552 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
December  9,  1897. 
-  We  are  reijuested  to  state  that  Mr.  Archibald  Forbes,  son  of 
Mr.  John  Forbes,  Buccleuch  Nurseries,  Hawick,  was  married  on  the 
3rd  inst.  to  Miss  Eleanor  Snowdon,  eldest  daughter  of  Mark  Currie,  Esq. 
-  Chislehuest  Gaedenbes’  Association. — The  balance  of 
£5  15s.  6d.  which  was  taken  at  the  exhibition  of  Chrysanthemums  held  in 
St.  Mary’s  Hall,  Chislehurst,  on  November  17th,  under  the  auspices  of 
the  Chislehurst  Gardeners’  Mutual  Improvement  Association,  has  been 
equally  divided  between  the  Cray  Valley  Cottage  Hospital  Fund  and  the 
Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan  Fund,  each  of  these  institutions  receiving 
£2  17s.  9d.— II.  Yoell,  Hon.  Sec. 
-  Small  Holdings. — The  “Rural  World’’  has  received  the 
following  account  of  a  sale  of  land  to  small  cultivators  ; — A  most  in¬ 
teresting  land  sale,  said  to  be  quite  a  new  departure  amongst  friendly 
societies,  took  place  at  the  Warwickshire  village  of  Broughton  Astley  the 
other  day.  A  six-acre  field  belonging  to  the  society  was  marked  off  into 
plots  for  homestead  allotments,  and  put  irp  to  the  competition  of  members. 
It  realised  £350 — just  about  £60  an  acre — a  remarkable  price  for  village 
land  in  these  days  of  depression.  There  were  fifty-four  lots,  averaging 
an  eighth  of  an  acre  each.  Every  plot  was  sold,  and  the  competition 
was  very  keen. 
-  Moeden  Cottage  Gaeden  Society.— At  the  monthly  meet¬ 
ing  of  this  Society,  held  at  the  Village  Club,  on  December  2nd,  a  lecture 
was  given  by  the  Hon.  Sec.,  Mr.  J.  H.  Rewcastle,  on  Chemical  Manures. 
Commencing  with  a  sketch  of  the  discovery  and  history  of  the  manures, 
Mr.  Rewcastle  went  on  to  describe,  in  an  interesting  and  instructive 
manner,  the  practical  use  to  which  such  manures  may  be  put  by  cottage 
gardeners,  who  are  often  unable  to  obtain  farmyard  manure  in  sufficient 
quantities  to  properly  nourish  the  plants.  The  different  kinds  of  manure  ; 
the  crops  to  which  they  should  be  applied  ;  the  times  and  seasons  when 
they  are  most  useful,  were  carefully  pointed  out ;  and  at  the  close  of  the 
meeting,  a  paper  prepared  by  the  lecturer,  containing  full  particulars 
as  to  quality,  proportion,  and  price  of  chemical  manures  was  handed  to 
each  person  present.  An  interesting  discussion  and  hearty  vote  of  thanks 
to  Mr.  Rewcastle  brought  the  proceedings  to  a  close. 
-  Veeonica  speciosa. — Of  the  many  species  of  shrubby 
V eronicas  which  ha  ve  been  introduced  from  New  Zealand  this  may  be 
looked  upon  as  one  of  the  most  showy  and  useful.  Strictly  speaking  it 
cannot  be  called  a  hardy  shrub,  though  in  favoured  localities  it  will  stand 
outside  uninjured  through  mild  winters.  The  type,  with  its  handsome, 
glossy,  oblong  foliage  and  dense  cylindrical  racemes  of  light  blue  or 
purple  flowers,  is  well  known  and  extensively  grown  as  a  window-box 
plant.  The  garden  varieties,  however,  which  are  infinitely  better  as  far 
as  flowers  are  concerned,  though  not  quite  so  hardy,  are  not  so  well 
known.  A  selection  will  be  found  worth  growing  in  pots,  outside,  during 
summer  and  autumn,  and  lifted  into  a  cool  frame  or  greenhouse  to  flower 
during  winter.  A  few  of  the  best  varieties  are  Constellation,  Eclatante, 
Lemoine,  and  I.a  Seduisante,  which  produce  red  flowers  on  racemes  2  to 
3  inches  long,  with  peduncles  half  that  length,  and  Madame  Chretien, 
with  blue  flowers  on  racemes  quite  as  long.  Besides  being  useful  when  in 
flower,  large  plants  would  be  found  useful^where  evergreen  shrubs  are  in 
demand  for  house  decoration. —  K.  ^ 
Teopical  Feuit  in  New  Yoek. — An  interesting  collection 
of  tropical  fruits  reached  New  York  recently  from  the  Botanic  Gardens 
in  Grenada,  a  British  possession,  the  southernmost  island  in  the  Wind¬ 
ward  group.  The  consignment  was  shipped  on  October  23rd.  A  delay 
of  ten  days  in  entering  the  fruits  at  this  port,  due  to  the  unusual  character 
of  the  invoice  and  the  want  of  established  rates  of  duty,  proved  fatal  to 
many  of  the  more  perishable  kinds,  but  enough  survived  to  give  distinct 
character  to  the  stock  in  one  of  the  fruit  stores  on  Broadway.  These 
West  Indian  fruits  included  especially  juicy  Oranges  of  excellent  quality. 
The  Limes  were  remarkably  good,  and  sold  for  forty  cents  a  dozen.  An 
unusual  offering  in  this  city  were  Citrons,  the  fruits  of  Citrus  medica, 
familiar  to  housekeepers  in  their  candied  peel  ;  there  were  undersized 
green  fruits  and  matui-e  ripe  specimens.  In  this  unique  collection 
Sapodillas,  the  fruits  of  Sapota  achras,  were  fortunate  in  showing  to  better 
advantage  for  the  long  time  consumed  in  reaching  customers,  since  these 
are  at  their  best  when  more  than  fully  ripened,  and  the  greyish  earth- 
coloured  globular  fruits  were  in  the  juicy  sugary  stage.  A  single 
specimen  of  the  brownish-yellow  fruits  of  Lucumamammosa  was  exhibited, 
and  some  of  the  large  brown  nuts.  Alligator  Pears  were  among  the  fruits 
lost  through  the  delay,  and  the  few  Bananas  which  were  yet  edible  were 
remarkably  good  in  quality,  the  yellow  fruit  of  medium  size  having  rich, 
creamy  white  flesh,  while  the  red  Bananas  were  of  especially  fine  flavour. 
The  latter,  one  of  the  most  rare  of  all  fruits  in  this  market  since  the  supply 
was  cut  off  by  the  Cuban  war,  found  eager  purchasers.  Several  bundles 
of  stick  Cinnamon  also  sold  readily.  Among  chojpe  offerings  now 
regularly  in  trade  are  Gros  Colman  Grapes,  from  England,  and  from 
Newport,  the  former  costing  $1  75c.  a  pound,  and  the  latter  26  cents  less. 
Hothouse  grown  Cucumbers  and  Tomatoes  are  as  bright  and  attractive  as 
the  most  showy  of  fruits. — (“  Garden  and  Forest.”) 
-  Geapes  at  Tilehuest.— Reading  what  Mr.  Bradley  wrote 
to  you  with  respect  to  a  house  of  Grapes  at  Tilehurst,  Reading,  of  which 
he  seems  to  have  sent  you  a  photo,  I  ventured  to  make  a  calculation  as 
to  the  number  of  bunches  each  rod  in  the  house  was  carrying,  based  on 
his  own  statement  that  there  were  in  the  house  4635  bunches.  The  house 
is  157  feet  long,  and  on  either  side  the  Vines  are  planted  at  5  feet  apart, 
that  gives  thirty  Vines  on  each  side,  and  sixty  in  all.  Each  Vine  has 
two  fruiting  rods.  Mr.  Bradley  does  not  make  clear  whether  the  inner 
Vines  are  still  existing  or  are  removed.  In  any  case  each  rod  or  rods  has 
but  15  feet  of  rafter  to  cover.  Now  making  the  actual  length  of  rod  in  each 
case  to  be  15  feet,  that  gives  at  the  rate  of  30J  bunches  to  each  15  feet  of 
rod.  Certainly,  a  very  heavy  crop  indeed.  The  variety  is  Black  Alicante, 
and  ordinary  bunches  of  that  variety  should  average  fully  1§  lb.,  and 
rather  small  at  that  weight.  That  should  give  57  lbs.  of  Grapes  to  each 
15  feet  of  rod.  That  would  be  out  of  all  proportion,  of  course.  If  the  crop 
be  really  so  heavy  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  if  some  bunches  weigh 
3  lbs.,  that  the  average  weight  per  bunch  should  not  be  less  than  1  lb. 
as  to  get  so  low  an  average  many  bunches  must  bo  under  the  pound. 
With  roots  2^  feet  apart  and  foliage  and  bunches  so  dense,  it  is  no  matter 
for  surprise  if  the  house  was  too  dark  to  admit  of  a  proper  illustration 
being  taken.  I  cannot  but  think  that  this  cause  is  rather  one  of  Grape 
production  than  of  Grape  cultivation. — A.  D. 
EATON  HALL. 
As  a  short  article  on  Eaton  Hall  appeared  in  the  pages  of  the  Journal 
of  Horticulture  on  July  9th  of  the  present  year,  it  would  be  superfluous 
to  enter  into'  any  prefatory  remarks.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  Mr.  Barnes, 
who  is  head  gardener  to  the  Duke  of  Westminster,  is  successful  in  keeping 
the  houses  at  all  periods  of  the  year  in  a  gay  and  dressed  appearance,  no 
easy  task  where  there  is  a  considerable  demand  for  decorative  flowers. 
The  corridor,  360  feet  long,  is  filled  from  end  to  end  with  a  double 
line  of  Chrysanthemums  on  each  side,  which,  with  the  climber-clad  roof, 
forming  a  grand  arcade  of  flowers.  The  Chrysanthemums  were  grown  as 
bush  plants,  which  becomes  a  necessity  where  flowers  in  quantity  are  in 
demand.  As  I  do  not  profess  to  be  a  Chrysanthemum  specialist,  I  shall 
only  note  a  few  varieties,  mostly  Japanese,  which  were  in  evidence. 
These  comprised  Edwin  Beckitt,  Gloire  du  Rocher,  Source  d’Or,  Val 
d’Andorre,  Souvenir  d’Haarlem,  Roseum  superbum,  Niveus,  Phoebus, 
Rose  Wynne,  and  Gorgeous.  Single  Chrysanthemums,  which  will  be 
probably  more  largely  grown  where  there  are  many  vases  to  fill,  were 
represented  by  Marv  Anderson  and  George  Cameron,  both  white  and 
pure  gold,  a  rich  yellow. 
Salvia  splendens  and  S.  rutilans  were  here  in  scores,  and  very  bright 
they  looked.  Amongst  the  roof  climbers  in  fl  ower  were  Habrothamnus 
elegans,  Brugmansia  suaveolens,  Abutilon  Boule  de  Neige,  Acacia 
lophantha,  and  Cassia  corymbosa.  The  Water  Lily  house  Avas  as  usual  a 
picture  of  effective  arrangement.  The  miniature  groups  of  plants  rising 
from  a  groundivork  of  Panicum  and  Ferns  were  in  perfect  harmony. 
Among  the  kinds  utilised  are  Begonia  John  Heal,  Impatiens  Sultani, 
Reinwardtia  tetragynum,  and  the  delicate  purple  Justicia  speciosa,  as 
well  as  Coleus  and  (  rotons. 
On  the  eastern  side  of  the  corridor,  and  at  right  angles  thereto,  are 
eight  plant  houses,  including  the  Water  Lily  house  mentioned.  One  is  a 
Palm  house,  and  another  gay  with  <  yclamens  in  Power  and  baskets  of 
Asjiaragus  deflexus  hanging  over  the  Avalk.  Epacris  and  large  Camellias, 
Malmaison  Carnations  in  excellent  health,  winter-flowering  Zonal  Pelar¬ 
goniums,  mostly  single  flow'ered,  and  in  full  bloom,  were  seen  in  various 
structures.  On  the  western  side  of  the  corridor,  as  lean-to  against  the 
wall,  are  four  other  plant  houses,  one  of  which  contained  about  300  plants 
in  flower  of  Plumbago  rosea,  mostly  in  6  and  7-inch  pots.  The  next 
house  was  filled  with  very  vigorous  Arum  Lilies  in  7  and  10-inch  pots. 
Bonvardias  were  in  another  division,  while  suspended  from  the  roof  Avere 
baskets  of  Centropogon  Lucyanus.  I  also  saw  several  fine  plants  of 
Peperomia  arifolia  argyrea. 
Ccelogyne  cristata,  in  the  best  of  health,  Avas  largely  represented.  I 
only  entered  four  of  the  Orchid  houses.  These  were  of  teak  wood,  and 
their  arrangement  is  something  like  what  an  Orchid  house  ought  to  be. 
They  Avere  in  two  ranges,  in  the  fiist  of  which  were  healthy  plants  of 
Cattleya  labiata  autumnalis,  now  in  flower,  while  Cypripedium  insigne 
was  flowering  freely.  The  plants  were  arranged  amongst  Adiantum 
cuneatum  as  a  groundwork,  relieved  by  elevated  plants  of  Adiantum 
farleyense  in  7-inch  pots,  the  fronts  of  the  stages  being  draped  with 
Panicum  and  Selaginella  denticulata  aurea.  The  next  range  had  one 
division,  with  Oalanthe  Veitchi,  C.  vestita  oculata,  and  C.  vestita  lutea 
in  flower,  and  another  was  gay  with  Dendrobium  phalaenopsis  Schroderi- 
anum.  There  were  also  several  plants  in  flower  of  Cypripedium  Harrisi- 
anum  and  C.  Charlesworthi,  the  plants  being  arranged  with  Ferns 
interspersed  as  before  mentioned.  The  stages  were  edged  with  Panicum 
and  the  lovely  blue  Saintpaulia  ionantha, — F.  Steeet. 
