September  10,  1896. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
253 
-  Weather  iu  South  Wales. — The  following  is  a  summarj  of 
the  weather  here  for  the  past  month  ; — Eainfall,  2  66  inches  ;  maximiiim 
in  any  twenty-fonr  hours,  0  45  on  the  19th.  Bain  fell  on  fourteen  days. 
Amount  of  sunshine,  123^  hours ;  sunless  days,  three.  The  wind  was  in 
the  N.  and  N.W.  on  fifteen  days,  and  in  the  S.W.  and  W.  on  nine  days. 
Very  dry  until  the  17th,  since  which  time  it  has  been  showery. — 
W,  Mabbott,  Owt  rnllwyn  House,  Howlais. 
-  Garden  Appointments. — Mr.  Ch^.  Barnett,  foreman  under 
Mr,  Burrows  at  Berwick  House,  Shrewsbury,  has  been  appointed  head 
gardener  to  Thos.  Aldersey,  Esq  ,  Aldersey  Hall,  Cheshire.  Mr.  John 
Sancock,  gardener  at  Warwick  School,  Warwick,  has  been  appointed 
head  gardener  to  Captain  Starkey,  Bericote  House,  Leamington.  Mr. 
George  Hagon,  for  the  past  two  years  general  foreman  with  Mr* 
Colburn  at  Selsdon  Park,  Croydon,  has  been  appointed  head  gardener  to 
Edward  Arthur  Lee,  Esq.,  Fowley,  Liphook,  Hampshire. 
- The  New  Palm  House,  Seeton  Park,  Liverpool. — At 
the  Parks  and  Gardens  Committee  of  the  Corporation  it  was  moved  by 
the  Deputy  Chairman,  seconded  by  Alderman  Stolterfoht,  and  resolved, 
that  it  be  referred  to  a  sub-Committee  consisting  of  Alderman  Houlding 
and  Councillors  Cohen  and  Hampson,  the  Jlepaty  Chairman  and  the 
Chairman,  to  make  arrangements  for  the  opening  of  the  Palm  house 
erected  in  Sefton  Park  by  Yates  Thompson,  Esq.,  that  a  suitable  casket 
be  obtained  and  presented  to  Mr.  Thompson,  and  that  a  gold  key  be 
obtained  and  presented  to  the  Chairman,  at  a  total  cost  not  exceeding 
150  guineas,  and  that  Mr.  Thompson  be  communicated  with  in  order  to 
ascertain  whether  he  is  willing  to  allow  the  Palm  house  to  be  lighted 
by  the  electric  light. — R.  P,  R. 
-  The  Weather  Last  Month.  —  August  varied  much  in 
temperature  and  weather.  Sunshine  was  deficient,  and  only  exceeded 
seven  hours  on  two  days.  The  rainfall  was  the  greatest  monthly  record 
this  year  except  June.  The  wind  was  in  a  westerly  direction  twenty- 
one  days.  Total  rainfall  2'13  inches,  which  fell  on  seventeen  days ;  the 
greatest  daily  fall  being  0  64  inches  on  the  8th.  Barometer,  highest 
reading  30  048  at  9  p.m.  on  the  lOih  ;  lowest,  29  388  at  9  a.m.  on  the 
26th.  Thermometers,  highest  in  the  shade  75°  on  the  13th  ;  lowest,  39° 
on  the  5th.  Mean  of  daily  maxima,  66‘51°  j  inean  of  daily  minima, 
49-22°.  Mean  temperature  of  the  month  57  86°.  Lowest  on  the  grass, 
36°  on  the  5th  and  28th  ;  highest  in  the  sun,  130°  on  the  Ist.  Mean  of 
the  earth  at  3  feet  58-48°.  Total  sunshine  114  hours  30  minutes.  We  had 
two  sunless  days. — W.  H.  Divers,  Belvoir  Castle  Gardens,  Grantham. 
- Northern  Exhibitions. — A  floral  f&te  of  large  dimensions 
was  held  at  Dundee  on  the  3rd  inst.  and  the  two  following  days, 
the  opening  ceremony  being  performed  by  the  Right  Hon.  H.  H. 
Asquith,  M.P.,  ex-Home  Secretary,  in  company  with  Mrs.  Asquith. 
All  sections  of  horticulture  were  well  represented,  including  the  exhibits 
of  nurserymen,  and  we  learn  that  the  well-known  firm  of  Messrs. 
Dobbie  &  Co.,  Rothesay,  were  awarded  the  only  gold  medal  for  the 
best  trade  exhibit.  Mr.  John  Forbes,  Hawick,  also  staged  a  fine  collec¬ 
tion  of  flowers.  St.  Andrew’s  Hall,  Glasgow,  was  the  scene  of  the 
annual  exhibition  of  the  Glasgow  and  West  of  Scotland  Horticultural 
Society,  which  was  opened  on  the  same  day  as  the  above.  Here  also 
splendid  produce  was  exhibited  throughout,  and  the  firms  mentioned  above 
were  among  the  most  successful,  Messrs.  Dobbie  &  Co.  showing  a  grand 
collection  of  Dahlias  and  other  flowers,  obtaining  several  first  class 
certificates,  Mr.  J.  Forbes  also  obtaining  similar  honours. 
-  Douglas  Spruce  Spar  — The  great  flagstaff  in  the  arboretum 
at  Kew  is  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  landmarks  of  the  neighbourhood. 
It  is  the  second  of  two  spars  which  were  presented  to  the  Royal 
Gardens  with  great  public  spirit  by  Edward  Stamp,  Esq.,  of  the  firm  of 
Messrs.  Anderson,  Anderson  &  Co,  The  first  was  from  British  Columbia, 
and  was  118  feet  in  length.  It  was  broken  in  course  of  erection  in 
1859.  The  existing  spar  came  from  Vancouver’s  Island,  and  is  159  feet 
in  length.  It  was  erected  in  1861,  and  is  believed  to  be  the  tallest 
spar  in  the  old  world.  The  age  of  the  tree  from  which  it  was  cut  was 
about  250  years,  and  its  total  height  180  feet.  The  base  had  gradually 
become  decayed,  and  on  examination  it  was  pronounced  by  the 
Admiralty  to  be  unsafe.  Messrs.  Anderson,  Anderson  &  Co.  were, 
however,  of  opinion  that  it  might  still  be  preserved,  and  on  their 
recommendation  the  work  was  placed  by  H.M.  Office  of  Works  in  the 
hands  of  Messrs.  Robinson  &  Dodd,  contractors  to  H.M.  Indian  Govern¬ 
ment,  of  Bridge  Road  Works,  Poplar.  They  successfully  lowered  it, 
removed  the  decayed  base,  and  spliced  on  a  new  one  of  pitch  pine. 
The  splice  is  held  together  by  five  iron  bands.  The  spar  was  then  re¬ 
erected  on  February  4th  last. — C*  Kew  Bulletin.”) 
- Field  Mushrooms, — When  I  was  recently  in  East  Hants  I 
saw  meadows  and  upland  pastures  literally  studded  with  beautiful  white 
Mushrooms,  and  but  for  the  pouring  rain,  which  fell  so  heavily,  I  should 
have  liked  to  have  gathered  a  quantity.  Vast  numbers  must  have 
been  wasted.  Yet  this  is  a  chalk  district  with  but  a  comparatively 
thin  coating  of  fertile  soil  on  the  surface.  One  small  farmer,  more 
energetic  than  his  neighbours,  was  marketing  his  fungus  crop,  sending 
to  the  nearest  station  twice  a  day,  packed  in  half-bushel  baskets.  I  was 
told  that  h6  from  a  few  pastures  was  sending  to  London  50  bushels  a 
week.  That  is  the  way  to  stave  off  agricultural  depression.  But  what 
is  needed  is  that  spawning  of  the  beat  pastures  for  Mushroom  production 
should  not  be,  as  it  were,  left  to  chance,  but  be  done  artificially,  so  as 
to  secure  constant  crops.  That  is  something  well  worthy  the  attention 
of  farmers. — A.  D. 
-  Mineral  Matter  in  Plants.— It  has  not  yet  been  clearly 
demonstrated  what  particular  purpose  mineral  matters  serve  in  the 
woody  structure  of  plants.  A  portion  of  lime,  for  instance,  is  found  in 
some  form  or  another  in  almost  all  wood.  In  Cactus  it  is  in  combination 
with  oxalic  acid,  or  as  the  chemist  would  say  in  the  form  of  oxalate  of 
lime,  and  in  Cactus  especially  crystals  of  oxalate  of  lime  abound.  Much 
attention  has  been  given  to  describing  the  part  these  crystals  play  in 
the  economy  of  plant  life.  Dr.  Kraus,  in  Germany,  has  recently 
discovered  that  the  crystals  of  oxalate  of  lime  are  more  numerous  at  the 
end  of  the  growing  season,  and  that  there  is  a  steady  loss  of  those 
crystals  during  the  winter  season.  The  question  has  been  discussed  in 
“  Meehans’  Monthly  ”  as  to  whether  life  is  wholly  extinct  when  the 
plants  or  animals  seem  frozen.  When  we  are  able  to  answer  such 
questions  as  to  what  becomes  of  these  crystals  during  the  winter  season 
when  they  are  apparently  consumed,  we  may  find  it  has  some  bearing 
on  the  problem  of  life  under  low  temperatures. 
-  Fairy  Rings. — What  are  known  as  fairy  rings  in  meadows  or 
lawns  are  not  common  in  America ;  the  fungus  which  produces  them  rarely 
showing  itself  in  this  country.  The  writer  of  this  paragraph  has  not 
seen  them  very  often.  The  only  place  where  he  noticed  them  in  any 
great  abundance  was  on  the  grounds  of  the  late  George  W.  Childs,  near 
Philadelphia,  and  this  was  several  years  ago.  They  are  produced  by  a 
fungus  which  is  very  good  to  eat,  namely,  Marasmius  Oreades.  When 
the  mushroom  appears  it  sends  out  a  number  of  radiating  threads  which 
the  gardener  would  call  the  spawn.  This  is  of  such  a  strong  character 
as  to  destroy  temporarily  the  grass,  leaving  a  bare  circular  patch  where 
the  fungus  has  spread.  The  next  year,  however,  the  grass  reappears 
with  renewed  vigour,  and  it  is  much  stronger  and  usually  of  a  different 
colour  tint  than  the  surrounding  grass.  The  next  year  the  mushroom 
comes  from  the  circumference.  It  is  said,  though  the  fact  has  never 
come  within  the  observation  of  the  writer,  that  other  rings  extend  subse¬ 
quently,  but  that  the  part  once  occupied  by  the  fungus  will  not  permit 
of  renewed  growth  of  spawn  in  after  years,  and  consequently  there 
appears  only  an  addition  to  the  size  of  the  circle.  It  is  probable  that 
new  facts  may  be  discovered  in  connection  with  these  fairy  rings  by 
closer  observation. — (“  Meehans’  Monthly.”) 
-  Outdoor  Tomatoes  at  Reading.— In  the  Portland  Road 
Nursery  of  Messrs.  Sutton  &  Sons  there  is  to  be  seen  a  very  interesting 
trial  of  twenty-nine  varieties  of  Tomatoes.  The  plants  are  all  in  rows 
of  eight  each,  and  of  each  variety  there  are  generally  three  rows,  though 
in  some  four  rows  are  pat  out.  Every  variety  is  fully  labelled.  I  found 
on  looking  them  over  carefully  that  disease  was  absent.  Some  of  the 
ripest  fruits  had  cracked,  but  of  course  grown  for  a  crop  and  not 
for  a  trial  these  fruits  would  have  been  gathered  ere  that  trouble  came. 
Sttttons’  Earliest  of  All  ;  Magnum  Bonum,  very  fine  clusters ;  Main 
Crop,  cluster,  small  fruited,  very  free ;  Chiswick  Red,  Plum-shaped  ; 
Golden  Nugget ;  Suttons’  Golden  Queen,  very  handsome  large  yellow  ; 
Early  Ruby  ;  and  Early  Large  Red.  All  had  heavy  crops,  and  showed 
how  well  suited  they  were  for  outdoor  cuPure.  All  these  had  many 
over-ripe  fruits.  Varieties  of  the  Perfection  type— Polegate,  very  fine 
sample,  but  late  ;  Hackwood  Park,  Frogmore  Prolific,  Trophy,  Con¬ 
ference,  and  some  others,  though  fair,  did  not  seem,  relatively  to  the 
previously  mentioned  ones,  so  well  suited  for  outdoor  work,  though  all 
so  good  inside.  Suttons’  Dessert,  Al,  Abundance,  Eclipse,  Best  of  All, 
Ham  Green  Favourite,  Sunbeam,  and  a  few  others  were  fair,  indeed 
possibly  in  some  persons’  estimation  would  have  been  declared  good. 
It  is  evident  that  outdoors  some  forms  set  better  than  others,  whilst 
under  glass  these  latter  will  do  so  well.  All  the  plants  are  neatly  tied 
to  stakes,  and  have  been  hard  pinched  to  single  stems.  The  trial  is  a 
I  good  one,  because  the  results  generally  are  so  excellent,  and  some  of 
1  the  best  planted  and  done  so  well,  by  the  acre,  would  return  enormous 
crops. — A.  D. 
