454 
JOUBNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
November  11,  1897. 
_  Victorian  Era  Exhibition.— We  are  informed  that 
JkTr.  T.  S.  Ware,  Tottenham,  has  been  awarded  a  diploma  for  a  gold 
medal  at  the  Victorian  Era  Exhibition,  Earl’s  Court,  for  planting  the 
Imperial  Cardens  with  plants  and  shrubs. 
_  Eoyal  iNlETEORO logical  SOCIETY.— At  the  ordinary  meeting 
of  the  Society,  to  be  held  at  the  Institution  of  Civil  Engineers,  Great 
George  Street,  Westminster,  on  Wednesday,  the  17th  inst.,  at  7.30  p.m., 
the  following  paper  will  be  read  : — “  Results  of  a  Comparison  between 
the  Sunshine  Records  obtained  simultaneously  from  a  Cam])bell-Stokes 
Burning  Recorder  and  from  a  .Iordan  Photographic  Recorder,”  by  Richard 
H.  Curtis,  F.R.Met.Soc. 
- .South  Wales  Weather.— Total  rainfall  for  the  month 
3'44  inches,  which  fell  on  eleven  days,  with  a  maximum  of  1  17  inch 
on  the  15th.  Average  maximum  temperature  for  the  month,  58°; 
highest  reading,  74°  on  the  1st.  Average  minimum,  39°;  lowest  reading. 
24°  on  the  12th;  below  freezing  point  on  four  dates.  There  were  four 
sunless  days.  The  wind  was  in  the  N.  and  N.E.  on  nineteen  days.  Very 
w’et  in  the  middle  of  the  month,  but  nice  and  dry,  with  cold  strong  winds 
the  end  of  the  month. — IVm.  Mabbott,  Doivkiis. 
-  Sussex  Weather. — The  total  rainfall  for  the  past  month  at 
Stonehurst,  Ardingly,  Sussex,  was  0’34  inch,  being  3'61  inches  below  the 
average  of  the  Mid- Sussex  district,  and  the  driest  October  in  a  seventeen 
jmars’  record.  The  heaviest  fall  was  0  9  inch  on  the  2nd  and  15th.  Rain 
fell  on  five  days.  The  maximum  temperature  was  66°  on  the  19th,  the 
minimum  37°  on  8th,  12th,  and  13th.  Mean  maximum  56-21°,  mean 
minimum  44-14°,  mean  temperature  50-17°,  which  is  2-25°  above  the  average. 
A  fine  month,  but  for  many  things  a  good  rain  is  much  wanted. — R.  I. 
-  October  Weather  at  IIodsock  Priory.— Mean  tempera¬ 
ture,  48-6°.  Maximum  in  the  screen,  67-2°  on  the  17th  ;  minimum  in  the 
screen,  29' 1°  on  the  6th  ;  minimum  on  the  grass,  20-8°  on  the  6th.  Frosts, 
in  the  shade,  one  ;  on  the  grass,  sixteen.  Sunshine,  ninety-two  hours,  or 
29  per  cent,  of  the  possible  duration.  Rainfall,  0-97  inch  ;  difference  from 
average,  1-81  inch.  Rain  fell  on  fourteen  days.  Rainfall  since 
January  1st,  18-51  inches  ;  difference  from  average,  2-58  inches.  A  fine 
month  ;  only  twice  in  the  last  twenty- two  years  have  we  had  less  rain. — 
J.  Mallender,  Worksop. 
-  The  Weather  Last  Month. — October  was  dry,  without  any 
severe  frost  here,  and  tender  flowers,  such  as  Dahlias,  were  quite 
uninjured  at  the  end  of  the  month.  The  wind  was  in  a  westerly  direction 
thirteen  days.  The  total  rainfall  was  1-08  inch.  This  fell  on  seventeen 
days,  and  is  2-00  inches  below  the  average  for  the  month.  The  greatest 
daily  fall  was  0-35  inch  on  the  15th.  Barometer  (corrected  and  reduced), 
highest  reading  30-6,23  inches  on  the  21st  at  9  A.M.  ;  lowest,  29-436  inches 
on  the  15th  at  9  A.M.  Thermometers;  highest  in  the  shade,  68°  on  the 
19th  ;  lowest,  29°  on  the  6th.  Mean  daily  maximum,  56-00°.  Mean  daily 
minimum,  41-03°  ;  mean  temperature  of  the  month,  48-51°  ;  lowest  on  the 
grass,  26°  on  the  6th  ;  highest  in  the  sun,  115°  on  the  5th.  Mean  of  the 
earth  at  3  feet,  51-22°.  Total  sunshine,  128  hrs.  15  min.  There  were  four 
sunless  days. — IV.  11.  Divers,  Belvoir  Castle  Gardens,  Grantham. 
-  Weeh  Laivs.— There  is  entirely  too  much  law  in  our  country. 
Everyone  is  to  get  rich  by  law — and  law  is  to  protect  us  from  every  evil. 
The  State— whatever  that 'may  be— is  to  do  everything  for  us.  But  when 
we  put  these  laws  into  effect  the  absurdity  becomes  manifest.  Among 
the  daily  news  in  the  public  prints  is  an  account  of  a  Potato  patch  that 
was  so  remarkably  healthy-  that  the  plants  were  loaded  with  blossoms. 
It  was  reported  to  the  County  Inspector  of  Weeds  that  an  outrageous 
growth  of  weeds  was  suffered  to  flower  in  the  man’s  field.  The  inspector 
issued  the  usual  citation  to  abate  the  nuisance.  It  was  at  the  expense 
of  some  time  and  considerable  chagrin  that  the  guardian  ot  the  farmers’ 
fields  learned  that  the  flowers  were  a  legitimate  part  of  the  Potato 
plant. — (“  Aleehan’i  Monthly.”) 
-  Malicious  Damage.— Charles  Clifton,  of  Rye  Park,  was 
charged  with  damaging  with  intent  to  steal  growing  Chrysanthemums, 
the  property  of  William  Dyke,  at  Rye  Park,"on  October  22nd.  Defendant 
pleaded  guilty.  William  Dyke  said  he  kept  a  nursery  at  Rye  Park.  On 
Saturday,  October  23rd,  he  went  into  the  Chrysanthemum  house,  and 
saw  that  some  of  the  plants  had  been  damaged,  and  the  blooms  taken 
away.  He  suspected  the  defendant,  and  sent  for  a  policeman,  and  with 
him  went  and  saw  defendant.  The  latter  said  it  was  three  boys  who 
were  at  work  at  the  brickfield  who  did  the  damage,  but  on  the  boys  being 
fetched  he  admitted  doing  it  himself.  Witness  put  the  damage  at  6d. 
The  Bench  fined  the  defendant  6d.,  damage  6d.,  and  costs  8s.  6d. — 
^“Herefordshire  Mercury,”) 
-  The  Tupelo  Tree. — One  of  the  rarest  trees  in  ornamental 
gardens  is  the  Tupelo  Tree,  botanically,  Nyssa  sylvatica.  Few  trees  can 
compare  with  this  in  rich  autumn  colouring,  and  the  form  of  the  tree  is 
generally  beautiful.  In  summer  time,  the  rich,  glossy,  green  leaves  would 
juake  a  beholder  believe  himself  to  be  in  an  Orange  grove.  It  is  rare, 
says  an  American  contemporary,  because  of  the  belief  that  it  is  difficult 
to  transplant  ;  Imt,  in  our  experience,  we  find  it  no  more  difficult,  when 
nursery’^-raised  trees  are  employed,  than  the  majority  of  trees.  The  same 
objection  was  made,  a  few  years  ago,  to  the  use  of  Oaks  ;  but  experience 
has  shown,  that  when  intelligently  planted,  nursery-raised  Oaks  or  the 
Tupelo  Tree  are  about  as  safe  as  Maples  or  Poplars  would  be. 
-  Ammonia  in  Plant  Culture.— While  the  ordinary  kerosene 
emulsion  and  solution  of  copper  have  proved  an  immense  boon  to  the 
cultivator  of  fruits  and  trees  in  the  open  air,  they  are  usually  objection¬ 
able  to  the  small  amateur  flower  grower,  to  whom  something  clean  and 
easily  applied  to  small  plants  is  a  greater  advantage.  For  these,  the 
various  insecticides  and  fungicides  for  sale  by  the  florists  offer  some  good 
recommendation.  Where  these  are  not  to  be  had,  it  is  said  that  a  wash 
of  ammonia  is  effective.  As  the  ammonia  bottle  is  now  one  of  the  sup¬ 
plies  of  every  well-ordered  household,  it  may  be  put  into  use  readily.  All 
these  articles,  however,  i-equire  some  little  care  in  their  first  application. 
One  should  always  try  a  little  at  first  on  some  plants  that  are  of  no  con¬ 
siderable  value  before  risking  them  in  a  wholesale  way.  For  instance, 
the  scale  on  Orange  leaves  and  the  leaves  of  Oleanders,  or  the  leaves  of 
some  similar  plant  affected  with  any-  kind  of  insect,  can  be  tried  first.  If 
no  injury  follows,  then  it  may  be  applied  on  a  somewhat  more  extensive 
scale.-  A  few  plants  and  a  brush  to  paint  with,  a  considerable  quantity 
can  be  gone  over  in  a  short  time. — (“  Meehan’s  Monthly.”) 
-  The  English  Sparrow.— In  America  the  English  sparrow 
is  developing  one  good  feature  in  his  much  abused  character.  At  High¬ 
land  Park,  HI.,  he  is  deserting  the  frequented  streets,  and  congregating  in 
vast  numbers  in  the  neighbourhood  of  ^lawns  where  the  wire  grass,  also 
known  as  crab  grass,  is  plentiful.  At  this  season  of  the  year,  where  this 
grass  is  abundant  and  where  the  lawns  have  not  been  watered,  its 
presence  is  readily  noticed  even  at  a  distance  by  the  large  brown  patches 
caused  by  the  dying  out  of  this  grass,  which  is  an  annual.  The  unusual 
drought  of  the  past  two  months  has  kept  the  lawn  grass  proper,  the  blue 
grass,  and  Clover,  whose  tops  had  been  killed  back  by  the  crowding  of 
the  spreading  crab  grass,  from  springing  up,  as  is  its  custom  when  invigo¬ 
rated  by  the  autumn  rains.  Thus  the  space  occupied  by  the  crab  grass  is 
more  plainly  visible  than  customary.  On  these  brown  spots  at  different 
times  of  the  day  may  be  seen  sparrows  by  the  hundreds.  They  seem  to 
confine  their  manoeuvrings  entirely  to  these  brown  spots,  and  to  be 
busily  engaged  in  picking  up  something.  There  can  be  no  question  but 
that  they  are  eating  the  seed  |of  this  grass.  Let  us  all  wish  them  hearty 
appetites. 
-  Caper  Culture. — The  Caper  industry  of  Roquevaire,  in  the 
Department  of  the  Bouches-du-Rhone,  presents  an  interesting  case  of 
co-operation  undertaken  chiefly  with  the  object  of  insuring  the  main¬ 
tenance  of  the  reputation  of  a  locality  for  the  quality  of  its  produce. 
The  Caper  producers  of  Roquevaire  have  combined  in  order  to  counteract 
the  depression  of  prices  induced  by  the  action  of  the  local  trade,  which 
mixed  Algerian  and  Spanish  Capers  of  inferior  quality  with  those 
bought  in  Provence.  Roquevaire  contains  some  3000  inhabitants,  and 
nine-tenths  of  the  Caper  producers  of  the  commune  have  engaged  to 
deliver  their  whole  production  to  the  syndicate,  and,  according-  to  a 
contemporary,  the  experiment  is  said  to  have  proved  completely 
successful.  The  Caper  is  the  floral  bud  of  a  bu^i  (Capparis  spinosa) 
which  has  been  cultivated  from  time  immemorial  in  Provence.  This 
bud  is  picked  when  very  small  by  women  at  intervals  of  five  or  six 
days  during  the  season,  which  lasts  from  the  end  of  May  till  the 
beginning  of  September.  The  Capers  are  put  into  wine  vinegar,  and 
steeped  for  two  or  three  months,  after  which  they  are  delivered  to  the 
Association,  by  whom  they  are  sifted  and  then  replaced  in  vinegar,  and 
kept  in  barrels  until  sold.  The  Capers  are  classified  in  six  qualities,  the 
finest  being  worth  about  £4  per  cwt.,  and  the  inferior  sort  about  10s. 
The  net  produce  of  the  sales  is  divided  among  the  members  proportionately 
to  the  amount  and  quality  of  their  deliveries.  In  1893  the  members  of 
the  syndicate  picked  1659  cwt.  of  Capers,  and  their  sale  produced  £3115. 
This  allowed  of  an  average  of  4d.  per  lb.  being  handed  over  to  the 
members  in  1894.  Before  the  syndicate  was  established  the  trade  only 
paid  2fd.  and  3d.  per  lb.  In  the  season  1894-95,  however,  the  syndicate 
could  only  distribute  3^d.  per  lb.,  owing,  it  is  said,  to  the  outside  trade 
delivering  mixed  Capers  under  the  name  of  Roquevaire  Capers,  and  thus 
lowering  the  prices  in  the  consuming  markets. 
