228  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  September  3.  isse. 
—  It  is  with  icgret  -we  record  tbe  death  of  Mrp,  Wm.  Fell,  wife  of 
Mr.  Wpj.  Fell,  eenior  partner  in  Mesers.  Wm.  Fell  &  Co.,  nurserymen, 
EezhaiDQ.  The  deceased  lady  was  forty-nine  years  of  age,  and  died 
suddenly  on  26  th  August,  of  apoplexy. 
- Tomato  Buttons’  Dessekt. — I  was  very  much  struck  with 
the  usefulness  of  this  prolific  Tomato,  which  I  saw  growing  a  few  days 
since  fil  the  gardens  of  the  Manor  House,  Preston  Park,  Brighton. 
They  were  trained  on  the  single  stem  system  against  an  east  wall  in  the 
open  air,  the  plants  having  attained  to  the  height  of  8  feet,  and  were 
clothed  from  top  to  bottom  with  clusters  of  about  twelve  fruits  each* 
Mr.  Naylor,  the  gardener,  informed  me  that  they  are  of  excellent  flavour, 
and  much  appreciated  for  this  reason. — F.  T.  M, 
-  Feuit  in  South  Lincolnshire. — There  is  an  abundance  of 
all  kinds  of  fruit  in  most  of  the  orchards  in  South  Lincolnshire,  and  as 
a  result  the  markets  are  just  now  being  glutted  with  Apples,  Plums, 
and  Pears.  Especially  is  this  so  with  regard  to  the  two  former  kinds  of 
fruit,  which  are  selling  at  very  unremunerative  prices.  At  the  local 
markets  this  week  Apples  of  excellent  quality  are  selling  at  6d.  to  8d. 
per  stone,  and  Plums  are  only  making  6d.  to  Is.,  the  price  in  most  cases 
being  about  9d,  per  stone.  It  is  feared  that,  owing  to  the  large  quantity 
to  come  into  the  market,  prices  will  still  further  drop,  and  then  the 
fruit  will  not  pay  for  pulling.  . 
-  The  Mof5QUTTO  Plant. — The  very  pretty  genus  of  Mosquito 
Plants,  known  as  Lopezia,  have  flowers  which  in  some  degree  resemble 
the  winged  insects  from  which  its  name  is  taken.  One  might  also  say 
that  they  present  the  appearance  of  a  large  mosquito.  Moreover,  there 
is  a  certain  irritable  movement  in  the  stamens,  which  would  almost 
suggest  a  thing  of  life.  In  some  parts  of  the  country,  says  a  Transatlantic 
publication,  they  have  received  the  name  of  Mosquito  Flowers,  or 
Mosquito  Plants.  Beyond  the  form  there  is  nothing  else  to  suggest  the 
mosquito.  The  flowers  are  in  almost  all  the  species  of  a  very  pretty 
rose  colour,  and  it  seems  rather  far-fetched  to  compare  them  with  this 
hateful  insect ;  but  there  is  no  accounting  for  taste  in  the  application  of 
common  names. 
- Caution  to  Growers  and  Exhibitors  op  Vegetables. 
— During  the  night  of  the  24th  ult.  these  gardens  were  visited  by  thieves, 
the  Onion  bed  carefully  searched,  and  the  very  best  only  taken.  These 
were  Ailsa  Craig,  and  considered  for  the  season  very  fine  bulbs.  The 
largest  taken  measured  18  inches  in  circumference,  and  the  smallest 
17  inches.  There  is  no  doubt  in  my  mind  that  these  are  wanted  for 
exhibition  purposes,  and  who  ever  took  them  must  be  an  expert  in  select¬ 
ing  them.  The  footprints  of  the  thief  were  easily  visible  ;  the  shoes  had 
been  removed,  the  marks  of  the  stockings  being  quite  plain,  as  it  had 
rained  heavily  during  the  evening.  I  hope  this  may  be  a  caution  to 
others  having  choice  vegetables,  and  1  shall  be  obliged  for  any  informa¬ 
tion  that  will  be  likely  to  lead  to  a  conviction. — E.  Beckett,  Aldenliam 
House  Gardens^  Mstree. 
-  Is  Iron  Good  for  Trees  ?  —  Trees,  like  human  beings,  are 
subject  to  “loss  of  tone,”  “poorness  of  blood”  (i.e,,  sap),  and,  like 
human  beings  again,  they  are  treated  for  these  complaints  by  being 
dosed  with  iron.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  iron  plays  just  as  essential  a  part 
in  the  life  of  plants  as  in  the  life  of  animals  ;  for  instance,  it  is  the 
constituent  factor  of  chlorophyll,  the  colouring  matter  of  the  leaves, 
which  become  lighter  in  colour  as  the  amount  of  iron  decreases.  Many 
people  believe  that  the  salts  of  iron  exercise  an  injurious  effect ;  but 
their  oontention  is  bad.  Iron  may  disagree  with  some  plants,  as  it  does 
with  some  men,  but  on  the  whole  the  evidence  is  decidedly  in  favour  of 
the  opinion  that  vegetation  is  much  benefited  by  the  application  of  iron 
to  the  soil.  Only  recently  some  French  chemists  have  reported  the 
result  of  their  experiments,  carried  out  purposely  under  the  most 
unfavourable  conditions,  of  the  effects  of  manures  containing  iron  upon 
the  vegetation  of  flowers.  The  experiments  have  proved  that  iron  has 
in  every  case  a  very  beneficial  effecti  A  journal  devoted  to  the  interests 
of  the  fruit  trade  has  just  published  a  method — which  is  said  to  be 
entirely  successful — of  preserving  fruit  trees  from  the  attacks  of  worms, 
which  again  shows  the  value  of  iron.  If  a  few  nails  are  driven  into 
the  trunks  of  trees  the  worms  will  not  attack  them.  The  sap  of  the 
trees  oxidises  the  iron,  the  salts  thus  developed  penetrate  the  cells  and 
the  vessels  of  circulation,  all  of  which  keeps  the  worms  away  and  does 
good  to  the  trees.  It  is  a  fact  that  in  some  cemeteries  you  can  see  trees 
which  have  so  grown  round  the  rails  of  tombs  that  the  rails  have 
become  almost  part  of  the  trees.  In  one  case  in  Paris  there  is  no  doubt 
that  the  iron  is  oxidised  by  the  sap.  The  tree  flourishes,  which  is  a 
proof  that  iron  at  least  does  no  harm — (“  Rural  World.”) 
- Bulbs  foe  the  London  County  Council  Parks. — Messrs. 
W.  Cutbush  &  Son  write  Please  be  good  enough  to  notify  in  your 
paper  that  the  supply  of  the  whole  of  the  bulbs  required  by  the  London 
County  Council  for  the  parks  this  season  are  to  be  supplied  by  ourselves, 
and  oblige.” 
- Grapes. — We  ought  to  see  Grapes  in  very  fine  form  at  the 
Crystal  Palace  on  October  1st.  There  can  be  no  doubt,  not  only  that 
berries  are  showing  fine  colour,  but  the  bunches  seem  to  be  unusually 
good  generally.  Some  of  the  uutumn  shows  have  produced  examples 
that  have  evoked  high  praise,  and  when  exhibitors  tell  us  under  the 
Rose,  “  I  have  better  at  home  for  the  Palace,”  we  hav^  no  reason  to 
disbelieve  them.  Really  the  remark  shows  how  very  highly  the  privilege 
of  showing,  especially  good  stujS,  at  the  Crystal  Palace  is  esteemed,  and 
the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  will  do  well  to  trade  on  that  feeling  by 
doing  everything  possible  to  encouiage  young  competitors  by,  if  possible, 
extending  their  prizes  to  meritorious  examples.  We  seem  to  be  rearing 
as  it  were  a  really  excellent  body  of  Grape  growers  just  now,  and  If 
their  bunches  be  not  of  the  biggest  many  will  I  am  sure  present  very 
high  quality. — A.  D. 
-  Begonias  at  Earley. — I  have  never  seen  before  in  any 
private  garden  so  fine  and  extensive  a  collection  of  tuberous  Begonias  as 
Mr.  Lees,  sen.,  has  at  The  Wildernessj  Earley,  Reading.  He  seems  to  bo 
quite  an  enthusiast  over  them,  and  has  raised  plants  literally  in 
thousands,  planting  them  out  in  all  directions,  and  one  retired  garden  is 
entirely  given  over  to  Begonias.  The  strain,  which  is  made  up  from  the 
best  in  commerce,  is  of  course  an  excellent  one,  although  there  is 
nothing  to  show  any  very  marked  advance,  a  matter  that  is  very  difficult 
to  evidence  now  that  Begonias  have  become  so  perfect.  The  chief 
direction  for  all  ordinary  purposes  in  which  to  look  for  improvement  is 
in  obtaining  stout,  stiff,  erect  stems.  These  will,  it  is  hoped,  come  in 
time.  One  of  the  best  strains  of  yellow,  orange,  and  apricot  hues 
generally  doing  so  indifferently  outdoors  I  have  yet  seen  Mr.  McHattie 
has  at  Strathfieldsaye.  The  plants  are  stout,  have  bold  plain  leafage, 
and  carry  their  blooms  well  through  bad  weather. — Wanderer. 
-  The  Classification  of  Apples.— As  the  season  for  'he 
exhibition  of  Apples  has  begun  I  venture  to  repeat  the  question  which  I 
asked  last  year  without  response,  as  to  what  authority  we  are  to  look  to 
for  the  line  of  division  between  culinary  and  dessert  Apples.  What 
about  those  marked  “  K .  T.”  in  the  best  catalogues  ?  For  instance,  a 
sound,  well-ripened  Blenheim  Orange  is,  to  my  taste,  a  better  fruit  to 
eat  raw  than  some  of  the  so-called  table  Apples,  yet  1  am  told  I  must  not 
show  it  except  in  the  culinary  class.  An  idea  seems  prevalent  at  some 
places  that  only  quite  small  Apples  should  be  shown  in  the  dessert  class, 
but  this  is  not  reasonable.  It  seems  to  me  that  all  Apples  suitable  for 
eating  raw  should  be  eligible  for  the  dessert  class,  and  that  all  Apples 
which  are  suitable  for  cooking  should  be  eligible  for  the  culinary  class. 
There  would  thus  be  some  (“  K.  T.’s),  like  Teas  in  Rose  classes,  eligible 
for  any  stand.  But  there  ought  to  be  a  line  drawn  by  a  recognised 
authority.  Wanted,  a  National  Apple  Society. — W.  R.  Raillem. 
-  Railway  Botany. — To  botanise  from  the  windows  of  an 
Underground  Railway  carriage  might  not  appear  a  profitable  pursuit ; 
yet  the  Londoner  must  walk  some  miles  before  coming  across  the 
assortment  of  wild  plants  which  is  spread  out  for  his  inspection,  free  of 
charge,  on  the  railway  banks  between,  say,  Gloucester  Road  and  Earl’s 
Court  Stations.  The  flowers  are  not  all  wild,  indeed,  for  self-sown 
Sunflowers  and  Marigolds  lend  a  horticultural  aspect  to  some  of  the 
slopes ;  but  besides  these  is  cropping  up  a  wealth  of  hedgerow  plants 
usually  associated  with  country  rambles,  which  sets  one  speculating 
upon  the  means  whereby  the  seeds  were  transported  to  these  grimy 
little  ciises  in  our  wilderness  of  brick  and  mortar.  The  “  Bladder 
Campion,”  for  instance,  flowers  there  profusely,  with  Mallows  and 
Bindweed,  Toadflax,  Lucerne,  Coltsfoot,  and  Centaury,  in  large  clumps 
and  patches,  which  doubtless  are  haunted  by  the  same  species  of  moths 
that  make  them  their  home  in  the  country.  It  is  by  no  means 
impossible  that,  as  entomologists  multiply  and  moths  grow  scarce,  these 
little  railway  preserves  may  come  to  be  the  last  localities  where  some 
insects  will  exist,  just  as  certain  cellars  in  London  used  to  be  the  only 
places  where  a  certain  dingy  rarity  could  be  caught.  Perhaps  the 
District  Railway  may  in  the  future  make  a  little  addition  to  its  revenue 
by  selling  tickets  of  admission  for  botanists  or  entomologists  to  cull 
the  rare  weed,  or  pursue  evasive  lepidoptera  along  the  railway  embank¬ 
ments.  These  little  centres  of  wild  life  in  London,  more  strictly 
preserved  between  the  divergent  rails  than  by  lines  of  fences  or  cohorts 
of  gamekeepers,  are  fruitful  of  scientific  possibilities, — (“  Globe.”) 
