February  20, 1890. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
163 
-  Death  of  a  Nonogenarian. — It  ia  rare  that  we  have  to 
announce  the  death  of  a  nurseryman  of  such  an  advanced  age  as 
Mr.  Joseph  Cheal,  the  founder  of  the  well  known  Lowfield  Nurseries  of 
Messrs.  J.  Cheal  &  Sons,  near  Crawley.  For  the  past  few  years  visitors 
to  those  nurseries  marvelled  at  the  activity  of  body  and  brightness 
of  mind  of  the  genial  old  gentleman  who  received  them  so  pleasantly, 
and  many  there  must  be  who  will  mourn  his  loss.  Mr.  Cheal  was  not 
more  diligent  in  business  than  he  was  honourable  in  his  dealings  with 
all ;  and,  as  is  well  known,  his  sons  are  like  unto  him.  The  deceased 
was  born  with  the  century,  and  was  thus  in  his  ninety-sixth  year.  He 
passed  away  on  the  morning  of  the  18th  inst.,  an  upright  man,  whose 
end  was  peace. 
-  Mr.  Alfred  Outram. — We  understand  that  this  well-known 
traveller  of  Messrs.  Sutton  &  Sons,  Reading,  sailed  in  the  “  Campania  ” 
on  Saturday  last  for  New  York.  Mr.  Outram  is  no  stranger  in  America, 
and  we  shall  be  surprised  if  he  fail  to  convince  his  many  friends  there 
that  we  have  a  few  good  things  in  the  old  country  not  unworthy  of  the 
attention  of  our  kinsmen  in  the  great  Republic  of  the  West.  We  hope 
Mr.  Outram  will  find  the  weather  warmer  when  he  reaches  New  York 
than  it  was  early  in  the  present  week,  when  the  Fahrenheit  thermometer 
registered  1°  below  zero  ;  also,  we  trust  he  will  have  a  good  time  and  a 
safe  return  in  the  course  of  a  few  months,  as  he  will  be  wanted  at  our 
summer  shows.  Good  “  specimens  ”  are  always  looked  for  there. 
-  Fertilising  Peach  Blossom.— When  looking  through  Mr. 
J.  Walker’s  fine  Peach  houses  at  Ham  Common  recently,  I  found  in  the 
earlier  ones  the  trees  both  trained  under  the  glass  and  in  pots  in  full 
bloom.  It  was  very  interesting  to  observe  the  rapidity  with  which  the 
young  men  armed  with  long  sticks,  on  the  points  of  which  were  small 
balls  of  rabbit  fur,  ran  over  the  bloom,  carrying  pollen  in  profuse 
abundance  to  the  pistils  of  the  flowers.  Sometimes  a  sharp  shake  or  rap 
on  the  stems  of  the  trees  suffices,  much  depending  on  the  nature  of 
the  weather.  No  doubt  this,  after  all  trifling  trouble,  is  amply  repaid* 
for  the  crops  produced  are  generally  heavy.  From  one  large  trained 
tree  of  Crimson  Galande,  last  year  no  less  than  470  fine  fruits  were 
marketed — a  good  return.  Alexander  here  blooms  very  well,  and  drops 
few  flowers. — Grower. 
-  Axminster  Gardeners’  Improvement  Society. — A  highly 
interesting  lecture  on  “  Parks  and  Gardens  ”  was  given  recently,  under 
the  auspices  of  Axminster  Gardeners’  Mutual  Improvement  Society. 
The  chair  was  occupied  by  the  Rector  (Rev.  T.  Newman),  and  the  lecturer 
was  Mr.  F.  W.  Meyer,  landscape  gardener  to  Messrs.  R.  Yeitch  k  Son 
Exeter.  A  powerful  magic  lantern,  supplied  by  the  County  Council 
was  well  manipulated  by  Mr.  Wilmott.  Mr.  Meyer  exhibited  about 
sixty  capital  slides,  illustrating  the  progress  of  the  art  of  landscape 
gardening  from  the  earliest  times  up  to  date.  Mr.  Meyer  also  exhibited 
a  number  of  views  of  parks  and  gardens  of  his  own  designing,  such  as 
the  parks  of  Devonport,  Truro,  and  Poole,  and  also  some  slides  of 
beautiful  rock  gardens  constructed  by  him  at  Newton  Abbot  and  many 
other  places.  A  hearty  vote  of  {thanks  to  the  lecturer  concluded  a  most 
enjoyable  evening. 
-  The  Mild  Weather. — Now  that  the  winter  is  so  far 
advanced  the  chances  in  favour  of  anything  like  a  prolonged  spell  of 
frost  are,  of  course,  becoming  very  remote.  With  half  of  February  and 
the  whole  of  March  before  us,  however,  there  is  still  time  for  a  good 
deal  of  very  unpleasant  weather.  So  far  as  the  meteorological  records 
go,  they  seem  to  show  that  a  mild  winter  is  as  often  as  not  followed  by 
cold  weather  in  the  early  spring.  During  the  past  twenty-five  years 
there  have  been,  excluding  the  present,  eight  winters  in  which  the  mean 
temperature  in  London  has  been  considerably  in  excess  of  the  average. 
In  four  of  these  cases  the  weather  of  the  ensuing  March  was  mild,  and 
in  one  of  them — viz.,  in  1882,  very  mild,  In  one  other  case  it  was  of  a 
fairly  normal  character,  while  in  the  three  remaining  instances  it  was 
decidedly  cold.  The  coldest  March  experienced  over  England  during 
the  whole  of  the  past  twenty-five  years  occurred  at  the  close  of  a  winter 
which  was  quite  as  mild,  if  not  milder,  than  the  present  season.  This 
was  in  1883,  when  northerly  winds  and  snow  showers  were  experienced 
throughout  nearly  the  whole  month,  the  thermometer  in  London  sinking 
at  least  6°  below  the  freezing  point  on  no  fewer  than  ten  nights.  In 
three  years  out  of  the  past  twenty-five — viz.,  in  1877,  1883,  and  1889, 
the  lowest  temperature  of  the  whole  year  occurred  in  London  in  the 
month  of  March.  By  far  the  lowest  March  temperature  recorded  in  the 
metropolis  during  the  past  fifty  years  was  on  the  4th  of  the  month  in 
1890,  when  the  thermometer  fell  to  15°,  but  in  the  same  year  a  reading 
1°  lower  than  this  was  registered  both  in  November  and  December. 
— (“  Daily  News.”) 
-  Wakefield  Paxton  Society. — The  lecturer  at  the  meeting 
of  this  Society  on  Saturday,  8th  inst.,  was  Mr.  George  Parker,  who 
lectured  splendidly  on  “ Frost  Crystals.”  Having  briefly  indicated  the 
atmospheric  and  other  conditions  requisite  to  the  successful  acquisition 
and  photographing  of  frost  crystals,  the  lecturer  proceeded  to  exhibit 
some  seventy  fine  photo  views  of  snow  crystals  and  frost  crystals, 
principally  the  latter,  taken  from  garden  shrubbery  and  window-panes 
of  small  outhouses.  It  is  impossible  to  describe  in  the  space  of  a  brief 
paragraph  the  delicacy,  richness,  and  beauty  which  the  lens  and  the 
lantern,  acting  in  concert,  revealed.  Very  hearty  thanks  were  given  to 
Mr.  Parkin  for  the  treat  afforded. 
-  Carter’s  “  Practical  Gardener,” — Yet  another  edition  of 
this  work,  making  the  sixteenth — adequate  evidence  of  its  popularity — 
has  just  been  published.  Nor  can  there  be  any  surprise  at  this,  seeing 
that  so  much  and  such  good  and  varied  matter  is  given  for  a  shilling. 
Carter’s  “Practical  Gardener”  is  exactly  what  its  title  indicates,  as  it  is 
clear  that  the  several  articles  on  the  many  diverse  subjects  are  the 
productions  of  practical  men,  brought  into  line  by  the  Editor  of  the 
work — Mr.  E.  J.  Beale,  F.L.S.  Practically  every  aspect  of  gardening 
is  treated,  including  an  admirable  chapter  on  lawns.  Flower,  vegetable, 
and  fruit  culture  receive  full  attention,  while  the  pages  are  adorned 
with  many  beautiful  photogravures.  The  work  comprises  over  200  large 
pages,  and,  while  not  less  useful,  is  decidedly  more  attractive  than  all 
previous  issues.  It  will  be  equally  serviceable  to  gardeners  and  amateurs. 
- Raising  Onions  under  Glass.— Just  for  the  purpose  of  tasting 
the  capacities  of  the  cottager  or  allotment  holder  to  raise  Onion  plants 
under  glass  when  he  has  no  frame  or  greenhouse,  but  merely  a  makeshift 
such  as  I  have,  I  obtained  a  box  4  inches  deep,  filled  it  half  full  of 
the  best  soil  I  could  furnish,  made  across  the  centre  a  division,  and  then 
sowed  seed  of  two  varieties.  That  was  done  on  January  20th.  The  box 
was  stood  on  the  ground  in  the  warmest  position  in  my  back  yard  and 
covered  over  with  a  large  pane  of  glass  ;  now,  on  February  15th,  I 
observe  the  seed  germinating  rapidly,  so  that  there  is  every  prospect  of 
there  being  a  strong  and  plentiful  plant.  This  much  satisfies  me,  that 
there  can  be  no  difficulty  on  the  part  of  anyone  who  has  a  box  and  a 
glass  cover  at  disposal,  to  raise  Onion  plants  quite  early  in  that  way. 
The  plants  I  have  now  coming  up  should  be  fully  a  month  earlier  than 
will  be  those  from  outdoor  sowings. — AMATEUR. 
-  The  Extension  of  thb  Vine.— In  Mr.  Scott’s  lecture  to 
the  Wakefield  Paxton  Society  on  the  above  subject,  noted  on  page  140, 
I  have  wondered  if  he  included  among  his  notable  Vines  one  in  his  own 
county — namely,  the  White  Tokay,  at  Harewood,  near  Leeds,  which 
certainly  is  a  good  example  of  this  system  of  training.  This  Vine  in 
1891  yielded  and  finished  well  considerably  over  300  bunches  of  Grapes. 
It  then  filled  a  lean-to  house  fully  60  feet  long  and  upwards  of  20  wide. 
It  was  planted  in  the  front  of  the  house  and  an  arm  taken  horizontally 
each  way,  from  which  other  rods  had  been  trained  up  to  the  rafters. 
Young  wood  was  annually  laid  in,  and  Mr.  Fowler,  then  gardener  at 
Harewood,  must  have  found  this  mode  of  treatment  most  suitable,  and 
without  doubt  had  his  reasons  for  so  doing,  having  superintended  its 
management  over  thirty  years.  A  stone  slab  on  the  back  wall  of  the 
house  states  that  the  Vine  was  planted  by  Mr.  Chapman  in  1783.  It 
must,  therefore,  be  one  of  the  oldest,  if  not  the  largest  white  Vine  in 
existence. — T.  H.  Bolton. 
-  Cultivation  of  Heath  Land. — Having  had  some  experience 
in  Surrey  with  a  barren  peat  soil  I  am  prepared  to  say,  in  reply  to 
“  J.  A.”  (page  145),  that  it  may  be  made  suitable  for  the  cultivation  of 
vegetables,  Strawberries,  and  flowers.  I  had  at  command  an  abundant 
supply  of  stable  manure,  and  by  a  free  use  of  that,  fairly  good  crops 
were  grown  ;  even  the  Bandy  portion  of  the  ground  may  be  rendered 
fertile.  Near  to  where  I  at  present  live  are  hundreds  of  acres  of  sandy 
ground  that  is  made  to  yield  fair  crops.  Peat  possesses  the  property  of 
retaining  moisture,  which  in  some  degree  makes  up  for  other  deficiencies. 
If  sand  lies  in  a  deep  layer  it  also  never  becomes  dry.  I  think  “  J.  A.,” 
by  the  liberal  use  of  manure,  ought  to  grow  the  vegetables  and  plants 
he  names.  He  will  find  slag  flour,  which  is  comparatively  cheap— less 
than  £2  per  ton — of  great  value.  Its  phosphoric  acid  is  in  a  fairly 
soluble  condition,  and  there  is  also  lime  and  iron  in  its  composition  in  a 
form  available  as  plant  food.  By  all  means  keep  the  manures,  whether 
chemical  or  farmyard,  near  the  surface.  I  may  add  that  Potatoes  and 
Carrots  succeed  well  on  peat,  also  Strawberries  grown  on  the  annual 
system.  I  never  had  any  difficulty  with  Lettuce  ;  French  Beans,  on 
the  other  hand,  fell  a  prey  to  red  spider.  I  am  doubtful  whether  Violets 
will  escape  the  latter  ;  but  Narcissi,  Lily  of  the  Valley,  bulbous  Irises, 
and  Tulips  will  be  sure  to  succeed  even  in  the  sandiest  portions  provided 
there  is  no  Btint  of  manure. — B. 
