5S8 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  OARDEI^ER 
becembet  S,  1898. 
- The  Benefits  op  Apples. — The  malic  acidof  ripe  Apples,  either 
raw  or  cooked,  will  neutralise  any  excess  of  chalky  matter  engendered 
by  eating  too  much  meat  It  is  also  the  fact  that  such  fresh  fruits  as 
the  Apple,  the  Pear,  and  the  Plum,  when  taken  ripe  and  without  sugar, 
diminish  acidity  in  the  stomach  rather  than  provoke  it.  Their  vegetable 
salts  and  juices  are  converted  into  alkaline  carbonates,  which  tend  to 
counteract  acidity.  A  good  ripe  raw  Apple  is  one  of  the  easiest  of 
vegetable  substances  for  the  stomach  to  deal  with,  the  whole  process  of 
its  digestion  being  completed  in  eighty-five  minutes. 
-  Liverpool  Horticultural  Association.  —  The  second 
meeting  of  the  present  series  of  readings  and  discussions  in  connection 
with  the  above  Society  took  place  recently  at  the  Free  Library,  William 
Brown  Street,  Mr.  J.  V.  Thompson  in  the  chair,  when  Mr,  A.  Randall, 
of  Aigburth,  read  his  prize  essay  on  “  The  Selection  and  Cultivation 
of  Plants  Most  Suitable  for  House  Decoration,”  the  subject  being  treated 
in  a  very  able  and  practical  manner.  All  the  details  of  cultural 
requirements  were  minutely  described,  and  also  the  attention  necessary 
when  in  use.  A  selection  of  varieties  was  given,  which  included  some 
of  the  very  best  and  most  enduring  plants  for  house  decoration,  A 
discussion  followed,  and  votes  of  thanks  to  the  reader  and  Chairman 
ooncluded  the  proceedings. 
-  The  Farms  in  Sweden,  —  These  vary  in  size  from  5  to 
50  acres  as  a  general  rule,  although  out  of  the  329,930  farms  in  cultiva- 
tion  there  are  about  3000  having  an  area  of  250  acres  and  over.  Owners 
cultivate  272,316  farms,  and  the  remaining  are  presumably  held  under 
lease,  A  contemporary  says  that  besides  these  farms  there  are  166,419 
small  crofts  or  tracts  of  land  held  by  agricultural  labourers  in  return 
for  certain  services  rendered  on  set  days  to  the  owners.  Agriculture  is 
by  far  the  leading  industry  in  Sweden,  as  the  following  returns  made 
in  1894  will  show  : — Orchards  and  market  gardens,  87,397  acres  ;  arable 
land,  8,371,748  ;  natural  meadows,  3,774,158  ;  wooded  land,  46,663,404  ; 
other  land,  42,709,548  ;  total  land  area,  101,606,255  acres.  The  agri¬ 
cultural  crops  rank  in  importance  as  follows  Hay,  Oats,  Rye,  Barley, 
Potatoes,  green  fodder,  Maslin,  Wheat,  roots.  Peas,  Vetches,  Beans, 
and  Buckwheat. 
-  Pruning-  Fruit  Trees  in  Italy. — Some  of  the  disadvantages 
arising  from  the  failure  of  fruit  trees  to  produce  in  successive  years  a 
uniform  quantity  of  fruit  (says  United  States  Consul  Seymour,  writing 
from  Palermo,  Italy),  are  well  known  to  all  engaged  in  fruit  culture, 
and  information  regarding  any  system  of  cultivation  that  has  for  object 
the  equalisation  of  successive  crops,  especially  when  it  is  said  that  such 
system  has  been  successful,  must  be  of  interest  to  them.  According  to 
the  “  Agrarian  Review,”  with  the  view  of  equalising  the  crops  in  the 
Sorrentine  peninsula,  it  has  been  shown  that  good  results  are  obtained 
from  the  following  method  of  pruning  :  Prune  considerably  after  the 
scarce  year,  cutting  some  fruit-bearing  branches,  and  little  after  the  full 
year.  This  system,  though  the  opposite  of  the  old,  seems  to  be,  in 
theory,  the  proper  one  ;  for  it  is  due  to  the  fact  that  during  the  loaded 
year  the  tree  is  deprived  of  nourishment  that  might  be  used  by  it  the 
next  year  in  the  formation  of  fruit,  and  by  depriving  the  tree  of  the 
branches,  which  is  only  depriving  it  of  fruit,  there  will  be  less  nourish¬ 
ment  required  by  the  fruit  in  the  following  year,  and  the  tree  will  have 
more  for  the  formation  of  fruit.— (“  Californian  Fruit  Grower.”) 
-  Birmingham  Gardeners’  Mutual  Improvement  Asso¬ 
ciation. — A  very  interesting  dissertation  upon  the  “Varieties  and 
Selection  of  the  Chrysanthemum  ”  was  given  at  the  last  fortnightly 
meeting,  in  the  presence  of  a  more  than  usual  attendance  of  the  members, 
by  Mr.  R.  Jones,  gardener  to  C.  A.  Smith  Ryland,  Esq.,  Barford  Hill, 
Warwick.  His  information  was  valuable,  and  created  an  animated  dis¬ 
cussion.  There  was  also  a  small  exhibition  of  cut  blooms  in  com¬ 
petition  by  members  for  the  prizes  offered  by  the  Committee.  Amongst 
the  prizewinners  were  Messrs.  E.  T.  Mustin,  H.  Snead,  and  Jones- 
One  of  the  members  adverted  to  the  fact  that  large  specimen  plants  may 
readily  be  produced  by  using  established  one  or  two  year  old  plants  of 
the  common  Anthemis  frutescens  as  a  stock,  the  natural  vigour  of  which 
rendering  it  particularly  suitable  for  the  purpose,  especially  for  infusing 
extra  strength  into  weakly  constitutioned  varieties,  and  by  grafting 
different  varieties  upon  the  same  stock,  a  novel  and  parti-coloured  speci¬ 
men.  plant  can  be  produced.  See  reference  to  the  Anthemis  frutescens, 
by  Mons.  J.  Everaerts  of  Antwerp,  in  the  Journal  of  Hortioulhre, 
March,  23rd,  1893 ;  also  the  Editor’s  suggestion  that  some  of  his 
Chrysanthemum-growing  readers  would  experiment  in  the  directipn 
indicated  by  Mons.  Alexis  Callier,  the  writer  of  the  article  in  question, 
and  communicate  the  results  in  due  course. — W.  G. 
-  Flora  of  the  Bay-Karonga  Mountains.  —  Professor 
Whyte,  the  Government  naturalist  in  the  British  Central  Africa 
Protectorate,  has  just  published  an  interesting  report  on  the  flora 
of  the  highest  range  of  the  Bay-Karonga  Mountains  in  Nyassaland. 
He  found  that  the  flora  resembled  that  of  Mlanje — rich  in  Heaths,  but 
utterly  wanting  in  Conifers.  The  climate  is  not  so  healthy  as  Zomba, 
and  there  is  a  want  of  the  soft,  balmy,  bracing  breezes  prevailing  at 
Mlanje.  He  has  formed  a  valuable  collection,  consisting  of  6000  dried 
specimens  of  plants. 
- Moisture  for  Plants. — The  influence  of  moisture  upon 
vegetation  has  been  found  by  Professor  E.  Gain  to  vary  greatly  at 
different  periods  in  the  growth  of  the  plants.  As  a  rule,  water  is  needed 
when  the  first  leaves  are  appearing ;  then  only  little  is  called  for 
until  just  before  blossoming,  when  a  large  supply  is  demanded.  The 
fruit  is  best  perfected  in  comparative  dryness.  Very  few  plants 
require  constant  moisture,  and  in  all  experiments  tried  the  plants 
that  were  watered  at  the  two  critical  seasons  of  first  growth  and  the 
beginning  of  blossoming  did  as  well  as  those  that  were  constantly 
watered. — (  “Echo.”) 
- “  Physiological  Role  of  Water  in  Plants.”— In  an 
article  on  this  subject.  Professor  Edmond  Gain,  of  the  University  of 
Nancy,  France,  published  in  the  “  Experiment  Station  Review,”  says 
among  other  practical  applications  of  the  subject,  we  are  told  that  when 
a  given  soil  produces  vigorous  plants  whose  transpiration  is  very  active, 
and  young  plants  whose  organs  are  less  developed,  the  roots  of  the  first 
will  take  up  the  humidity  of  the  scil  with  greater  force  than  those  of 
the  second.  If,  therefore,  the  soil  does  not  contain  enough  water  for 
both,  the  weaker  will  suffer.  This  is  the  case  with  Clover  seeded  with 
Wheat  which  suffers  in  a  dry  spring,  while  Clover  seeded  alone  makes  a 
good  growth.  Farmers  continue  to  sow  their  forage  seed  with  cereals 
under  the  mistaken  idea  that  the  cereals  are  beneficial  as  a  shade.  If 
they  would  seed  their  forage  plants  alone  they  would  not  only  secure 
a  greater  yield,  but  in  dry  countries  would  stand  a  better  chance  of  pro¬ 
ducing  a  crop. 
- Forests  op  Sweden.— The  Crown  forests  of  Sweden  comprise 
more  than  one-quarter  of  the  entire  wooded  area  of  the  country  and  are 
managed  with  scrupulous  care.  The  increase  alone  is  cut,  so  that  a 
productive  forest  is  to  stand  for  ever  on  all  Crown  lands  that  are 
unsuitable  for  cultivation.  More  than  this,  the  Government  has  entered 
upon  an  extensive  system  of  planting  trees  on  desolate  and  uncultivated 
areas,  and  these  object-lessons  have  induced  owners  of  private  forests, 
especially  the  larger  proprietors,  to  manage  their  timber  lands  so  that 
they  will  become  permanent  sources  of  income.  These  facts  were  com¬ 
municated  to  our  Department  of  State  by  Hon.  H.  W.  Thomas,  United 
States  Minister  to  Sweden,  and  they  are  of  particular  interest,  not  only 
to  Sweden,  but  also  to  the  United  States  and  Canada,  whose  lumber 
meets  the  Swedish  product  as  its  greatest  competitor  in  the  markets  of 
the  world.  Since  the  forests  in  Sweden  grow  slowly  it  has  generally 
been  supposed  that  the  immense  quantities  exported  would  gradually 
exhaust  this  most  important  source  of  the  nation’s  wealth ;  but  from  the 
facts  stated  it  appears  probable  that  the  47  millions  acres  of  forest  in  the 
country  will  continue  to  be  a  source  of  income  for  all  future  time.  The 
products  of  the  forest  now  comprise  nearly  one-half  of  the  total  exports 
of  the  country  in  value. — (“  Garden  and  Forest.”) 
-  Reform  in  the  Apple  Trade.— The  sooner  farmers  adopt 
the  best  methods,  take  the  Apple  trade  out  of  the  hands  of  unscrupulous 
middlemen,  and  send  to  market  only  No.  1  fruit,  feeding  No.  2  to  the 
cattle  or  swine — if  they  can  be  put  to  no  better  use — the  sooner  Maine 
will  regain  its  lost,  yet  coveted,  stand  among  the  Apple-growing  sections. 
Let  them  combine  and  choose  one  of  their  number  to  negotiate  the 
entire  lot,  and  establish  a  lasting  market  by  sending  strictly  first-class 
fruit,  faced  at  the  head  and  bottom,  and  all  the  way  through  the  same. 
Buyers  abroad  have  lost  confidence  in  American  shippers  because  of  the 
dishonest  methods  resorted  to  in  putting  the  fruit  into  the  market.  The 
quality  of  the  Apples  in  many  cases  does  not  tally  with  the  X  X  X  on 
the  head  of  the  barrek  Fruit  being  of  excellent  quality,  this  is  an 
exceptionally  good  year  to  begin.  Let  neighbourho  ods  unite,  put  theii 
fruit  together,  selecting  some  brand  or  mark,  and  do  business  on  business 
principles.  Mr.  Whittier  of  this  State,  one  of  the  largest  Apple  growers, 
receives  from  50  cents,  to  1  dol.  per  barrel  more  than  market  price, 
simply  because  his  name  and  fame  is  established  as  reliable.  His 
brokers  in  Boston  can  sell  all  he  has,  thousands  of  barrels,  whether  or 
not  there  are  few  or  ihany  Apples  raised.— L.  0.  Straw,  Maine  (in 
"  American  Agriculturist  ”). 
