In  the  latter  class  there  are  a  number  of 
plants  that  are  sterile  even  where  insects  are  given  every  opportunity  of 
fertilising  them.  This  is  the  case  with  five  species  of  Passiflora,  several 
specieB  of  Verbascum,  and  a  large  number  of  Brazilian  Orchids.  In  the 
last  instance  it  was  found  that  the  pollen  was  often  actually  poisonous 
to  the  plant.  But  the  examination  is  not  yet  complete,  as  the  fact  of 
self-sterility  cannot  be  proved  except  by  protecting  the  plant  from 
insects,  and  then  fertilising  it  by  pollen  of  other  plants  and  by  its  own 
pollen.  It  is,  however,  ascertained  that  the  phenomenon  is  found  at 
random  throughout  the  whole  vegetable  kingdom.  The  causes  of  it  are 
due  to  environment.  Plants  self -sterile  in  Brazil  become  fertile  in 
England  ;  plants  sterile  in  spring  become  fertile  later  in  the  season. 
Darwin  concluded  from  this  that  some  degree  of  differentiation  in  the 
productive  system  is  necessary  for  the  full  fertility  of  plants.  Self¬ 
sterility  must  be  regarded,  then,  as  an  incidental  result,  dependent  on 
the  conditions  to  which  plants  have  been  subjected,  such  as  excess  of 
heat,  manure,  moisture,  and  the  like.” 
- Cost  of  Manure  in  Fruit  Culture, — “E.  L.”  writes  : — “  A 
correspondent  has  planted  fifteen  acres  of  Apples,  Cob  Nuts,  and  Black 
Currants.  This  is  a  plantation  in  the  preparation  of  which  it  is 
customary  to  apply  as  much  as  fifty  tons  of  London  manure  per  acre  in 
those  parts  of  Kent  where  fruit  is  grown  largely  within  fifteen  or  twenty 
miles  of  London.  This,  at  the  rate  of  53.  6d.  per  ton,  gives  the 
formidable  item  of  £18  10s.  per  acre  for  manure  alone.  We  avoid  much 
of  this  by  using  no  manure  before  the  planting,  and  applying  a  dressing 
of  chemical  manures  composed  of  two  parts  nitrate  of  soda,  one  part 
muriate  of  potash,  five  parts  superphosphate  of  lime,  in  the  spring,  at 
the  rate  of  about  5  cwt.  per  acre,  at  a  total  cost  of  40s.  per  acre.  We 
have  used  chemical  manures  for  this  purpose  with  invariable  success,  the 
growth  of  the  trees  and  fruit  being  alike  satisfactory  through  annual 
spring  dressings.” 
-  Raising  Garden  Produce. — According  to  an  Indian  con¬ 
temporary  this  is  an  agreeable,  gentlemanly,  and  honourable  occupa¬ 
tion  to  which  some  educated  youths  of  the  Bhadra  class  in  Bengal  may 
betake  themselves,  not  only  without  any  fear  of  being  lowered  in  their 
status,  but  also  with  every  expectation  to  eke  out  a  decent  income.  In 
the  Patna  district  especially  raising  garden  produce  is  a  profitable 
occupation.  The  Commissioner  of  the  Patna  division,  in  his  last  annual 
report,  quotes  the  following  remarks  of  the  Officiating  Collector  of 
Patna  on  the  cultivators  of  this  class,  living  on  the  outskirts  of  the  city 
of  Patna  : — “  A  large  cultivating  class  live  on  the  outskirts  of  the  city 
and  make  a  comfortable  living  by  raising  garden  produce,  including 
large  quantities  of  Potatoes,  Onions,  Garlic,  Cauliflowers,  and  other 
vegetables,  many  of  which  are  exported  to  Calcutta  and  other  parts  of 
Lower  and  Western  Bengal.  The  class  are  generally  well-to-do,  as  this 
has  little  fear  of  loss  either  from  drought  or  inundation.” 
-  The  Latent  Life  of  Seeds. — This  has  been  investigated 
by  M.  C.  de  Candolle,  and  he  has  come  to  the  conclusion  that  in  their 
latent  life  seeds  pass  through  a  period  of  suspended  animation  ( vie 
ralentie ),  in  which  a  1  the  functions  of  the  protoplasm  are  quiescent, 
but  from  which  they  revive  when  again  placed  in  conditions  suitable 
for  germination.  This  period  of  suspended  animation  may  extend  over 
an  indefinite  time,  probably  through  a  long  series  of  years,  and  the  seeds 
may  during  this  period  be  subjected  to  a  very  low  temperature  without 
losing  their  vitality.  In  the  case  of  Wheat,  Oat,  and  Fennel,  the 
temperature  was  reduced  as  low  as  —  30°  C.,  and  the  experiment  was 
repeated  as  many  as  118  times  on  the  same  seeds  without  Injurious 
effects  ;  the  greater  number  of  the  seeds  of  the  Sensitive  Plant,  however, 
succumbed  to  this  temperature,  and  nearly  all  those  of  Lobelia  erinus. 
The  immunity  from  injury  appears,  says  a  contemporary,  to  depend  on 
the  protoplasm  of  the  seed  passing  into  a  completely  inert  state, 
incapable  of  either  respiring  or  assimilating  before  it  is  placed  under 
the  unfavourable  conditions; 
- Liverpool  Horticultural  Association. — The  best  attend¬ 
ance  seen  for  years  assembled  in  the  Free  Library  on  Saturday  evening, 
Mr.  J.  White  presiding,  at  the  annual  meeting.  The  Committee,  in 
presenting  its  seventeenth  annual  report,  for  the  year  1895,  regrets 
that  the  amount  of  funds  in  hand  have  been  somewhat  reduced  when 
compared  with  1894,  no  doubt  owing  to  three  shows  being  held  in  1895 
against  two  in  1894,  and  the  fact  that  on  the  first  day  of  the  summer 
show  the  rain  came  down  in  torrents.  The  best  thanks  of  the  Committee 
are  again  tendered  to  the  trade  for  their  handsome  exhibits  ;  also  to  the 
several  firms  for  special  prizes.  A  satisfactory  sign  is  the  increasing 
attendance  at  the  monthly  meetings,  doubtless  due  to  the  many  excellent 
papers  that  have  been  read  from  time  to  time.  In  order  to  encourage 
young  gardeners  prizes  of  21s.  and  10s.  6d.  are  offered  for  the  best 
essay  on  “  The  Selection  and  Cultivation  of  Plants  Most  Suitable  for 
House  Decoration.”  After  calm  and  careful  discussion  it  was  decided, 
by  an  overwhelming  majority,  to  give  two  shows  as  in  1894,  omitting 
the  summer  show  for  one  year,  and  giving  grand  spring  and  autumn 
shows,  both  of  which  will  be  held  in  St.  George’s  Hall.  The  Right 
Hon.  the  Earl  of  Derby  was  elected  President;  R.  P.  Houston,  Esq., 
M.P.,  J.  S.  Gilliatt,  Esq.,  M.P.,  and  H.  Wade  Deacon,  Esq.,  Vice- 
Presidents ;  W.  Fletcher  Rogers,  Esq.,  Hon.  Treasurer;  Messrs.  Thos. 
White,  Chairman;  George  Blackmore,  Sub-Treasurer;  Steers  and 
Waterman,  Auditors  ;  Ferguson,  Ransom  and  Wilson  on  the  Committee; 
with  W.  Dickson,  Chartered  Accountant,  Victoria  Street,  Liverpool, 
Secretary.  Subscriptions  amounted  to  £492  16s.  6d.  Balance  in  the 
bank  and  with  the  Sub-Treasurers,  £58  17s.  lOd.  Sums  of  2  and  3 
guineas  respectively  were  voted  to  the  Gardeners’  Royal  Benevolent 
Association  and  the  Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan  Fund,  The  usual  votes 
of  thanks  closed  the  meeting. 
