576 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
December  16,  1897. 
-  Bud  Variation.  -  That  Nature  does  not  require  external 
conditions  in  every  case  for  inducing  great  changes  in  the  forms  and 
other  characters  of  fruits  and  flowers  is  well  known  (sa3's  an  American 
contemporary)  to  florists,  who  have  numerous  varieties  produced  by  bud 
variation,  or  sports,  as  they  term  them.  Some  fruits  originate  in  the 
same  way.  It  is  understood  that  the  famous  Canon  Hall  Muscat 
Grape  is  from  a  branch  of  the  ordinary  Muscat  of  Alexandria;  and 
yellow  Plums,  appearing  on  trees  normally  producing  purple  ones  are 
not  uncommon. 
-  Presentation  to  Mr.  F.  Q.  Lane,  J.P.— We  learn  that  at 
the  annual  meeting  of  the  Berkhamsted  (  hrysanthemum  Society,  of 
which  !Mr.  F.  Q.  Lane  is  the  Vice-President  and  Earl  Brownlow 
President,  Mr.  Lane  of  The  Nurseries,  Berkhamsted,  was  presented 
with  a  silver  cigar  box,  bearing  the  inscription,  “Presented  by  the 
Committee  of  the  Berkhamsted  Chrysanthemum  Society,  1886-1897”  on 
one  lid,  and  on  the  other  “  F.  Q.  L.  ’  Mr.  A.  Prudames  made  the 
presentation.  The  recipient,  who  was  taken  by  surprise,  expressed 
his  thanks  for  the  kindness  shown  him,  and  was  much  pleased. 
-  Hessle  Gardeners’ Improvement  Society. -At  a  meeting 
of  the  above  Society,  held  December  7th,  Mr.  D.  Toyne  of  Hull  read  a 
very  interesting  jiaper  on  *‘  Floriculture  of  the  Present  Reign.  ’  Mr. 
.1.  Barker,  gardener  to  W.  P.  Birkenshavr,  Esq.,  West  Hill,  showed 
some  very  good  Cypripediums,  including,  amongst  others,  C.  Arthurianum, 
C.  nitens  superbum,  and  C.  nobile;  also  Dendrobium  Phaltenopsis 
Schroderianum.  Mr.  IVilson  had  some  good  blooms  of  Chrysanthemums 
Mrs.  H.  Weeks.  Perle  Dauphinoise,  Bonnie  Dundee,  and  W.  Tunning- 
ton.  There  was  a  capital  muster  of  members.  A  hearty  vote  of 
thanks  to  the  essayist  and  Chairman  terminated  a  very  pleasant  evening. 
— G.  W.  G. 
-  Metropolitan  Public  Gardens  Association.  —  At  the 
monthly  meeting  of  the  Metropolitan  Public  Gardens  Association,  83, 
Lancaster  Gate,  W.,  Lord  Teynham,  Deputy  Chairman,  presiding,  on  the 
motion  of  Sir  William  Vincent  a  resolution  was  unanimously  passed 
expressing  great  regret  at  the  death  of  the  Vice  -  Chairman,  Lord 
Dorchester,  who  had  taken  an  active  interest  in  the  work  from  its 
commencement  fourteen  years  ago.  It  was  agreed  to  make  some  improve¬ 
ments  in  St.  Nicholas’s  Churchyard,  Deptford,  with  a  view  to  its  use  by 
the  pulilic,  and  to  prepare  a  plan  for  the  further  laying  out  of  St.  John’s 
Churchyard,  Hoxton,  and  to  replant  some  trees  and  shrubs  in  White¬ 
chapel  Road,  and  in  St.  Stephen’s  Church^mrd,  Bow.  Progress  was 
reported  in  the  laying  out  of  the  East  Street  Recreation  Ground, 
Walworth,  the  disused  burial  ground  in  Kipling  Street,  and  St.  George- 
the-Martyr  Churchyard  ;  and  it  was  decided  to  commence  as  soon  as 
possible  the  laying  out  of  Charles  Square,  Hoxton,  and  Albion  Square, 
Dalston,  It  was  announced  that  the  Oval,  City  Road,  had  been  completed 
and  opened  to  the  public  by  the  St.  Luke’s  Vestry,  the  Association 
having  provided  seven  seats.  A  number  of  other  schemes  in  connection 
with  the  acquisition  and  lajdng  out  of  grounds  in  Camberwell,  Black- 
friars,  Walworth,  RatcliP,  New  Kent  Road,  Putney,  and  other  places 
occupied  the  attention  of  the  meeting. — (“  Garden.”) 
-  The  Assessment  op  Nurseries.— Mr.  George  May  appealed 
against  the  assessment  of  the  nurseries.  Upper  Teddingtbn,  on  the 
ground  that  he  was  entitled  to  relief  under  the  Agricultural  Rating 
Act.  The  Clerk  stated  that  the  solicitors  to  the  Gardeners’  Asso¬ 
ciation  had  instructions  to  make  this  a  test  case,  and  if  need  be  to 
carry  it  to  the  House  of  Lords.  It  was  a  question  whether  the 
nurserymen  were,  or  were  not,  to  receive  the  benefits  of  the  Agri¬ 
cultural  Rating  Act.  When  the  lists  were  deposited  nine  months  ago, 
the  surveyors  of  taxes  were  invited  to  be  present  with  the  overseers, 
and  to  raise  an^'  objections  they  had  to  the  supplemental  lists.  The 
overseers  and  surveyors  had  several  interviews,  and  in  the  whole  Union 
there  were  only  three  objections  to  deal  with.  Two  months  ago  there 
were  similar  appeals  from  the  Surbiton  Nurseries  and  Wimbledon,  and 
the  Committee  referred  the  matter  to  him  (the  Clerk),  and  he  spent  four 
hours  one  day  with  solicitors,  witnesses,  and  experts.  The  surveyor  of 
taxes  for  Wandsworth  had  seen  the  Commissioners  at  Somerset  House, 
and  they  supported  the  view  which  he  (the  Clerk)  advised  the  Committee 
to  take — viz.,  that  the  relief  of  the  Agricultural  Rating  Act  did  not 
extend  to  nurseries.  But  in  a  case  at  Worthing  recently  the  appellant 
had  successfully  appealed  against  the  rates,  and  his  appeal  had  been 
confirmed  ^by  the  Court  of  Appeal,  but  the  case  was  now  going  to  the 
House  of  Lords.  The  .fudges  did  not  agree,  and  therefore  there  was  no 
final  decision  at  present.  He  therefore  advised  the  Committee  to  confirm 
Mr.  May’s  assessment,  but  to  record  his  formal  objection  on  the  minutes 
Mr.  May  assented  to  this  course,  and  the  Committee  confirmed  the 
assessment  accordingly.- (“Surrey  Comet.”) 
-  The  Japan  Umbrella  Pine. — The  curious  Japanese  tree, 
is  named  Umbrella  Pine,  from  the  effect  given  by  the  arrangement  of 
the  free  leaves  in  an  umbrellal-like  form  at  the  ends  of  the  branches. 
It  is  said  to  be  comparatively  rare  on  account  of  the  difficulty  of  obtaining 
seeds  from  Japan,  and  because  no  way  has  been  found  to  propagate  it, 
except  by  seeds.  It  is  true  that  cuttings  will  root  after  a  long  time,  but 
the  objection  to  this  method  is  the  length  of  time  required.  Besides, 
only  a  limited  number  of  cuttings  can  be  obtained  from  any  one  tree.  It 
will  be  noted  that  the  term  “  free  leaves  ’  is  used  in  the  above  reference.. 
The  reason  for  this  is  that  many  limbs  of  plants  of  the  coniferous  family, 
especially  in  the  true  Pines,  h-ve  the  leaves  all  united  together  so  as  to 
form  an  outer  covering  to  the  bark.  The  outline  of  these  leaves  can  be 
readily  seen  on  examination.  In  a  certain  stage  of  growth  these  leaves 
are  not  united  to  the  stem  as  later,  and  then  the  true  leaves  are  apparent- 
The  botanical  name  of  the  Umbrella  Pine  is  Sciadopitys  verticillafa. — 
(“  Meehan’s  Monthly.”) 
-  Influence  op  Stock  on  Scion.— The  Academy  of  Science,. 
Paris,  France,  sends  out  a  report  of  the  effect  of  the  stock  on  the  scion 
in  the  case  of  two  Pear  trees,  fifteen  j  ears  old,  which  had  grown  side  by 
side  in  a'  garden  where  they  were  apparently  subject  to  the  same- 
conditions,  with  the  exception  of  the  stocks  into  which  they  were- 
grafted.  The  variety  was  the  Triomphe  de  Jodoigne,  and  one  was 
grafted  upon  a  seedling  Pear,  the  other  upon  a  Quince.  Each  tree  boro 
about  300  fruits  each  year,  and  for  three  years  the  fruits  when  mature 
were  collected,  compared,  and  anal^’sed.  The  colour  of  the  fruits  was 
very  different,  those  upon  the  Pear  stock  being  green,  and  those  on  the- 
Quince  stock  golden  yellow',  with  a  decided  rose  blush  on  the  side 
tow'ard  the  sun.  Ten  fruits  from  the  Quince  stock  averaged  to  weigh 
406  grams,  against  280  grams  on  the  Pear  stock.  Both  fruit  and  fruit 
juice  of  the  Quince  stock  had  greater  density',  and  it  also  exceeded  that 
on  the  Pear  stock  in  acidity  and  in  contents  of  sugar.  The  sugar  was 
in  the  proportion  of  11  kilogrammes  on  the  Quince  stock  to  7  on  the 
Pear  stock.  These  observations,  according  to  a  transatlantic  con¬ 
temporary,  were  in  the  main  confirmed  by'  others  made  some  years  ago- 
on  Winter  Doyenne  scions  on  seedling  Pear  and  Quince  stock. 
-  A  Rare  Nov'ember. —  There  have  been  many  records  given  of 
late  in  various  periodicals  regarding  the  extreme  mildness  of  the  autumn, 
or  its  consequent  influence  on  vegetation.  On  page  502  “  G.  H.  H.”  gives 
an  accurate  account  of  the  abundant  floral  features  of  the  month,  of 
which  we  are  so  unaccustomed  during  November,  as  well  as  the  extra¬ 
ordinary  out-of-season  crops  in  the  kitchen  garden.  It  would  have  been 
not  at  all  difficult  to  produce  a  second  crop  of  Potatoes  outdoors  this  year, 
were  it  possible  to  predict  the  November  weather  actually  experienced. 
Peas,  Runner  and  French  Beans  were  in  very’  general  use  in  November. 
I  gathered  the  last  dish  here  on  the  25th  of  the  month,  and  cut  a  nice 
dish  of  Globe  Artichokes  on  the  same  day,  while  of  Cauliflowers  and  early 
autumn  Broccoli  there  has  been  no  loss  from  frost  or  any  other  cause,, 
and  they  have  been  abundant  and  good.  Chrysanthemums  have  been 
fine  everywhere  outdoors,  so  much  so  that  the  indoor  display  has  sufiFered 
in  appreciation  in  private  gardens,  and  proved  a  source  of  loss  more  or  less- 
to  the  market  grower,  but  probably  what  may  have  been  loss  in  one  case- 
has  been  gain  in  another. — W.  S. 
-  Liverpool  Horticultural  Association.— On  Saturday 
evening  the  first  lecture  of  the  season  was  given  in  the  Free  Library,. 
William  Brown  Street,  the  Chairman  of  the  Association,  Mr.  Thomas 
White,  presiding  over  a  satisfactory  attendance  of  members.  The  subject, 
“  The  Progress  and  Popularity  of  Orchid  Growing,”  w'as  given  in  a  hapjiy 
style  by  Mr.  Weathers.  Down  through  the  long  years,  from  the  time 
when  Linnseus  first  introduced  dried  flowers  in  1763  up  to  the  present,  the 
many’  good  things  introduced  were  adequately  dealt  with.  A  warm 
tribute  was  paid  the  R.H.S.  for  the  earlier  efforts  to  popularise  Orchids.. 
He  associated  the  name  of  Mr.  Owen  Thomas  when  mentioning  Disa 
grandiflora,  by  reason  of  the  splendid  jdants  grow'L  at  Chatsworth,  and 
also  that  of  Mr.  Smith,  gardener  to  the  late  Y.  de  Barronda,  Esq.,  for  the 
gorgeous  collection  of  Phalaenopsis  grown  by  him  at  Liverpool.  He  also- 
gave  interesting  accounts  of  the  increasing  interest  in  their  cultivation  by 
many  working-men  amateurs.  The  lecturer  considered  Vanda  Sanderiana- 
the  king  of  Orchids,  though  owing  to  the  difficulty  of  importing  it,  was 
somewhat  scarce.  Hybridising  was  mentioned  as  of  the  greatest  value,  as 
although  varieties  might  become  scarce  in  their  native  habitat,  we  need 
not  fear  with  the  splendid  varieties  we  had  now  to  work  upon.  Orchid 
literature  numbered  at  the  present  time  some  150  standard  and  scientific 
works.  The  discussion  which  followed  was  of  a  most  interesting' 
character.  A  hearty  vote  of  thanks  to  Mr.  W  eathers,  proposed  by  Mr,. 
Ranger,  and  seconded  by  Mr.  Mason,  and  a  similar  vote  to  the  Chairman,, 
brought  a  most  pleasant  evening  to  a  close. — R.  P.  R. 
