386 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
October  21,  1897. 
Events  op  the  Week. — So  far  as  we  are  aware  the  only  event  in 
London  during  the  forthcoming  week  that  will  be  of  particular  interest  to 
horticulturists  is  the  meeting  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society.  This 
will,  as  usual,  be  held  in  the  Drill  Hall  on  Tuesday,  the  26th  inst.  Con¬ 
sidering  the  weather  that  we  have  been  experiencing,  the  display  ought 
to  prove  a  good  and  an  interesting  one. 
-  Weather  in  London.  —The  weather  in  London  since  our 
last  issue  went  to  the  machines  has  been  characterised  mainly  by  its 
mildness.  On  the  evening  of  Friday  last  it  rained  rather  heavily.  Sunday 
and  Monday  were  exceptionally  mild.  On  the  evening  of  the  latter  day 
rain  fell,  and  continued  over  a  large  part  of  Tuesday.  Wednesday 
morning  was  foggy. 
-  Weather  in  the  North. — The  autumn  so  far  has  brought 
more  than  the  average  of  rain,  and  considerable  difficulty  has  occurred 
in  securing  the  grain  crops.  The  thermometer  has  frequently  fallen 
to  the  freezing  point,  and  hoar  frosts  have  already  been  frequent.  Snow 
has  fallen  over  and  again  on  Ben  Nevis.  On  the  morning  of  the  13th 
2°  of  frost,  and  8°  on  Thursday,  practically  brought  the  season  of  out¬ 
door  flowers  to  an  end.  Since  then  a  great  deal  of  rain  has  fallen. 
Tuesday  morning  was  fine,  with  temperature  54°. — B.  D.,  S.  Perthshire. 
-  Royal  Horticultural  Society.— We  are  requested  to 
announce  that  the  dates  fixed  for  next  year’s  meetings  are  as  follows  :  - 
1898  :  January  11th,  February  8th,  March  8th  and  22nd,  April  12th  and 
26th,  May  10th  ;  Temple  Show,  iMay  25th,  26th,  and  27th  ;  June  14th 
and  28th,  July  12th  and  26th,  August  9th  and  23rd,  September  6th  and 
20th  ;  Fruit  Show,  Crystal  Balace,  September  29th,  30th,  and  Octolier  1st; 
October  11th  and  25th,  November  8th  and  22nd,  December  13th.  Any 
gentleman  willing  to  deliver  a  lecture  on  any  of  these  dates  would  greatly 
oblige  by  communicating  at  once  with  the  Secretary,  117,  Victoria 
Street,  S.W. 
-  Horticultural  Club. — The  first  dinner  and  conversazione 
for  the  session  1897  and  1898  took  place  on  Tuesday  evening  last,  and 
there  was  a  good  attendance  of  members.  ]\Ir.  Harry  J.  Veitch  occupied 
the  chair,  and  there  w;ere  present  Rev.  W.  Wilks,  Rev.  H.  Pemberton, 
Rev.  H.  H.  D’Ombrain,  Messrs.  Williams,  Cockett,  C.  Pearson,  T.  Francis 
Rivers,  11.  Turner,  Gurney  Randall,  Assbee,  Gordon,  Geo.  Monro, 
M.  Garcia,  and  Herr  Hugo  Muller,  President  of  the  Pomological  Society 
of  Vienna,  who  was  the  guest  of  the  Club  for  the  evening;  his  health  was 
proposed  by  the  Chairman.  A  paper  was  read  by  Mr.  T.  Francis  Rivers 
on  “  Orchard  Houses  and  Fruit  ;”  an  interesting  discussion  followed,  and 
a  cordial  vote  of  thanks  was  awarded  to  Mr.  Rivers  for  his  excellent 
paper  ;  this  we  hope  to  give  in  some  future  issue. 
-  Autujin  Leaf  Tints. — These  this  season  are  truly  superb. 
Rarely  have  they  been  seen  more  beautiful.  Leafage  in  every  direction, 
instead  of  being  withered  up,  is  dying  off  in  rich  golden  or  brown 
tints,  so  that  fleeting  as  this  autumn  colouration  will  be,  how  much 
does  it  compensate  us  for  the  long  leafless  winter  season  which  so 
many  seem  to  deplore,  yet  does  help  us  the  more  fully  to  appreciate 
both  autumn  tints  and  spring’s  varied  and  lovely  greens.  But  there  is 
an  inference  to  be  drawn  from  this  high  leaf  colouration  that  cannot  be 
ignored.  It  means  that  wood  and  buds  have  in  all  directions  ripened  or 
matured  with  almost  unusual  excellence,  and  for  that  reason  we  are 
entitled  to  look  with  more  than  ordinary  hope  for  a  fruitful  season  and 
luxuriant  produce  on  all  fruit  bearers,  whether  wild  or  cultivated.  Whilst 
we  had  early  rains  of  exceeding  value,  helping  materially  to  promote  root 
action  and  wood  formation,  we  have  later  had  a  glorious  ripening  time  ; 
indeed,  so  far  almost  a  perfect  autumn.  There  have  been  none  of  those 
rain  floods  which  marked  the  autumn  of  last  year,  and  did  so  much  to 
demoralise  growth  and  buds.  We  saw  too  plainly  this  summer  the  results 
of  that  demoralisation  in  the  great  decrease  of  crop  compared  with  the 
excess  of  bloom.  Next  spring,  there  having  been  no  such  injurious  factor 
in  the  case,  as  the  high-coloured  foliage  now  shows,  there  should  be  bloom 
of  the  most  perfect  character,  and  when  we  have  it  amply  supplied  with 
healthy  pollen,  rarely,  indeed,  do  a  few  white  frosts  produce  material 
injury.  Most  certainly  the  present  leaf  colouration  justifies  high ..antici- 
pations  of  a  good  fruit  crop  next  year. — A.  D. 
-  The  Queen  and  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society.— 
We  learn  with  much  pleasure  that  her  ^lajesty  has  been  graciously 
pleased  to  confer  the  Diamond  Jubilee  ^ledal  upon  Sir  Trevor  Lawrence, 
Bart.,  President  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society,  her  Majesty  being 
herself  patron  of  the  Society.  ' 
-  Awards  at  the  Victorian  Era  Exhibition.  -  We  are 
informed  that  the  Jury  of  the  Victorian  Era  Exhibition  at  Earl’s  Court 
has  awarded  to  Messrs.  J.  Laing  &  Sons  a  diploma  and  a  gold  medal  in 
recognition  of  the  manner  in  which  they  have  planted  the  numerous 
beds  in  the  gardens  with  flowering  j)lants  and  shrubs. 
-  The  London  County  Council  and  Education.— At  the 
meeting  of  the  London  County  Council  on  Tuesday  the  following  resolu¬ 
tion  was  adopted  :  -‘^That  it  be  referred  to  the  Parks  and  Qpen  Spaces 
Committee  and  to  the  Technical  Education  Board  to  consider  and  report 
upon  the  practicability  of  laying  out  plots  of  ground  in  certain  parks  in 
such  manner  as  will  afford  assistance  to  scholars  of  elementary  and 
secondary  schools  in  the  stud}"  of  practical  botany.” 
-  Gardening  Appointments.  -Mr.  Hugh  A.  Pettigrew,  for 
some  time  foreman  in  the  kitchen  and  fruit  gardens,  Cardiff  Castle, 
has  been  appointed  gardener  to  the  Right  Honourable  Lord  Windsor 
St.  Fagan’s  Castle,  Glamorganshire.  Mr.  George  Parrant,  for  six  years 
general  foreman  at  Ashby  St.  Tjedger’s  Lodge,  Rugby,  has  been 
appointed  head  gardener  to  A.  E.  Guest,  Esq.,  The  Cedars,  Bere  Regis, 
Wareham,  Dorset.  Mr.  Herbert  Hall,  until  recently  head  gardener  at 
Broadwater,  Godaiming,  as  head  gardener  to  K.  H.  Otter,  Esq.,  Queen- 
wood,  Chertsey. 
-  Prevention  op  the  Onion  Maggot.— I  notice  your  corre¬ 
spondent,  ^V.  Rushton  (page  370),  highly  recommends  hellebore  powder 
for  the  prevention  of  the  Onion  maggot.  The  following  is  a  simple  pre¬ 
ventive  given  me  by  an  old  market  gardener  in  Cumberland  some  years 
ago,  and  since  I  have  used  it  1  have  never  been  troubled  by  either  the 
Onion  or  Parsley  fly.  This  simple  receipt  is  to  mix  Parsley  seed  amongst 
the  Onion  seed  when  sowing.  The  old  gardener  said  the  Onion  fy  did 
not  relish  the  smell  of  Parsley,  nor  the  Parsley  fly  the  smell  of  Onions. 
Whether  this  is  correct  or  not  I  cannot  say  ;  but  since  trying  it  I  have 
grown  splendid  crops  of  both  Onions  and  Parsley  on  ground  where  before 
it  seemed  an  impossibility  to  grow  either. — J.  C.,  Lancashire. 
-  Hill  and  Valley  Temperatures.  —  The  difference  of 
temperature  between  stations  in  a  valley  and  upon  a  hill  is  one  of  con¬ 
siderable  importance  to  agriculturists,  and  has  occasionally  engaged  the 
attention  of  observers  both  in  this  country  and  abroad.  The  Agricultural 
School  at  Scandicci,  near  Florence,  has  made  comparative  observations 
during  the  whole  of  the  year  1895  at  two  stations,  one  being  situated  in 
a  plain,  and  the  other  about  220  feet  higher,  on  the  side  of  a  hill,  both 
having  a  north  aspect,  and  the  thermometers  sheltered  from  rain  and 
terrestrial  radiation.  The  detailed  observations  and  generalisations  are 
published  in  the  “  Bollettino  Mensile  ”  of  the  Italian  Meteorological  Society 
for  August  last.  The  results  are  very  interesting,  and  show  that  in  the 
plain  the  minimum  temperature  is  generally  lower,  while  the  ma.ximum 
is  higher  than  that  on  the  hill  ;  in  other  words,  the  plain  is  colder  during 
the  night  and  warmer  during  the  day.  The  mean  annual  temperature 
in  the  plain  was  nearly  3°  below  that  on  the  hill. — (“  Nature.”) 
- A  Fair  Crop  op  Apples.  — While  some  are  bewailing  the 
lightness  of  their  crop  of  Apples  this  season,  others  are  rejoicing  in  a 
wonderful  supply.  One  of  the  most  remarkable  crops  I  have  seen  for  a 
long  time  I  noticed  a  few  weeks  ago  in  an  orchard  connected  with  the 
gardens  at  Wellesbourne  House,  about  seven  miles  from  Warwick.  The 
trees  bearing  such  fine  crops  were  not  old  stunted  ones,  but  standards 
in  their  prime,  having  health  and  vigour  as  well  as  fruitfulness. 
Every  branch  was  literally  “roped’  with  fruit,  almost  as  evenly  placed 
as  if  they  had  been  secured  in  position  by  artificial  means.  One 
would  naturally  expect  to  find  the  Apples  somewhat  small  on  trees 
carrying  such  tremendous  cro]>s.  This,  however,  was  not  the  case  here, 
for  Mr.  Liney,  the  energetic  and  practical  gardener,  as  soon  as  he  found 
he  had  secured  so  good  a  “set”  of  Apples,  proceeded  to  feed  the 
trees  in  earnest.  Liquid  manure  from  stables  and  cesspools  was  poured 
freely  around  the  trees,  and  as  far  away  as  the  branches  extended. 
Under  this  liberal  treatment  both  trees  and  crops  grew  apace,  till  they 
presented,  as  at  the  time  of  my  visit,  an  object  lesson  in  successful 
fruit  culture.  The  varieties  were  Blenheim  Orange,  Hoary  Morning, 
Golden  Spire,  Be.'^s  Bool,  Wealthy,  and  several  others.  One  favourable 
point  in  connection  with  the  situation  of  the  trees  is  that  they  are 
sheltered  on  the  north  and  east  by  a  fringe  of  other  trees.  This  is 
worth  the  attention  of  planters.— H.  D. 
