584 
JOtJllN'AL  OF  nORTICULTURl:  Al^D  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  D«c.etaber  ifVisSe. , ■ 
Wbatheb  in  London.— During,  Thursday,  Friday,  and  Saturday 
of  last  week  a  considerable  amount  of  rain  fell,  though  the  down¬ 
pour  was  never  particularly  heavy.  The  wet  was  accompanied  by 
rather  high  winds,  which  increased  on  the  latter  day  to  almost  a 
gale.  On  Sunday  the  weather  was  dry  and  much  colder  until  evening, 
when  it  commenced  raining  and  continued  until  Monday  midday. 
Tuesday  morning  was  wet,  but  there  was  a  frost  at  night ;  Wednesday 
morning  being  clear  and  cold. 
—  Weather  in  the  North.— Throughout  the  week  ending  the 
16th  inst.  there  has  been  a  good  deal  of  rain,  and  except  on  the  11th 
and  the  13th  little  sunshine.  On  Monday  morning  there  were  5°  frost, 
followed  by  a  drizzly  cold  day,  and  a  fine  evening.  There  was  again 
a  slight  touch  of  frost  on  Tuesday  morning.  There  is  still  a  strong 
adherence  to  the  record  of  last  year.— B.  D.,  S.  Perthshire 
Year  Book  of  the  United  States  Agriculture. — A 
Copy  of  this  work  has  reached  us,  and  it  well  displays  the  thoroughness 
of  the  Department  in  obtaining  and  disseminating  valuable  information  in 
connection  with  the  land,  and  the  cultivation  of  useful  crops.  Thu 
report,  of  course,  pertains  to  last  year.  It  consists  of  upwards  of  650 
pages,  well  printed,  and  freely  illustrated.  The  number  of  subjects 
treated  practically  or  scientifically  as  each  demanded  is  very  great,  and 
the  report  is  distinctly  creditable  to  all  who  have  shared  in  its  produc¬ 
tion.  An  article  on  “  Humus  ”  (page  589),  indicates  to  some  extent 
the  character  of  the  work. 
—  ^  Qrimston  Park. — This  Yorkshire  domain  at  the  end  of 
November  this  year  was  indeed  a  place  worth  visiting.  At  the  kind 
invitation  of  Mr,  J,  H.  Clayton  I  was  privileged  to  see  through  the  glass 
structures  recently,  and  thought  a  few  words  on  what  was  to  be  seen 
there  during  this  dull  season  would  not  be  out  of  place  in  the  Journal. 
The  first  house  I  entered  presented  such  a  sight  as  I  shall  never  forget. 
The  plants  were  arranged  on  the  stages  to  form  a  bank,  and  when  I  tell 
you  this  was  composed  of  Poinsettias,  Euphorbia  jacquiniaeflora,  Calanthe 
Veitchi,  Plumbago  coccinea,  Laslia  anceps,  the  whole  being  surmounted 
by  some  grand  specimens  of  Cypripediums  insigne  and  Sedeni  full  of 
bloom,  and  with  a  groundwork  of  Adiantums  and  Fittonia  Pearcei, 
interlaced  with  Cissus  discolor  and  the  various  new  and  old  varieties 
of  Asparagus,  I  think  all  will  agree  that  it  was  a  superb  spectacle. 
Nor  twas  this  all.  In  other  houses  I  saw  Chrysanthemum  W.  H. 
Lincoln  just  showing  colour,  Eranthemum  pulchellum,  a  Banana  with 
a  large  bunch  of  fruit,  Cucumbers,  and  a  fine  lot  of  Mushrooms  ready 
for  cutting.  Owing  to  the  fading  light  I  was  unable  to  see  all,  but  those 
1  have  enumerated  will  show  what  careful  attention  and  good  manage¬ 
ment  will  do  in  the  floral  world  at  this  dull  season  of  the  year.— P. 
— —  Eczema  prom  Contact  with  BULBS.—This  irritating  skin 
disease  is  said  to  have  frequently  been  produced  on  persons  who  have 
had  much  to  do  with  cleaning  or  otherwise  handling  of  Hyacinth  bulbs. 
That  some  irritation  is  caused  by  such  contact  has  long  been  recognised, 
though,  as  with  Primula  obconica,  not  every  person  sufiers  by  contact. 
According  to  experiments  recently  made  at  Kew,  and  detailed  by 
Dr.  Morris,  C.M.tr,,  Assistant  Director  of  the  Boyal  Gardens,  at  a  recent 
meeting  of  the  Linnean  Society,  it  appears  that  the  raphides  in  the  bulbs 
are  the  prime  agents  in  producing  eczema.  These  needle  -  shaped 
raphides,  or  crystals  of  oxalate  of  lime,  vary  from  one-hundredth  to  a 
two-hundredth  part  of  an  inch  in  length,  and  so  arranged  as  to  be  easily 
dispersed  by  rubbing  the  bulb  scales.  Dr.  H.  Scott,  Keeper  of  the 
Joddrell  Laboratory,  confirmed  Dr.  Morris’s  opinion  that  the  irritation 
of  the  skin,  or  form  of  eczema,  produced  by  contact  with  Hyacinth 
bulbs,  was  due  directly  to  puncture  by  these  numerous  raphides.  These 
raphides  are  no  doubt  protective  to  the  bulbs,  as  it  has  been  observed 
that  snails  avoid  Hyacinth  bulbs,  while  they  attack  other  bulbs  close  by. 
It  has  also  been  observed  that  the  Roman  Hyacinths  cause  greater 
irritation  than  the  well-known  garden  varieties  usually  known  as  Dutch 
Hyacinths.  This,  says  a  contemporary,  is  no  doubt  because  the  Roman 
Hyacinth,  being  a  specific  variety  (Hyacinthus  orientalis  albulus) 
retains  more  of  the  origipai  character  of  the  species  than  do  the  garden' 
forms. 
- Gardeners’  Royal  Benevolent  Institution.  —  Lord 
Rothschild  has  fixed  Wednesday,  May  2(lth,  for  the  fifty-eighth  anni¬ 
versary  festival  dinner  of  this  institution,  which  will  be  held ,  at  the 
Hotel  M^tropole  undei  his  lordship’s  presidency. 
-  Royal  Botanical  Society  op  Manchester,  —  We  are 
informed  that  the  Council  of  the  Royal  Botanical  and  Horticultural 
Society  of  Manchester  has  appointed  Mr.  P,  Weathers  of  Isleworth  to 
fill  the  joint  offices  of  Curator  and  Secretary,  rendered  vacant  by  the 
death  of  Mr.  Bruce  Findlay. 
-  Corrugated  Iron.—I  have  grown  Cucumbers,  Tomatoes,  and 
various  other  plants  on  stages  erected  with  corrugated  iron  for  the  past 
five  years,  and  have  found  it  most  satisfactory.  I  use  a  layer  of  very 
fine  gravel  for  drainage.  I  favour  the  growing  of  Tomatoes  in  Seakale 
pots.  The  roots  that  find  their  way  out  of  the  bottom  into  the  gravel 
on  the  corrugated  iron  will  become  a  mass  of  white  roots,  thus  showing 
there  cannot  be  the  least  injury  arising  from  the  use  of  corrugated  iron. 
I  consider  the  use  of  it  for  staging,  with  a  thin  layer  of  gravel,  prefer¬ 
able  to  wood,  as  plants  standing  on  it  do  not  become  so  dry  as  on  the 
latter. — H,  C. 
- The  Nursery  Trade. — I  do  not  know  how  far  the  general 
report  may  assimilate  with  that  I  found  given  to  me  on  visiting  one  of 
our  large  Surrey  nurseries  recently,  I  was  informed  that  they  had  rarely 
been  so  busy  during  an  autumn  as  from  October  to  the  present  timh. 
The  exceeding  abundance  of  lifted  trees  and  shrubs  in  process  of  packing 
or  waiting  to  be  packed,  fully  bore  out  the  statement.  That  is  very 
satisfactory.  The  same  remark  I  found  applied  to  the  fruit  tree  trade, 
which  I  learnt  also  was  very  heavy.  It  is  pleasant  to  learn  that  trade 
in  this  direction  is  so  good  ;  not  only  does  it  mean  prosperity  for  the 
grower,  but  it  indicates  ample  employment  for  the  gardener  elsewhere. 
Although  there  has  been  much  rain  at  times,  yet  has  there  been  so  far 
very  little  hindrance  to  lifting  and  planting. — D. 
- Famous  Gardens  Abroad  and  at  Home. — This  was  the 
subject  of  a  very  interesting  lecture  given  recently  at  the  Guildhall, 
Exeter,  by  Mr.  F.  W.  Meyer,  landscape  gardener,  of  Messrs.  Robert 
Yeitch  &  Son,  Exeter,  before  the  members  of  the  Devon  and  Exeter 
Gardeners’  Association,  The  lecture  was  illustrated  by  about  one 
hundred  capital  limelight  views,  giving  examples  of  beautiful  gardens  in 
different  parts  of  the  world.  For  this  occasion  the  use  of  the  large 
Guildhall  had  kindly  been  granted  by  the  Mayor,  and  an  excellent  lantern, 
producing  pictures  of  12  feet  or  more  in  diameter,  was  kindly  lent,  and 
skilfully  manipulated,  by  Mr.  J.  I.  Pengelly,  Magistrates’  Clerk.  Mr. 
Meyer,  in  the  course  of  his  lecture,  dealt  first  with  ancient  gardens,  and 
among  the  views  exhibited  were  reproductions  of  ancient  Egyptian 
gardens,  the  celebrated  hanging  gardens  of  Babylon,  old  Roman  gardens, 
and  a  picture  of  the  famous  glacier  garden  of  Lucerne.  Passing  on  to 
modern  gardens,  Mr.  Meyer  wished  it  to  be  distinctly  understood  that 
from  the  many  views  of  foreign  gardens  which  he  exhibited  it  must  not 
be  inferred  that  most  English  gardens  were  less  beautiful  ;  but  the 
foreign  pictures  were  introduced  for  better  comparison,  and  because 
they  were  less  generally  known  In  this  country.  Japanese  and  Chinese 
gardens  were  then  illustrated  by  means  of  about  a  dozen  different 
pictures.  Then  followed  views  from  India,  Jerusalem,  Madeira,  and 
Italy,  The  next  picturtjs  dealt  with  some  of  Nature’s  magnificent 
gardens  among  the  rugged  mountain  peaks  of  Switzerland,  Of  France, 
the  principal  gardens  illustrated  were  the  famous  gardens  of  Paris,  the 
lake  and  waterfall  scenes  in  the  Bois  de  Boulogne,  and  the  monster 
gardens  of  Versailles,  with  their  miles  of  clipped  trees  and  their  huge 
foundatiouk  Most  interesting,  too,  was  the  section  of  pictures  dealing 
with  the  best  gardens  in  Germany,  including  the  Berlin  Exhibition  of 
1896,  the  public  gardens  of  Berlin,  Cologne,  Wiesbaden,  and  the  cele¬ 
brated  Palm  gardens  in  Frankfort.  The  latter  were  Illustrated  by 
several  very  beautiful  pictures,  and  Mr.  Meyer  said  he  had  no  hesitation 
in  pronouncing  this  garden  as  one  of  the  most  beautiful  he  had  seen. 
The  next  twenty -two  pictures  dealt  exclusively  with  English  gardens, 
including  the  private  grounds  of  Her  Majesty  at  Buckingham  Palace, 
Virginia  Water,  and  Hampton  Court ;  also  several  of  the  famous  London 
parks,  Crystal  Palace,  and  Kew  Gardens.  Slides  of  Sefton  Park, Liverpool, 
Birkenhead  Park,  and  Chatsworth  were  also  included  in  this  section, 
which  finished  with  a  beautiful  view  of  the  gardens  at  Tresco  Abbey 
in  the  Scllly  Isles,  famous  for  their  almost  tropical  vegetation.  A  most 
enjoyable  and  instructive  evoning  was  spent,  and  both  Mr.  Meyer  for 
his  lecture,  and  Mr.  Pengelly  for  his  valuable  assistance  with  the 
lantern,  thoroughly  deserved  the  votes  of  thanks  that  were  so 
unanimously  accorded. 
