October  7,  1897. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
339 
-  The  E.OYAL  Hoeticultueal  Society.  —  We  are  informed 
that  Mr.  .T.  Weathers  has  resigned  his  position  as  Assistant  Secretary  to 
the  Society.  He  was  appointed  to  the  post  about  eight  years  ago'. 
-  Russellia  juncea. — Though  not  one  of  the  showiest  of  our 
greenhouse  plants,  this  is  certainly  worthy  of  a  place  in  every  collection. 
It  is  specially  serviceable  where  hanging  plants  are  required,  and  owing 
to  its  pendulous  habit  it  can  only  be  shown  to  advantage  in  this  way. 
The  flowers,  which  are  trumpet-shaped,  about  1  inch  long,  and  of  a 
brilliant  scarlet  colour,  are  freely  produced  nearly  all  the  year  through. 
The  numerous  long,  rush -like,  branching  stems  are  clothed  with  small 
linear  or  lanceolate  leaves.  It  is  a  plant  of  comparatively  easy  culture  ; 
it  can  be  grown  either  in  pots  or  baskets,  and  delights  in  a  light, 
moderately  enriched  soil.  A  house,  where  a  night  temperature  of  55°  to 
60°  is  maintained  during  the  winter  months,  will  suit  this  plant  well.  The 
most  convenient  method  of  propagation  is,  says  a  writer  in  the  “  Garden 
and  Forest,”  by  cuttings  made  from  the  little  branchlets  taken  off  with  a 
heel.  These  root  readily  in  sand  or  sandy  soil  in  a  propagating  case  with 
gentle  bottom  heat. 
-  New  Receeation  Geound  foe  Richmond.— We  hear  that 
the  negotiations  between  the  Town  Council  and  the  Crown  authorities  for 
the  purchase  of  a  large  portion  of  the  famous  Old  Deer  Park  as  a  public 
recreation  ground  are  almost  completed,  and  the  hope  is  expressed  that 
the  “  new  lung  for  Greater  London  ”  will  be  ready  for  public  opening  on 
the  10th  October.  The  Town  Council  will  acquire  nearly  90  acres  of  the 
park,  and  a  deputation  from  the  Council  will  this  week  wait  upon  the 
Chief  Commissioner  of  Works  in  order  to  settle  the  final  agreement. 
The  new  ground  will  meet  a  long-felt  want  of  the  local  cricket  and 
football  clubs,  in  addition  to  affording  one  of  the  most  picturesque  open 
spaces  on  the  banks  of  the  Thames.  '  During  the  week  a  meeting  of 
the  representatives  of  the  local  athletic  clubs  will  be  held  for  the  purpose 
of  forming  a  ground  committee  to  assist  the  Town  Council  in  regulating 
the  park,  and  it  is  hoped  it  wiU  be  possible  to  secure  a  member  of  the 
Royal  Family  to  perform  the  opening  ceremony. — (“  Garden.”) 
-  Dahlias  at  Rothesay.— Messrs.  Dobbie  &  Co.  of  Rothesay 
have  this  season  at  their  famous  nurseries  3  acres  of  Dahlias,  with  15,000 
plants  in  magnificent  bloom.  Every  autumn  I  am  becoming  more 
enamoured  of  the  Dahlia.  Though  it  has  not  the  fragrance  of  the  Lily,  the 
Carnation,  or  the  Rose,  for  floral  impressiveness,  when  planted  with  a 
view  to  artistic  effect,  its  qualifications  are  supreme.  I  like  it  even  better 
than  the  early  flowering  Chrysanthemum,  and  that  is  saying  much.  In 
my  own  garden  the  only  varieties  of  the  Dahlia  much  cultivated  are  the 
Single  and  the  Single  Cactus,  which  do  not  attract  earwigs  quite  so  much 
as  their  stouter  sisters  ;  and  while  they  have  also  a  much  more  graceful 
and  refined  appearance,  are  considerably  less  disturbed  by  the  somewhat 
trying  visitations  of  the  equinoctial  blasts,  which  generally  make  havoc 
of  our  gardens  unless  very  strongly  sheltered,  at  this  period  of  the  year- 
It  is  very  unfortunate  for  these  and  other  fine  autumnal  flowers,  such  as 
the  Hollyhock,  the  Speciosum  Lily,  and  the  early  Chrysanthemum,  that 
they  should,  just  when  they  reach  the  culmination  of  their  beauty,  be 
treated  by  Nature  so  very  unmercifully. — David  R.  Williamson. 
-  Potato  Ceop. — This  year  the  crop  of  Potatoes  in  Great 
Britain  has  had  devoted  to  it  352,365  acres  in  England,  32,609  acres  in 
Wales,  and  119,940  acres  in  Scotland,  the  total  for  Great  Britain  being 
504,914  acres,  consequently  England  possesses  69‘8  per  cent,  of  the  tuber 
area,  Wales  6  5  per  cent.,  and  Scotland  23‘7  per  cent.  The  total  decrease 
on  the  year  amounts  to  58,827  acres,  consisting  of  47,739  acres  in  England, 
1239  acres  in  Wales,  and  9849  acres  in  Scotland.  Each  of  the  English 
counties  participated  in  the  diminution  except  Devon  and  Rutland,  which 
gained  100  and  11  acres  respectively.  The  decline  in  Lincoln  is  7641  acres, 
which  more  than  balances  the  increase  of  5754  acres  in  that  county  in  the 
preceding  year.  Other  noteworthy  declines,  according  to  a  contemporary, 
are  those  of  3448  acres  in  the  West  Riding  of  Yorkshire,  3179  acres  in 
Essex,  2951  acres  in  Kent,  2533  acres  in  Lancaster,  2505  acres  in  Cam¬ 
bridge,  2295  acres  in  Bedford,  and  2180  acres  in  Chester.  The  largest 
county  areas  under  Potatoes  in  England  are  50,197  acres  in  Lincoln, 
37,053  acres  in  Lancaster,  23,252  acres  in  Chester,  23,152  acres  in  the 
West  Riding,  and  19,847  acres  in  Cambridge.  The  area  under  Potatoes 
shows  a  decline  in  aU  the  counties  of  AVales  except  ^Montgomery  and 
Radnor,  in  which  the  increases  are  60  acres  and  2  acres  respectively. 
The  largest  county  area  under  Potatoes  in  Wales  is  5936  acres  in 
Cardigan.  Except  Nairn,  which  has  the  small  increase  of  11  acres,  all 
the  Scottish  counties  show  decreases.  The  highest  county  areas  of 
Potatoes  are  13,326  acres  in  Fife,  11,429  acres  in  Forfar,  11,416  acres  in 
Perth,''and  7343  in  Ross  and  Cromarty. 
-  Sussex  Rainfall  in  Septembee.— The  total  rainfall  for  the 
past  month  at  Haywards  Heath  was  2‘82  inches,  being  0"31  inch  below 
the  average.  The  heaviest  fall  was  0*54  inch  on  the  5th.  Rain  fell  on 
thirteen  days.  Total  for  the  nine  months  23*23  inches,  2*96  above  the 
average.  The  maximum  temperature  was  71°  on  the  29th,  the  minimum 
36°  on  the  19th.  Mean  maximum,  64*15°;  mean  minimum,  47*03°  ;  mean 
temperature,  55*59°,  a  little  above  the  average.— R.  I. 
-  Septembee  Weathee  at  Deiffield.— Mean  temperature 
at  9  A.M.  (corrected)  54*74°.  Wet  bulb  52*42°.  Mean  maximum  60*57°; 
mean  minimum  45*08°.  Highest,  66*8°  on  the  24th  ;  lowest,  36*6°  on  the 
12th.  Mean  of  maxima  and  minima  52*82°.  Mean  radiation  temperature 
on  the  grass  41*22°  ;  lowest,  30*5  on  the  4th.  Rainfall  2*780  inches. 
Number  of  rainy  days,  fifteen.  Greatest  amount  on  one  day,  0*710  on 
the  1st. — W.  E.  Lovell,  Observer,  York  Road,  Driffield. 
-  Septembee  Weathee  at  Hodsock  Peioby. — Mean  tem¬ 
perature,  53*5°.  Maximum  in  the  screen,  67*9°  on  the  13th  ;  minimum 
in  the  screen,  34*5°  on  the  19th  ;  minimum  on  the  grass,  26°  on  the  19th. 
Frosts  in  the  shade,  0  ;  on  the  grass,  10.  Sunshine,  115  hours,  or 
31  per  cent,  of  possible  duration.  Rainfall,  2*02  inches.  Rain  fell  on 
twelve  days.  Maximum  fall,  0*47  inches  on  the  1st.  Rainfall  from 
January  is  17*54  inches.  Difference  from  average  —  0*77.  A  cool  but 
otherwise  normal  month.  After  some  rain  ou  the  first  few  days  dry 
weather  set  in. — J.  Mallendee,  Worksop. 
-  South  Wales  Weathee. — The  following  is  a  summary  of  the 
weather  here  for  the  past  month  Mean  maximum  temperature,  66°, 
Highest  reading,  85°  on  the  12th  ;  mean  minimum,  40*4° ;  minimum  29°  on 
the  9th.  Total  rainfall,  5*79  inches.  Greatest  fall,  1*27  inch  on  the  29th. 
Rain  fell  on  eighteen  days.  There  were  six  sunless  days.  The  wind  was 
in  the  S.W.  and  W.  On  eleven  days,  and  in  the  N.W .  on  eight  days.  The 
last  sixteen  days  of  August  and  the  first  five  days  of  September  rain  fell 
every  day,  making  a  total  for  the  twenty-one  days  of  7*43  inches.  The 
early  part  of  the  month  the  wind  was  very  strong,  but  for  the  latter  part 
the  wind  was  quiet.  Total  rainfall  up  to  date,  41*61  inches,  which  has 
fallen  on  164  days.— Wm.  Mabbott,  Dowlais. 
-  The  Weathee  Last  Month. — September  gave  us  a  period 
of  nine  fine  days  in  succession — 5th-14th.  The  remainder  of  the 
month  was  wet.  No  frost  occurred  during  the  month.  The  wind  was 
in  a  westerly  direction  twenty  days.  Total  rainfall  amounted  to 
2*13  inches,  which  is  0*19  inch  below  the  average  for  the  month. 
This  fell  on  nineteen  days,  the  greatest  daily  fall  being  0*48  inch  on 
the  5th.  Barometer  (corrected  and  reduced)  highest  reading  30*533  inches 
on  the  13th  at  9  P.M.;  lowest,  29*273  inches  on  the  1st  at  9  P.M. 
Thermometers — Highest  in  the  shade  67°  on  the  26th;  lowest,  34°  on  the 
10th.  Mean  of  daily  maxima,  61*30° ;  mean  of  daily  minima,  45*10°. 
Mean  temperature  of  the  month,  53*20°  ;  lowest  on  the  grass,  30°  on  the 
10th  ;  highest  in  sun,  127°  on  the  9th  and  11th.  Mean  of  the  earth  at 
3  feet,  55*96°,  Total  sunshine,  1 35  hrs.  35  mins.  There  were  three 
sunless  days. — W.  H.  Divees,  Belvoir  Castle  Gardens,  Grantham: 
-  Coal  Ashes  foe  Mulching  Feuit.— An  exchange  says 
that  coal  ashes  from  both  hard  and  soft  coal  have  been  tried  as  a  mulch 
for  Gooseberries  and  Currants  with  excellent  results.  We  have  used 
them  around  Peach  and  Pear  trees,  and  thought  it  a  considerable  benefit 
to  the  fruit  and  the  tree,  retaining  moisture  as  well  as  adding  to  the 
fertility.  But,  says  an  American  contemporary,  we  selected  the  ashes 
made  in  summer,  when  about  as  much  wood  was  burned  as  coal,  the 
latter  being  used  during  the  times  when  there  was  washing,  ironing,  or 
baking  to  be  done,  and  only  wood  used  for  preparing  the  light  meals  of 
the  day.  Perhaps  that  was  better  than  the  ashes  made  in  winter,  when 
no  wood  was  used,  as  the  fires  did  not  go  out  for  weeks  at  a  time. 
_  Daelington  Paek.  —  Mr.  IMorrison,  the  Darlington  Park 
Superintendent,  has  been  the  recipient  of  a  gratifying  communication 
from  her  Majesty  the  Queen  in  connection  with  the  commemorative 
devices  which  have  formed  such  an  attractive  feature  of  the  Darlington 
Park  during  the  Jubilee  year.  It  will  be  remembered,  says  the 
“  Northern  Echo,”  that  Mr.  Morrison,  whose  devices  in  carpet  bedding 
have  earned  for  him  a  more  than  local  notoriety,  determined  this  year 
the  sixtieth  of  her  IMajesty's  remarkable  reign— to  surpass  his  former 
efforts,  and  in  this  he  succeeded  in  a  remarkable  degree.  The  central 
device  is  a  large  representation  of  the  Royal  arms  of  England,  with  the 
proper  heraldic  colouring,  and  on  either  side  are  medallion  portraits  of  her 
Majesty,  one  as  a  young  girl  of  eighteen,  with  the  date  “  1837”  below*^*, 
and  the  other  representing  her  at  the  present  time,  with  the  date  “  1897,” 
