/une  li,  1896. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
-  May  Rainfall  at  Abbots  Leigh,  Haywards  Heath, 
S'SSEX. — The  total  was  0  25,  being  1  70  inch  below  the  average.  The 
haviest  fall  was  0-14  inch  on  the  21st.  Rain  fell  on  four  days.  Total 
hr  the  five  months  4  27,  which  is  6  09  inches  below  the  average.  Toe 
naximum  temperature  was  75°  on  the  12th,  the  minimum  30°  on  the 
ini.  Mean  maximum,  Gl  07°;  mean  minimum,  39  09°.  Mean  tempera¬ 
ture,  50  08°,  which  is  4  15°  below  the  average. 
-  May  Weather  at  Hodsock  Priory,  Worksop,  Notts. — 
Mean  temperature  of  the  month,  52  9°.  Maximum  in  the  screen,  77  6° 
on  the  12  h  ;  minimum  in  the  screen,  27  0  on  the  3rd.  Minimum  on  the 
grass,  18°  on  the  3rd.  Number  of  frosts  in  the  shade,  five  ;  on  the 
grass,  fifteen.  Sunshine,  188  hours,  or  39  per  cent,  of  the  possible 
duration.  Rainfall,  0  56  inch  ;  rain  fell  on  six  days,  maximum  fall,  0'37 
on  the  2lst.  Another  warm  and  dry  month  ;  days  particularly  warm, 
but  some  rather  sharp  frost  in  the  first  week. — J.  MalLknder. 
- Whither  In  South  Wales. — The  following  is  a  summary 
of  the  weather  here  for  the  past  month  : — Total  rainfall,  0-14  inch,  which 
fell  on  three  days.  Total  amount  of  sunshine,  239^  hours.  There  was 
only  one  sunless  day,  the  2nd.  The  wind  was  in  the  N.E.  on  twelve 
days,  and  in  the  N.  on  twelve  days.  There  have  been  very  strong, 
cuffing  winds  throughout  the  month,  which,  with  the  bright  sunshine 
and  no  rain,  have  been  very  detrimental  to  vegetation.  The  drought 
broke  up  here  on  the  2nd  of  June,  since  which  time  we  have  had  a  trifle 
over  half  an  inch  of  rain.— W.  Mabbott,  Doiolais,  Glamorgan 
— —  TMe  Weather  in  May. — May  was  bright  and  dry  with  a 
variable  temperature.  The  wind  was  in  a  northerly  direction  twenty- 
five  days.  Total  rainfall  only  amounted  to  0  65  inch;  this  fell  on  five 
days,  the  greatest  daily  fall  beiDg  0  40  inch  on  the  21st.  Barometer, 
highest  reading,  30  266  at  9  A  M.  on  the  25th  ;  lowest,  29-584  at  9  A.M. 
on  the  20th.  Thermometers,  highest  in  the  shade,  77°  on  12th  ;  lowest, 
32°  on  1st  and  6th.  Mean  of  daily  maxima,  62-77° ;  mean  of  daily  minima, 
41  38°  ;  mean  temperature  of  the  month,  52-07°  ;  lowest  on  grass,  22°  on 
2od  ;  highest  in  sun,  136°  on  25th;  mean  of  earth  at  3  feet,  5109°. 
Total  sunshine,  188  hours  50  minutes.  We  had  one  sunless  day. — 
W.  H.  Divers,  Belvoir  Castle  Gardens,  Grantham. 
-  Filmy  Ferns  — Toe  interesting  article  by  “  Filice,”  in  last 
week’s  number,  forcibly  reminded  me  of  a  Fern  case  similar  to  the  one 
he  mentioned  as  suitable,  that  for  many  years  stood  in  a  back  window  of 
not  a  surgeon,  but  a  shoemaker  in  Bristol.  In  the  intervals  of  leisure 
this  man  found  time  to  cultivate  his  Filmies,  and  well  they  used  to 
thrive  with  him,  especially  Todea  pellucida,  th^t  made  too  much  of 
itself,  and  had  to  be  removed,  greatly  to  the  owner’s  sorrow.  Hymeno- 
phyllum  demissum  and^Trichomanes  radicans  in  variety  were  also 
included,  and  the  success  attained  by  a  man  quite  uninitiated  in  garden¬ 
ing  was  quite  remarkable,  seeing  how  many  fail  to  grow  these  charming 
Ferns  well. — R.  C. 
-  Ferns  in  CALIFORNIA  — The  climate  of  California  is  very 
dry  for  two- thirds  of  the  year,  so  that  one  could  hardly  expect  to  find 
many  of  this  class  of  plants,  whose  leading  requisite,  generally  speaking, 
i  s  moisture.  Yet  there  are  about  fifty  species,  not  hidden  in  shady, 
moist  nooks,  but  exposed  to  full  sunshine,  often  high  up  on  the  face  of 
rocks.  The  strange  anomaly  is  explained  by  the  fact  that  all  of  these 
species  are  adapted  for  the  positions  which  they  occupy,  either  by 
having  a  very  much  thickened  epidermis,  or  by  being  covered  with 
scales  or  a  dense  cottony  covering  of  hairs  by  which  the  moisture  in  the 
fronds  is  economised  aDd  its  loss  prevented,  or  rather  regulated, 
according  to  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  each  specific  case. 
- Australian  Farming. — Referring  to  Lord  Hampden’s  remarks 
that  “  if  he  were  a  young  man  starting  in  life  he  would  be  an  Australian 
farmer,”  the  “  Sydney  Herald  ”  observes  that  perhaps  his  lordship  may 
have  something  to  learn  on  average  settlers  going  on  the  soil.  “If  the 
sturdy  yeoman’s  means  are  limited  he  has  to  find  a  selectable  spot  in 
the  wilderness,  which  is  no  easy  job  to  begin  with,  burn  off  the  timber, 
build  a  humpy,  and  put  in  a  crop  which,  if  not  killed  by  drought,  or 
eaten  by  bandicoots,  or  consumed  by  bush  fires,  may  after  the  first  year 
yield  him  damper.  Next  year,  if  he  is  not  ousted  for  inability  to  pay 
interest,  and  everything  does  not  happen  to  be  carried  away  by  a  flood, 
and  the  neighbouring  squatter  does  not  wear  him  out  with  litigation, 
and  the  roads  are  not  too  boggy  to  get  to  market,  he  may  achieve  salt 
junk.  After  that,  by  carefully  patching  the  pants  with  flourbag,  and 
fastening  them  to  his  braces  with  a  rusty  nail,  so  as  to  save  the  expense 
of  buttons,  and  other  economies,  he  may,  if  the  seasons  keep  tolerably 
good,  struggle  along  to  an  early  grave  under  a  ringbarked  Gum  tree, 
and  by  dint  of  worrying  the  local  member  get  his  sons  into  the  police.” 
53D 
- Royal  Meteorological  Society.— At  the  ordinary  meeting 
of  the  Society,  to  be  held  on  Wednesday,  the  17th  inst.,  at  7.30  p.m.,  the 
following  papers  will  be  read  : — “  Arctic  Hail  and  Thunderstorms,”  by 
Henry  Harries,  F.R.Met.  Soc.  ;  and  “  Climatology  of  Valencia  Island, 
Co.  Kerry,”  by  J.  E.  Cullum,  F.R  Met.  Soc. 
-  Grafting. — I  notice  in  the  Journal  of  Horticulture,  April 
16th,  1896,  page  355,  mention  being  made  of  an  improved  method  of 
grafting  by  Mr.  Smith.  This  form  of  grafting  was  practised  at  Bicton 
by  the  late  Mr.  Barnes  in  the  year  1861,  when  I  was  apprenticed  there. 
— W.  Bennett,  Rangemore.  [The  insertion  of  the  word  “  new  ”  was 
purely  accidental.  We  have  successfully  practised  the  method  in 
question  for  thirty  years.] 
-  Amsonia  TaberNvEMONTANA. — This  strikingly  attractive  and 
half-hardy  herbaceous  North  American  Dogbane,  and  which  is  so  nearly 
related  to  the  genus  Plumieria,  eminently  deserves  more  extended 
cultivation.  There  are  two  large  plants  of  it  in  full  bloom  at  the 
present  time  in  the  Botanical  Garden,  Birmingham,  growing  in  a  border 
under  the  shelter  of  one  of  the  greenhouses,  and  where  its  wealth  of  grey 
blue  star-shaped  flowers,  disposed  over  the  numerous  stems  of  about 
30  inches  high,  renders  it  at  once  one  of  the  most  attractive  border 
plants  in  the  whole  place. — W.  G. 
-  Gardeners’  Royal  Benevolent  Institution. —  We  a?e 
asked  to  acknowledge  the  following  contributions,  which  were  omitted 
in  former  list,  making  the  total  amount  received  as  a  result  of  the 
festival  dinner,  £2200.  Mr.  Geo.  Monro’s  list,  £25  (including  his  and 
Mrs.  Geov  Monro’s  donation  of  £5  5s.  each)  ;  Messrs.  Haage  &  Schmidt* 
£1  Is.  91.;  Mr  E.  F.  Fitch,  £1  Is.;  Mr.  David  Smith,  £3  3s.;  Mr. 
Jamieson,  £3  3s.  ;  Messrs.  Dippe  Bros.,  £1 ;  Thames  Bank  Iron  Company, 
per  Mr.  W.  Y.  Biker,  £17  17s.  ;  per  Mr.  H.  J.  Cutbush,  £11  11?. 
-  Cotton  Seed  Oil. — It  is  stated  in  a  report  from  New  Orleans 
that  in  1889  there  were  a  few  small  mills  making  Cotton  seed  products 
worth,  perhaps,  £1,000,000.  Now  the  trade  uses  a  capital  of  near 
£8,000,000,  and  makes  a  product  worth  over  £14,000,000.  The  material 
consumed  was  regarded  as  worthless  in  1861.  In  1892-93  the  price  was 
£3  10s.  per  ton,  but  fell  to  about  £3  per  ton  or  under.  In  1894-95, 
owing  to  the  largeness  of  the  Cotton  crop,  the  price  fell  to  less  than  £2 
a  ton.  There  are  some  300  mills  manufacturing  Cotton  oil  from  the 
seed.  The  value  of  the  foreign  business  in  1895  amounted  to  over  a 
million.  The  greatest  demand  comes  from  Great  Britain. 
-  Curious  Seeds — In  the  “Botanical  Gazette”  for  April,  an 
interesting  case  of  mimicry  is  described,  the  seeds  of  the  “  Philippine 
Island  Bean  ”  from  the  coast  near  Manila,  so  closely  resembling  the 
quartz  pebbles  amongst  which  they  fall,  in  shape,  size,  colour,  lustre, 
hardness,  and  stratification,  as  to  be  indistinguishable  from  them  except 
by  a  very  close  examination.  The  size  and  shape  of  the  beans  are  both 
very  variable,  ranging  from  10  to  23  mm. ;  some  perfectly  resemble 
well-rounded  beach  pebbles,  while  others  mimic  pebbles  which  have 
been  broken  across.  Their  colour  varies  from  moderately  dark  to 
light  drab,  some  giving  a  faint  greenish  tinge  ;  others  resemble  pebbles 
of  chalcedony  or  of  crystallised  quartz.  Nearly  all  the  specimens  show 
a  »series  of  approximately  parallel  darker  lines  passing  round,  very 
suggestive  of  stratification.  All  are  quite  hard,  cut  only  with  difficulty 
with  a  knife,  and  give  a  clinking  sound  when  shaken  together  in  the 
hand.  They  are  not  affected  by  soaking  in  sea  water. 
-  DOCKS. — The  Docks,  which  are  often  so  troublesome  on  all 
kinds  of  cultivated  lands,  thriving  especially  on  the  very  soils  which 
are  most  productive,  are  nearly  allied  to  the  Sorrels,  as  anyone 
would  infer  from  the  similarity  of  their  flowers,  but  the  foliage  is  not 
acid,  The  red-veined  species  (Rumex  sanguineus),  the  Bloodwort,  as 
it  is  called  in  villages,  has  large  egg-shaped  leaves  ;  and  when  the 
middle  vein  is  red,  as  it  often  is,  it  is  readily  distinguished.  It  was 
probably  from  this  tinge  that  it  was  formerly  believed  to  be  a  good 
purifier  of  the  blood.  It  was  also  cultivated  in  old  gardens  for  the 
table,  but  when  boiled  is  very  insipid,  and  from  its  dark  colour  looks 
very  uninviting,  though  it  is  perfectly  wholesome.  Like  many  another 
of  its  congeners,  it  gives  the  farmer  much  trouble,  for  the  seeds  of 
Docks  are  very  plentiful,  so  that  the  plant  springs  up  and  yields  a  crop 
as  if  it  had  been  sowed.  The  roots  will  grow,  too,  though  cut  into  many 
pieces,  and  thus  much  expense  is  incurred  by  the  necessity  of  clearing 
them  fairly  out  of  the  soil.  On  com  lands  these  plants,  not  only  by 
their  large  leaves,  take  up  the  soil,  each  foot  of  which  has  C03t  the 
agriculturist  both  care  and  money,  but  often  also  cause  much  labour  by 
theii  seeds,  which  are  carried  off  the  land  with  the  straw,  and  soon 
spread  all  over  the  farm. — (“  Rural  World.”) 
