JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
October  1, 
324 
-  Gardkning  Appointments. — Mr.  Frank  Dare,  formerly  fore¬ 
man  at  Oapringe  House,  Faversham,  has  been  appointed  head  gardener 
to  Mrs.  Charrington,  Bury’a  Court,  Reigate.  Mr.  J.  F.  Simpson,  for  the 
past  four  years  head  gardener  to  W.  M.  Smythe,  Esq.,  The  Lawn,  Warwick, 
has  been  appointed  head  gardener  to  C.  T.  Mander,  Esq.,  The  Mount, 
Tettenhall  Wood,  Wolverhampton.  Mr.  G.  Elliott  has  been  appointed 
head  gardener  to  R.  Mercer,  Esq.,  Morhanger  Park,  Sandy,  Beds. 
- Mr.  Alexr.  McGregor. — We  are  requested  to  state  that  Mr. 
iU.iCT’’  McGregor,  who  has  been  head  gardener  to  Charles  Walker,  Esq., 
of  Brettargh  iiolt,  Kendal,  for  the  last  twenty -two  years,  in  which  time 
he  has,  by  his  superior  knowledge  of  the  profession,  made  the  place  noted 
for  Orchids,  Ferns,  and  Chrysanthemums,  leaves  to  start  bmiiness  for 
himself  at  the  Union  Street  Nurseries,  Greenock,  which  place  he  has 
taken  on  a  lease,  and  where  he  intends  growing  for  market  purposes 
plants,  flowers  and  fruit.  The  good  wishes  of  his  many  gardening 
friends  go  with  him  in  his  undertaking.  Mr.  McQuaker,  his  foreman, 
succeeds  him  at  Brettargh  Holt. 
-  A  Good  Plant  House. — There  is  a  large  amount  of  glass 
at  Buchan  Hill,  for  plants,  flowers,  and  fruit  have  to  be  produced  in 
great  quantities,  and  everything  is  grown  well  and  plentifully.  I  was 
particularly  struck  with  the  large  span  plant  stove,  a  fine  house  some 
60  feet  long  and  20  feet  wide.  This  has,  as  is  usual,  a  centre  raised 
bed,  with  side  stages  all  filled  to  the  utmost  with  beautiful  plants  for 
indoor  decoration — Crotons,  Dracaenas,  Palms,  Aralias,  and  all  sorts  of 
similar  things  in  great  variety,  and  in  first-rate  condition.  The  walls 
supporting  the  bed  and  tide  stages  are,  however,  so  charmingly  covered 
with  Panicum  variegatum  that  the  effect  is  really  most  delightful. 
Mr.  Martin  hag  done  this  singularly  well,  so  that  not  an  inch  of  the  wallg 
on  either  side  of  the  alley  can  be  seen.  A  similar  house,  just  now  full 
of  fine  black  and  white  Grapes,  is  also  a  most  meritorious  object. — D. 
-  A  Southern  Record  Onion.  — So  far  as  I  know  the  fine  bulb 
of  Ailsa  Craig,  grown  this  year  by  Mr.  Bowerman,  at  Hackwood  Park, 
Basingstoke,  is  tbe  heaviest  that  has  been  produced  southwards.  We 
live  in  an  age  of  record  breaking  in  garden  products  as  well  as  in  other 
directions,  and  although  the  season  has  generally  southwards  not  been 
so  favourable  for  large  bulb  production  as  the  previous  season  was,  yet 
grand  bulbs  are  plentiful.  The  one  in  question  which  I  saw  growing  at 
Hackwood  a  few  weeks  since,  and  which  I  advised  was  worth  modelling, 
for  it  measured  on  the  ground  22^  inches  round  then,  has  since  been 
pulled,  ana  cleaned,  and  weighed  3  lbs.  9J  ozs.  That  is  of  course  a 
remarkable  weight,  and  came  from  Messrs.  Sutton  &  Sons’  very  fine 
stock  of  Ailsa  Craig.  The  bulb  has  been  sent  them  for  modelling. 
Record  breakers  can  now  go  to  work  and  see  another  year  how  far  they 
can  excel  this  big  one. — A.  D 
-  Polygonum  cuspidatum. — The  Japanese  Knotweed,  Poly¬ 
gonum  cuepidatum,  becomes  an  aggressive  v/eed  at  times.  It  is  too 
obtrusive,  for  example,  in  Central  Park,  but  where  it  can  be  kept 
within  bounds  in  a  damp  place  it  makes  a  striking  clump  of  foliage 
6  feet  high,  and  during  August  and  September  it  is  covered  with  its 
beautiful  sprays  of  white  flowers.  Its  relative,  P.  Sachalinense,  about 
the  value  of  which  as  a  forage  plant  so  much  discussion  has  lately  taken 
place,  is  now  recommended  for  planting  in  the  Sahara  on  the  borders 
of  the  small  areas  where  vegetation  already  flourishes.  These  areas  are 
said  to  be  much  more  numerous  than  it  was  once  thought  they  were, 
and  this  Knotweed  is  commended  as  able  to  endure  the  drought  and  as 
a  good  plant  to  bina  the  sand.  Our  experience  with  the  plant  is  that 
it  likes  to  get  at  water  in  the  subsoil,  and  we  should  fear  that  it  would 
not  flourish  in  a  desert.— (“  Garden  and  Forest,  "j 
-  Potato  Disease. — As  one  might  expect,  the  disease  showed 
itself  in  many  parts  of  the  country,  especially  in  those  where  cold  or 
wet  weather  has  prevailed  during  the  past  two  or  three  weeks.  Kent 
seems  to  have  suffered  most,  although  here  and  elsewhere  crops  that 
were  properly  sprayed  in  good  time  are  little  affected  by  the  dreaded 
Peronospora.  Sussex,  Cumberland,  Hereford,  Worcester,  and  Lincoln 
have  complaints  to  make,  and  it  is  feared  that  the  disease  has  a  strong 
hold  upon  the  crops  in  these  counties.  Less  affected  English  counties 
are  Surrey,  Oxford,  Somerset,  Bucks,  Hampshire,  Northumberland,  and 
Westmoreland.  In  some  areas  the  disease  is  not  prevalent,  but  the 
lesser  evil  of  superluberation  is  found,  especially  where  the  soil  is 
naturally  moist.  In  Scotland  the  disease  is  spreading,  especially  in 
Aberdeen  and  Bute  ;  Ayr,  Caithness,  Fife,  Lanark,  and  Ross,  as  well  as 
<#her  counties,  have  less  affected  crops.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  brighter 
and  drier  weather  will  return,  and  that  the  Potato  disease  will  be 
arrested  before  it  seriously  damages  the  crop  generally. 
-  Douglas  Cemetery.— Messrs.  William  Fell  &  Co.,  Rojal 
nurserymen  and  seedsmen,  Hexham,  have  been  awarded  first  prize  for 
a  plan  for  laying  out  the  new  Borough  Cemetery  at  Douglas,  Isle  of 
Man.  Although  there  was  considerable  competition  the  Committee 
expressed  its  opinion  that  the  plan  of  Messrs.  Fell  &  Co.  was  by  far 
the  best  submitted  to  them.  The  grounds  command  a  splendid  view  of 
the  Douglas  Bay,  and  the  design  of  Messrs.  Fell  &  Co.  gives  the  whole 
a  neat  and  ornamental  effect. 
-  Viola  Endymion.— Of  all  the  Violas  that  have  been  certifi¬ 
cated  in  1896  I  think  this  one  stands  first.  Its  exact  parentage  ie 
unknown,  but  if  it  were  not  the  result  of  a  cross  between  A.  J.  Rowberry 
and  Lemon  Queen  it  has  at  least  all  the  good  qualities  of  the  latter  with 
much  of  the  colour  of  the  former.  Mr.  A.  J.  Rowberry  had  the  good 
fortune  to  raise  it,  and  I  am  informed  that  the  stock  baa  passed  into  the 
hands  of  Mr.  W.  Baxter  of  Woking  Village.  All  Viola  growers  should 
endeavour  to  add  it  to  their  collections,  as  1  feel  sure  it  will  prove 
invaluable  as  the  best  yellow  rayed  variety. — H.  A.  Needs. 
- Weather  in  the  Isle  of  Wight.— The  rough  weather  we 
have  experienced  during  this  last  week  culminated  in  a  very  disastrous 
gale  on  Friday  last.  Many  fine  trees  were  uprooted,  and  much  damage 
done  to  the  remaining  ungathered  Apples,  Pears,  and  other  fruits.  The 
continual  heavy  rains  and  rough  weather  have  cut  short  what  promised 
to  be  a  very  fine  autumn  season  in  tbe  island.  The  Tomato  crop  out  of 
doors  would  have  been  a  record  one  given  a  fair  amount  of  sunshine,, 
but  the  winds  and  rains  have  prevented  their  ripening,  and  brought 
disease  amongst  the  crop. — C.  Orchard. 
-  A  Remarkable  Fruit  Archway.— I  have  not  seen  in  any 
other  garden  anywhere  so  noble  and  so  admirable  a  cordon  fruit-covered 
archway  as  exists  at  Buchan  Hill,  the  residence  of  P.  Saillard,  Esq.,  near 
Crawley,  Sussex.  This  archway  spans  100  yards  length  of  the  central 
garden  path,  which  is  very  wide.  The  trees  are  planted  on  the  inner 
side,  and  the  breadth  from  row  to  row  is  15  feet.  They  are  about  2  feet 
apart  in  each  line,  and  are  planted  in  trebles — thus  three  Apples,  Pears,, 
and  Plums  throughout  in  succession.  Many  of  these  cordons  having 
gone  right  up  to  the  crown  of  the  arch,  which  is  17  feet  in  height,  must 
be  fully  20  feet  long,  and  are  right  to  tbe  ground  feathered  with  spurs 
and  leafage.  Generally  fruit  trees  on  walls,  flat  trained  and  cordon, 
are  in  great  quantity,  and  capitally  done.  Espalier  trees,  too,  are 
numerous  and  in  first-rate  condition,  whilst  pyramid  and  bush  trees 
are  in  great  abundance.  Altogether  tbe  fruit  department  reflects  on. 
Mr.  Martin,  the  gardener,  very  high  credit. — A.  D. 
-  Shrinkage  of  Farmyard  Manure  — To  test  the  reduction 
of  weight  in  farmyard  manure  daring  the  process  of  decomposition,  an 
experiment  was  conducted  last  season  at  one  of  the  Canadian  Govern¬ 
ment  experimental  farms.  Eight  thousand  pounds’  weight  of  manure, 
composed  of  equal  weights  of  cow  and  horse  manure  fresh  from  the  stalls 
and  stables,  were  placed  in  a  shed  and  on  boards  to  prevent  leaching  by 
exposure  to  rain.  Every  month  for  nine  months  the  heap  was  turned 
and  weighed,  with  the  result  that  the  weight  had  fallen  from  8000  lbs. 
in  March  to  2600  lbs.  at  the  beginning  of  December,  the  loss  thus  exceed¬ 
ing  two-thirds  of  the  original  weight.  The  shrinkage  during  the  first 
month  was  2470  lbs,,  bat  the  decrease  became  less  and  less  each  follow¬ 
ing  month.  After  four  months,  when  the  weight  bad  been  reduced  to 
3480  lbs.,  tbe  manure  was  in  first-class  condition  for  incorporation  with 
the  soil.  Experiments  in  field  cultivation  held  during  the  past  eight 
years  in  Canada,  show  that  the  action  of  fresh  manure  is  as  beneficial,, 
ton  for  ton,  as  rotten  manure,  upon  tbe  staple  crops  of  the  country. 
-  A  Reminiscence  of  Lilium  auratum.— It  may  be 
interesting  to  remark  that  when  this  famous  Lily  was  first  introduced 
into  this  country  in  1862  a  plant  of  it  in  bloom  was  exhibited  by  Messrs. 
James  Veitch  of  Chelsea  at  tbe  Crystal  Palace  Show  in  the  same  year, 
and  which  of  course  was  an  object  of  great  attraction.  Amongst 
purchasers  of  the  bulbs  at  that  time  was  an  acquaintace  of  mine  who  is 
still  in  the  flesh — viz.,  Mr.  Johnson,  then  gardener  to  the  late 
Mr.  Walker,  a  solicitor  at  Wolverhampton.  Special  care  was  taken  of 
the  bulbous  mite,  it  throve  admirably,  and  was  for  five  years  exhibited 
at  the  Wolverhampton  and  local  shows  as  a  specimen  plant,  after  which 
it  was  divided,  and  several  of  the  growing  plants  were  sold  for  a  guinea 
apiece,  by  permission  of  Mr.  Walker,  for  the  benefit  of  his  gardener,  and 
who  informs  me  that  in  the  fifth  year  of  its  culture  the  specimen 
produced  120  blooms.  It  was  repotted  in  October  annually  and  wintered 
under  a  covering  of  tree  leaves  in  an  orchard  house.  It  may  be 
remarked  in  conclusion  that  Mr.  Johnson  was  also  a  notable  local 
Chrysanthemum  grower  and  exhibitor. — W.  G. 
