502 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
November  25  1897. 
-  IxDiAN  Appointment.  —  We  learn  from  the  “  Aberdeen 
Journal  ”  that  Mr.  James  Simpson,  lately  of  the  Royal  Horticultural 
Gardens,  Chiswick,  London,  and  formerly  residing  at  Cults,  Aberdeen, 
has  received  from  Mr.  Thomas  M’Meekin,  Falkland  Park,  South 
Norwood  Hill,  London,  an  appointment  on  his  Tea  estates  in  Assam, 
India.  Mr.  Simpson  entered  the  service  of  Messrs.  James  Cocker  and 
Sons,  nurserymen,  Aberdeen,  as  an  apprentice,  and  during  his  apprentice¬ 
ship  he  (in  18)3)  received  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  certificate  for 
examination  in  horticulture.  Thereafter,  in  April,  1894,  he  went  to  the 
Society’s  gardens  at  Chiswick,  going  through  the  various  departments, 
where  he  had  ample  opportunity  for  study,  of  which  he  took  full 
advantage.  He  was  for  over  two  years  Hon.  Secretary  and  Treasurer  of 
the  Chiswick  Gardeners’  Mutual  Improvement  Association,  and  held  the 
South  Kensington  science  and  art  certificates  in  mathematics,  drawing, 
and  botany.  Mr.  Simpson  left  for  Assam  by  the  British  India  Steam 
Navigation  Company’s  ss.  ‘‘^lanora”  on  Friday  last. 
-  Mr.  W.  W.  Astor’s  Bound  Table. —  The  section  of  a 
Californian  Eedwood  tree,  with  which  Mr.  W.  W.  Astor  wins  his  wager, 
has  been  safely  brought  to  Cliveden.  The  wager  was  the  result  of  some 
statements  made  by  Mr.  Astor  at  a  dinner  party,  concerning  the  size  of 
the  Californian  Iledwoods,  the  owner  of  Cliveden  staking  a  considerable 
sum  on  his  ability  to  produce  a  cross-section  of  one  of  the  trees  capable 
of  accommodating  forty  guests  when  used  as  a  dinner  table.  The  section 
shipped  from  San  Francisco  is  2  feet  in  thickness,  with  an  average 
diameter  of  15  feet  6  inches,  and  a  maximum  diameter  of  16  feet  6  inches- 
Considerable  difficulty  was  experienced  in  bringing  the  slab  of  timber  by 
road  from  London  to  Cliveden,  sixteen  horses  being  employed  to  draw 
the  trolley  on  vvhich  it  was  placed.  At  Cliveden  it  was  taken  down  the 
grass  drive,  and  owing  to  the  splintering  of  the  planks  beneath  the 
wheels  the  latter  fre(iuently  sunk  deep  into  the  turf. 
-  Frunus  Fseudo-Cerasus. — The  “  Garden  and  Forest'’  says  ; 
“Of  the  exotic  trees  recently  introduced  into  American  gardens  one  of 
the  most  promising  is  the  Japanese  Frunus  Fseudo-Cerasus,  which  has 
for  several  years  proved  hardy  in  the  Arnold  Arboretum,  where  it  is 
growing  rapidly  and  has  not  yet  been  attacked  by  insects  or  fungal 
diseases.  Forms  of  this  tree  or  of  some  allied  species  with  double  flowers 
are  now  rather  common  garden  plants  in  the  United  States  and  Europe^ 
but  these  are  less  hardy  and  of  much  slower  growth  than  the  wild  type^ 
which  appears  to  be  rare  in  American  collections.  It  is  the  largest  tree 
of  the  Rose  family  in  Japan,  and,  next  to  the  Apricot,  more  cultivated 
for  its  llowers  by  the  .Tapanese  than  any  other  tree.  In  the  forests  of 
Yezo,  where  it  is  very  common  and  sometimes  80  feet  high,  with  a  trunk 
3  feet  in  diameter,  it  resembles  in  the  appearance  of  the  bark  and  in  habit 
the  wild  type  of  Frunus  Cerasus,  the  Cherry  tree  of  our  gardens.  In 
autumn  it  is  particularly  beautiful,  as  the  leaves  turn  deep  scarlet  and 
light  up  the  forest  before  the  Maples  assume  their  brightest  colours. 
-  Royal  Meteorological  Society. — The  opening  meeting  of 
the  session  was  held  on  Wednesday  evening  at  the  Institute  of  Civil 
Engineers,  Mr.  E.  Mawley,  E.ll.H.S.,  President,  in  the  chair.  Mr.  R.  H- 
Curtis  gave  the  results  of  a  comparison  between  the  sunshine  records 
obtained  simultaneously  from  a  Campbell-Stokes  burning  recorder  and 
from  a  Jordan  photographic  recorder.  These  simultaneous  observations 
were  carried  out  by  Mr.  E.  T.  Dowson  at  Geldeston,  near  Beccles,  and 
extended  over  a  period  of  twelve  months.  The  records  were  sent  to  Mr. 
Curtis  for  tabulation,  who  gave  the  results  of  his  examination  in  this 
paper.  After  describing  the  methods  adopted  for  the  measurement  of 
the  records,  Mr.  Curtis  drew  the  following  conclusions  from  the  figures  ; — 
(1)  In  the  case  of  the  Campbell-Stokes  instrument,  the  records  are 
capable  of  being  measured  with  a  very  fair  degree  of  accuracy.  (2)  The 
records  of  the  Jordan  instrument  afford  room  for  much  greater  differ¬ 
ence  of  opinion  as  to  what  ought  to  be  tabulated,  and  consequently 
measurements  of  the  Jordan  curves  are  open  to  considerably  more  doubt 
than  are  measurements  of  the  Campbell-Stokes  curves.  (3)  When  the 
whole  of  the  photographic  trace  which  can  be  distinctly  seen,  but 
including  portions  of  it  which  are  decidedly  faint,  has  been  carefully 
measured,  the  amount  will  approximate  sufficiently  to  that  of  the  Campbell- 
Stokes  instrument  to  allow  of  records  obtained  from  both  forms  of  instru¬ 
ments  being  compared  inter  se.  From  an.  examination  of  the  records  at 
other  stations,  it  appears  that  on  some  occasions  the  instruments  have 
begun  to  record  within  thirteen  minutes  after  sunrise,  and  has  continued 
up  to  ten  minutes  before  sunset.  Mr.  Curtis  concluded  his  paper  by 
calling  attention  to  various  defects  in  the  adjustment  and  working  of 
the  instruments,  and  pointed  out  how  these  might  be  overcome.  After 
the  paper  had  been  read,  an  interesting  discussion  ensued  as  to  the  merits 
of  the  respective  sunshine  recorders. 
- Tjie  Naming  of  Flantb— When  naming  a  plant  in  honour  of 
some  great  man  liberties  are  frequently  ta^  en  in  the  orthography,  and 
very  often  the  person  chosen  is  more  honoured  in  the  name  than  by 
anything  sjiecial  that  he  did  to  deserve  it.  The  celebrated  French 
botanist,  Baillon,  had  the  naming  of  a  plant,  from  the  island  of  Juan 
Fernandez,  that  had  never  before  been  named  or  described.  From  that 
island  he  had  naturally  the  story  of  Robinson  Crusoe  in  mind,  and  he 
thought,  to  honour  Crusoe’s  man  Friday,  he  would  give  this  plant  his 
name  ;  but  he  did  not  eall  it  Fridaya,  but  translated  it  into  the  French 
name  for  Friday — that  is  to  say,  the  sixth  day  of  the  week,  Vendredi,  and 
the  plant  became  described  in  the  books  as  Vendredit.  No  one  would 
ever  suspect  from  this  name  that  it  was  intended  to  honour  Robinson 
Crusoe's  sole  companion  on  the  desolate  island.—  (“  ^Teehan’s  Monthly.’  ) 
-  Lachenalias  as  Basket  Plants. — Lachenalias,  when 
grown  as  basket  plants  for  hanging  in  the  greenhouse  or  conservatory, 
thrive  wonderfully  well,  and  are  worthy  of  more  extended  cultivation,  as 
they  are  seen  to  much  better  advantage  than  when  grown  in  pots.  The 
baskets  should  be  prejiared  at  any  time  from  July  to  September,  well 
lining  them  with  live  moss  and  then  filling  with  a  good  compost, 
which  should  consist  of  equal  parts  of  loam,  leaf  soil,  and  well-decomposed 
manure,  with  sand  added.  The  bulbs  must  be  dibbled  in  the  moss  at 
equal  distances  apart,  this  operation  being  performed  annually. 
Abundance  of  water  is  necessary  after  the  plants  commence  to  grow. 
This  can  best  be  supplied  by  immersing  the  baskets  in  a  bucket  or  other 
vessel,  care  being  taken  to  gradually  withhold  the  supply  as  the  foliage 
shows  signs  of  decay,  after  which  they  should  be  stored  in  a  cool  dry 
place  until  time  to  rebasket  them  again.  At  no  time  should  the 
Lachenalias  be  subjected  to  a  high  temperature,  for  they  will  not  bear  it. 
I  have  found  L.  pendula  the  most  useful  and  attractive  variety  to  grow  for 
this  purpose. — H.  T.  M. 
A  HARE  NOVEMBER. 
Walking  through  a  garden  on  the  14th  of  November,  with  the  ther¬ 
mometer  standing  at  55°  in  the  shade,  I  was  struck  with  the  beauty  of  the 
flowers  in  the  beds  and  borders.  True,  it  was  in  a  favoured  district,  not 
far  from  the  south  coast,  but  even  there  in  November  one  does  not  expect 
to  find  Henry  .Tacoby  Felagoniums  in  full  bloom.  Yet  so  it  was,  and 
plants  that  had  been  denuded  of  their  young  flowering  parts  in  September 
in  order  to  make  cuttings,  had  broken  but  into  fresh  growth,  followed  by 
a  wealth  of  blossom,  such  as  is  often  looked  for  in  vain  during  the  whole 
of  a  wet  cold  summer.  There  were  also  tall  specimens  of  Fuchsias  ;  white 
and  yellow  Marguerites  were  blooming  as  freely  as  in  summer,  while  the 
air  was  fragrant  with  the  breath  of  Mignonette  and  Violets. 
And  Roses,  too  ;  has  there  ever  been  such  a  time  for  late  blooms  ? 
Enthusiasts  have  this  year  enjoyed  a  double  season.  Marechal  Niels  and 
Gloire  de  Dijons  are  carrying  a  profusion  of  superb  flowers  — not  half- 
opened,  scentless  specimens,  such  as  wm  are  apt  to  picture  fhe  last  blooms 
of  summer,  but  fully  expanded  perfect  flowers,  that  would  have  borne  fair 
comparison  with  the  ideal  Rose  of  .June.  Nor  were  these  all,  for  on 
dwarf  plants  were  noticed  Catherine  Mermet,  Hon.  Edith  Gifford,  and 
others,  as  well  as  rich  red  blooms  of  Hybrid  Perpetuals.  All  these,  we 
must  remember,  in  the  middle  of  November,  when  under  ordinary  cir¬ 
cumstances  w'e  have  long  since  bidden  adieu  to  the  queen  of  flow'ers. 
Rarely  have  we  seen  such  a  wealth  of  Dahlias  and  Chrysanthemums 
as  this  season.  They  are  autumn  flowers,  and  as  such  we  expect  them  ; 
but  how  often  there  comes  that  early  biting  frost,  that  turns  the  brilliancy 
of  the  former  into  a  ))lackened  mass,  and  cuts  too  short  the  existence  of 
the  latter  by  nipping  the  buds  before  they  have  had  an  opportunity  of 
opening.  Our  Indian  summer  has  this  year  suited  them  exactly. 
Gardeners  generally,  and  particularly  those  who  have  much  autumn 
decorative  work,  will  appreciate  the  late  outdoor  flowers,  as  it  is  needless 
to  say  what  a  diflerence  it  makes  when  severe  early  frost  cuts  off  the 
outdoor  blooms  early,  and  nothing  remains  but  those  under  glass. 
Gardeners  feel  the  loss  in  such  cases  severely,  as  there  is  not  much  to 
fill  up  the  breach  before  the  forced  flowers  come  along.  This  season, 
however,  there  has  been  no  such  trouble,  as  the  garden  even  now  is 
supplying  ample  outdoor  flowers  to  meet  the  requirements  of  most,  and 
here  again  we  feel  another  benefit  derived  from  the  Indian  summer  of  1897. 
Is  there  no  voice  also  from  the  kitchen  garden  telling  of  double  seasons 
and  crops  extraordinary  ?  Only  the  other  day  I  saw  a  superb  dish  of 
Pea.s  gathered  and  in  preparation  for  the  dinner  taVde.  The  variety  was 
Sutton’s  Late  Queen;  and  on  another  row  of  the  old  and  justly  popular 
Ne  Plus  Ultra  were  hanging  excellent  well-filled  pods  ready  forgathering. 
Scarlet  Runners  and  French  Beans  have  recently  been  gathered  from  late 
sowings. 
.lust  another  remark,  and  this  time -ripened  wood.  Surely  all  fruit 
wood  must  be  thoroughly  matured  this  season,  and  many  are  looking 
forward  to  a  good  fruit  year  in  1898.  If  the  wood  were  all  we  might  hope 
with  confidence,  as  it  is  brown  and  hard  with  buds  and  spurs,  ])lump  and 
showing  well ;  but  there  is  the  blossoming  time  to  come,  when  the  flowers 
have  to  run  the  gauntlet  of  frost  and  cold  wind.  However,  that  is  for  the 
future,  and  ray  notes  have  only  to  do  with  the  present.  Never  have  we 
had  a  finer  autumn,  and  the  prospects  in  gardens,  orchards,  and  farms 
ire  more  than  usually  cheering  at  this  late  period  of  the  year.— G.  H.  H. 
