374 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
October  15,  1896 
handsome  vane  representing  an  ancient  galley.  There  are  foar  wide 
entrances,  the  heating  arrangements  are  very  complete,  and  the 
smoke  will  not  interfere  with  either  the  beaaty  of  the  structure  or 
health  of  the  plants.  Being  erected  on  one  of  the  highest  points  in  the 
park,  the  building  can  be  seen  from  all  parts  of  the  ground.  Mr.  Herbert, 
the  Superintendent,  has  recommended  a  son  of  Mr.  Thomas  White,  the 
Chairman  of  the  Liverpool  Horticultural  Association,  to  superintend  the 
new  house,  and  he  has  been  unanimously  approved  of  by  the  Curporation. 
Events  of  the  Week.— There  is  a  lull  in  the  flow  of  horticultural 
exhibitions,  and  there  is  none  so  far  as  we  are  aware  of  any  importance 
during  the  coming  week.  After  that,  however,  the  rush  of  Chrysanthe¬ 
mum  shows  will  be  on,  when  growers  will  be  busy  for  several  weeks. 
- Weatheb  in  London. — Terrific  storms  of  wind  and  rain  have 
passed  over  the  metropolis  during  the  past  few  days.  The  rains  have 
not  been  quite  incessant,  but  the  showers  have  been  frequent  and  heavy. 
On  Sunday  a  few  flakes  of  snow  were  observed  to  fall  in  a  northern 
suburb,  but  this  was  not  general .  On  Tuesday  the  air  was  clear,  sharp, 
and  frosty. 
-  Weathee  in  the  Noeth.— Following  the  gale  and  heavy 
rains  of  the  latter  part  of  last  week,  the  weather  took  a  decidedly 
wintry  turn.  Sleety  showers  occurred  on  the  afternoon  of  Saturday, 
and  on  Sunday  all  the  surrounding  hills  showed  a  heavy  covering  of 
snow,  with  4°  of  frost.  On  Tuesday  morning  there  was  dense  rime,  and 
8°  of  frost  were  registered. — B.  D.,  S.  Perthshire, 
-  Sussex  Ceops. — In  Sussex,  and  I  think  in  the  southern 
counties  generally,  we  have  at  last  had  rain  in  abundance.  fJnfortu- 
nate’y,  it  has  been  accompanied  with  high  winds  that  have  done 
much  damage  in  orchards,  bringing  down  fruit  prematurely,  and  also 
in  kitchen  gardens  and  flower  borders.  We  have  had  the  same  difficulty 
about  autumn  crops  as  a  correspondent  in  last  week’s  Journal.  With 
the  sunless  wet  weather  they  make  remarkably  little  progress.  The 
rair,  however,  will  have  come  in  time  to  help  fruit  trees  for  another 
year.  These  have  not  lad  enough  since  last  December. — B.  I. 
- Eecoed  Vegetable  Geowing. — It  ii  interesting  to  read  the 
records  of  various  vegetables  grown,  and  will  become  in  time  things  to 
tabulate,  as  is  done  in  various  sports,  when  reference  can  be  made  to 
them  at  any  time.  This  season  a  student  of  mine  in  a  village  class  at 
Niton,  T.W.,  had  a  Potato  (Reading  Giant)  weighing  2  lbs.  6  ozs ;  and 
at  the  local  summer  show  he  staged  twelve  tubers  of  Sutton’s  Satis¬ 
faction  averaging  over  1  lb.  each.  It  would  prove  interesting  to  your 
readers  if  you  could  give  the  records  of  the  various  vegetables  grown, 
with  the  grower’s  name,  variety,  year  in  which  grown,  and  any  other 
particulars. — S.  H. 
-  The  Wolveehampton  Floeae  Fete.-«A  copy  of  the 
balance-sheet,  giving  a  general  statement  of  accounts,  has  reached  us, 
and  it  is  satisfactory  to  note  that  this  year’s  profits  exceed  the  average  of 
the  preceding  seven  years.  The  reserve  fund  has  been  strengthened, 
while  a  bandstand,  fountain,  and  seats  have  been  presented  out  of  the 
current  account  to  the  new  East  Park  that  was  recently  opened  by  the 
Mayor  ;  while  out  of  the  general  revenue  upwards  of  £1000  have  been 
paid  on  account  of  the  new  conservatory  in  the  West  Park.  Nearly 
£1700  have  been  given  for  public  purposes,  and  a  balance  of  upwards  of 
£1800  remains  for  future  campaigns.  Wolverhampton  has  done  well  1 
-  Death  of  a  Royal  Gaedeneb. — We  learn  with  regret  that 
after  upwards  of  forty  years’  service  as  head  gardener  to  Her  Majesty  at 
Balmoral,  Mr.  William  Paterson  died  on  Monday,  the  5th  inst.,  at  Daisy 
Cottage,  Balmoral,  at  the  ripe  age  of  seventy-two.  In  1847  Mr.  Paterson 
was  appointed  head  gardener  to  Sir  Robert  Gordon,  at  the  old  castle  of 
Balmoral,  which  occupied  a  site  not  far  from  the  present  stately  pile. 
Only  three  days  after  Mr.  Paterson’s  appointment  Sir  Robert  died,  and 
Her  Majesty  the  Queen  then  took  over  the  remainder  of  the  lease,  on 
the  expiry  of  which  she  purchased  the  Balmoral  estate.  It  was  at 
Martinmas,  1847,  that  Mr.  Paterson  went  to  Balmoral,  and  in  August  of 
the  following  year  he  was  formally  appointed  to  the  position  from  which 
he  retired  on  a  pension  in  1892  in  consequence  of  declining  health.  Her 
Majesty  attended  the  funeral. 
-  Heavy  Potato, — Can  anyone  inform  me  through  the  medium 
of  the  Journal  of  Horticulture  the  weight  of  the  heaviest  Potato  on 
record,  as  I  have  in  my  possession  a  Magnum  Bonum  Potato  which 
weighs  4  lbs.  1  oz.  — P. 
-  Cokebction. — At  the  fruit  show  held  at  the  Crystal  Palace,. 
October  1st,  2nd,  and  .Srd,  Class  129,  for  Pitmaston  Duchess  Pears,  the 
second  prize  was  awarded  to  Mr.  W.  Mancey  ;  not  Manning,  as  reported 
in  the  Journal  of  Horticulture,  &c. — W.  Mancey. 
-  The  New  Dwaef  Sweet  Pe.v.— The  Rev.  David  R.  William¬ 
son  writes:  —  “As  I  seldom  lose  an  opportunity  of  correcting  an 
inaccuracy,  especially  when  it  is  connected  with  my  own  compositions, 
I  write  at  once  to  say  that  in  the  paragraph  (page  325)  upon  the 
unfortunate  Cupid  ‘  Loi’an  House  ’  has  been  misprinted  for  Logan 
House,’’ 
-  Gaedening  Appointments. — Mr.  John  Harris  has  been 
appointed  head  gardener  to  F.  J.  Harrison,  Esq.,  Maer,  Newcastle, 
Staffs.  Wm.  H,  Thomas  has  been  appointed  head  gardener  to 
D.  Marriage,  Esq.,  The  Street,  Chorley,  Lancs.  Mr.  J.  Balmforth  has- 
been  appointed  head  gardener  to  the  Lord  Bishop  of  Sodor  and  Man,, 
Bishopscourt,  Kirkmichael,  Isle  of  Man. 
-  A  New  College. — The  new  Agricultural  and  Horticultural 
College,  which  has  just  been  established  at  Holmes  Chapel  by  the 
Cheshire  County  Council  at  the  cost  of  £10,000,  was  opened  recently  by 
the  Duke  of  Westminster.  The  pupils  will  receive  a  sound  technical 
instruction  in  agriculture,  the  complete  course  extending  over  three 
years.  The  work  of  the  new  college  is  exciting  much  interest  amongst 
the  farmers.  No  pupil  is  taken  for  less  than  a  year. 
-  The  Hessle  Gaedenees’  Mutual  Impeovement  Society. 
— The  first  meeting  of  the  session  was  held  in  the  Parish  School  Room 
on  Tuesday,  October  6th,  when  a  lecture  was  given  by  Mr.  Lyon  on 
“  Essay  Writing  by  Young  Gardeners.’’  The  lecturer  being  blind  had 
to  trust  entirely  to  his  memory,  and  his  lecture  proved  that  he  had 
made  good  use  of  his  time  before  the  unfortunate  calamity  occurred 
which  deprived  him  of  his  sight.  Mr.  Lyon  gave  some  practical  advice, 
which  all  young  gardeners  would  do  well  to  follow,  and  which  would 
not  be  out  of  place  to  many  who  are  no  longer  young.  The  under 
gardeners  and  foremen  of  the  Society  will  this  year  have  the  oppor¬ 
tunity  of  testing  their  powers  of  essay  writing,  as  it  has  been  decided  to- 
offer  prizes  for  the  two  best  essays,  independent  of  the  papers  making 
up  the  syllabus.  Various  changes  have  been  made  in  the  manage¬ 
ment  of  the  Society,  including  a  new  Secretary,  Mr.  J.  Barker  having 
been  appointed  to  that  post  on  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Geo.  Page. 
— F.  L.  T. 
-  Wakefield  Paxton  Society. — At  the  ordinary  weekly 
meeting  of  the  members  of  the  above  Society,  held  on  Saturday,  the 
Srd  inst,,  Mr.  B.  Whiteley  presided,  and  Mr.  W.  Lockwood  occupied 
the  vice-chair.  Mr.  T.  Pitts  of  Stanley,  formerly  gardener  to  Mr, 
D.  B.  Kendell,  J.P.,  of  Thornhill  House,  Walton,  gave  a  very  interesting 
lecture  on  “The  Eacharis.”  Mr.  Pitts,  who  spoke  fluently  without  the 
assistance  of  any  notes  or  memoranda,  treated  his  subject  in  a  thorough 
and  able  manner,  and  imparted  much  valuable  information  to  his 
hearers  about  the  Eacharis  Lily,  a  bulb  which  he  used  to  grow  with 
great  success.  He  said  the  Eacharis  is  a  native  of  the  banks  of  the 
river  Amazon,  and  is  a  moisture-loving  plant  with  a  fl.eshy  root,  and  its 
lovely  white  blooms  are  much  admired  and  very  useful.  He  had- 
bloomed  the  Eucharis  three  times  in  fourteen  months,  but  if  not 
properly  treated  they  would  have  some  difficulty  in  blooming  it  once  a 
year.  The  bulbs  should  be  potted  in  equal  parts  of  turf  and  peat  with 
a  good  mixture  of  silver  sand,  and  rough  sandstone  broken  up  to  about 
the  size  of  walnuts.  The  Eucharis  was  a  stove  plant,  and  should  be 
kept  in  a  temperature  of  from  60°  to  80°.  It  loved  plenty  of  water,  but 
it  did  not  like  removing  too  frequently  ;  it  should  be  kept  in  the  same- 
pots  for  about  two  years.  Sometimes  the  plants  were  aflfected  by  the 
mealy  bug,  which  could  be  easily  got  rid  of  by  syringing  them  with  a 
solution  of  paraffin  and  water.  If  syringing  was  carried  out  once  a 
week  or  once  every  ten  days  the  plants  would  not  be  troubled  with  the 
red  spider.  He  had  heard  complaints  about  the  plants  being  attacked 
by  Eucharis  mites,  and  he  believed  that  was  the  result  of  neglect  and 
stagnation.  The  flowers  of  the  Eacharis  always  commanded  a  sale  as 
useful  alike  for  christenings,  marriages,  deaths,  and  other  occasions. 
After  the  plants  had  bloomed  the  bulbs  should  be  allowed  to  ripen  f 
but  he  did  not  believe  in  drying  them  off  j  he  simply  placed  them  in  a- 
lower  temperature  for  about  six  weeks,  and  that  served  as  the  resting 
period. 
