JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER 
March  27,  1902. 
274 
Appointment. 
Mr.  T.  W.  Dollery,  for  the  past  five  years  foreman  in  the 
gardens,  Whitburn  Hall,  Sunderland,  has  been  appointed  head 
gardener  to  Sir  Arthur  T.  Lawson,  Weetwood  Grange,  Leeds, 
and  enters  upon  his  new  duties  on  April  1. 
Ipswich  Mutual  Improvement  Society. 
The  last  meeting  of  the  winter  session  of  the  above  society 
was  held  on  March  20,  Mr.  J.  Barker  occupying  the  chair,  in  the 
absence  of  the  president,  Mr.  R.  C.  Notcutt.  Tlie  programme 
again  consisted  of  two  short  papers,  one  on  “  Herbaceous  Cal¬ 
ceolarias,”  by  Mr.  F.  W.  Salmon,  the  otlier  on  “  Cinerarias,”  by 
Mr.  G.  Garnham.  The  committee,  in  obtaining  these  short 
papers  upon  popular  subjects,  are  acting  more  particularly  in  the 
interests  of  the  amateur  members,  who  are  strong  supporters  of 
the  society.  Both  essayists  dealt  in  a  thoroughly  exhaustive 
manner  with  their  respective  subjects,  and  at  the  close  of  the 
proceedings  received  the  hearty  thanks  of  the  meeting.  An 
animated  discussion  was  taken  part  in  by  Messrs.  Whittel, 
Chandler,  Cotton,  Cann,  A.  Creek,  E.  Creek,  and  others. — E.  C. 
The  Origin  of  Flowers. 
Mr.  W’.  C.  Wordsell,  teacher  of  botany  in  University  College, 
London,  lectured  on  February  7  before  the  members  of  the 
Yorkshire  Philosophical  Society,  on  the  “  Origin  of  Flower*.” 
The  lecturer  commenced  his  remarks  by  saying  that  he  was  a 
believer  in  the  great  principle  of  evolution,  not  only  in  the 
animal  and  vegetable  kingdoms,  but  holding  sway  in  everything 
in  the  universe ;  that  out  of  the  symbol  arose  the  complex  and 
out  of  the  undifferentiated  arose  the  differentiated.  That  meant 
that  those  organisms  were  gradually  adapting  themselves  more 
and  more  perfectly  to  their  environments  in  order  to  be  able  to 
fight  the  battle  of  life.  By  means  of  diagrams  thrown  on  the 
•heet  he  explained  the  theory  that  flowers  originated  from  cones, 
and  then  went  on  to  explain  the  development,  the  origin  of  the 
stamens,  sepals,  petals,  and  nectary.  The  lecture  was  intensely 
interesting  and  instructive,  and  at  the  close  Mr.  Wordsell  was 
accorded  a  hearty  vote  of  thanks. 
wicker  Shelters. 
Tliere  are  some  beautiful  shrubs  that  open  their  magnificent 
flowers  so  early  in  the  spring,  that  their  splendour  is  often 
defaced,  if  not  utterly  destroyed,  by  late  spring  frosts.  To 
preserve  these  magnificent  blossoms  in  all  their  beauty,  by 
saving  them  from  the  cold  frosty  nights,  too  often  prevalent  at 
this  season  of  the  year,  is  very  desirable.  A  very  effectual, 
cheap,  and  not  unsightly  plan  of  accomplishing  this  desired 
end  has  been  adopted.  A  sufficient  number  of  stakes,  of 
such  a  length  as  that  when  they  are  driven  into  the  ground 
their  tops  may  be  at  least  6in  or  a  foot  above  the  side  branches, 
are  placed  1ft  from  the  outermost  branches,  and  about  2ft  from 
each  other,  so  that  the  mats,  when  they  are  put  upon  them,  and 
the  wicker-work,  to  be  described  presently,  may  not  touch  any 
part  of  the  shrub.  Upon  these  stakes,  and  fastened  to  them 
with  tarred  rope,  is  then  placed  a  circular  frame  of  very  open 
wicker  or  basket-work,  made  of  green  Willows.  This  is  left  on 
Constantly,  as  long  as  there  is  any  danger  of  frost.  Every  night, 
irhen  there  is  the  least  appearance  of  this  enemy,  the  wicker¬ 
work  is  covered  with  mats,  which  not  only  prevents  the  down¬ 
ward  effects  of  frost,  but  the  upward  radiation  of  heat  from 
the  earth.  An  improvement  might  be  made  by  having  a  covering 
of  oiled  canvas  fitted  to  the  size  of  each  wicker  tent,  and 
fastened  to  the  ground  with  loops  and  hooked  pegs.  These 
shelters  are  so  simple,  that  any  labourer,  with  some  ingenuity 
and  a  little  practice,  may  make  tliem ;  and  during  the  summer 
and  winter  season  they  should  be  put  away  in  a  secure  dry 
place,  and  will  last  several  years.  The  benefits  of  these  shelters 
might  be  extended  to  the  Gooseberries  and  Currants,  and  many 
ether  things. — ^R. 
Victorian,  Apples. 
With  a  view  to  calling  attention  to  the  excellence  of  Victorian 
fruit,  the  Minister  of  Agriculture  for  that  State  is  arranging  to 
forward  a  shipment,  principally  xVpples  and  Pears,  for  exhibition 
in  London  and  Liverpool.  After  exhibition  the  fruit  will  be  sold 
by  auction. 
Oxygen  and  Plant  Growth. 
In  the  absence  of  oxygen,  the  higher  plants  are  found  by 
A.  Nabokich  to  continue  their  growth,  and  they  are  still  sensitive 
to  irritations,  but  they  do  not  form  chlorophyll.  It  is  believed 
that  some  seeds  would  germinate  without  oxygen,  but  the  spore* 
of  fungi  appear  unable  to  do  so. 
Weather  in  the  North. 
Varied  weather  has  marked  the  past  week.  Cold  northerly 
winds  have  been  frequent,  the  hills  received  fresh  coverings  of 
snow,  and  cold  sleet  showers  have  frequently  fallen.  On  the 
21st  and  22nd  slight  frost  occurred,  and  on  the  mornings  of  Mon¬ 
day  and  Tuesday  8deg  and  7deg  were  registered.  Bright  days 
and  dull  cold  ones  have  alternated. — B.  D.,  S.  Perthshire. 
Venerable  Kims  Felled. 
A  great  number  of  the  old  Elm  trees  in  the  famous  Long  Walk, 
facing  Windsor  Castle,  reports  the  “Evening  New’S,”  have  just 
been  felled  by  the  Crown  woodmen,  the  trees  having  at  last 
succumbed  to  age  and  severe  weather.  The  Elms  were  planted 
in  1680  by  Charles  II.,  and  at  one  time  numbered  1,652,  the 
double  avenue  being  70yds  across,  and  the  trees  were  planted 
30ft  apart  from  each  other.  The  Long  Walk  now  presents  a  very 
uneven  appearance. 
Cold  Storage  in  Country  Houses. 
A  cold  storage  room  would  be  a  most  convenient  adjunct  to 
the  country  house.  The  cost  of  adding  it  would  be  from  £400  to 
£500.  As  well  as  retarding  the  flowers,  this  might  also  be 
utilised  to  preserve  vegetables,  food,  butter,  game,  <fec.,  and  to 
supply  the  mansion  with  ice  in  summer.  Nor  need  retardation 
be  limited  to  plants  and  flowers,  since  Grapes,  Strawberries,  Figs, 
and  other  glass  house  fruit  might  similarly  be  subjected  to  the 
will  of  the  gardener. — (“  Cold  Storage.”) 
California. 
What  winter  is  a  California’s  capital  is  well  set  forth  in  the 
following  item  from  the  “  Sacramento  Daily  Bee  ”  :  “  Now  that 
Camellias  and  Almond  trees  are  in  bloom,  it  is  a  particularly  good 
time  for  toui’ists  to  visit  Sacramento.  To  a  newcomer  from  the 
East  a  walk  through  Capitol  Park  in  these  days  must  be  a  delight. 
Laurestina  bushes  as  big  as  trees  are  in  bloom,  wdth  hundreds  of 
Camellias  and  other  flowering  plants,  while  golden  Oranges  hang 
from  the  Citrus  trees,  and  the  fresh  green  of  the  lawns  on  all 
sides  helps  to  gladden  the  eye.” 
Peruvian  Guano. 
In  Peru  guano  was  employed  to  manure  the  soil  when  that 
portion  of  South  America  was  first  discovered;  and  its  very 
name  is  evidence  of  the  high  estimation  in  which  it  was  then 
held  by  even  the  ancient  Peruvians,  for  guano,  in  their 
language,  means  the  dung,  or  the  manure,  as  if  it  was  the  especial 
or  chief  of  all  fertilisers.  This,  however,  is  not  left  to  mere 
inference,  for  Garcilaso  de  la  Vega,  writing  in  1609,  says,  “  In 
the  time  of  the  Incas  (early  sovereigns  of  Peru)  there  was  so 
much  vigilance  in  guarding  the  sea-fowl,  that  during  the  rearing 
season  no  person  was  allowed  to  visit  the  islands  which  they 
frequented,  under  pain  of  death,  in  order  that  the  birds  might 
not  be  frightened  and  driven  away  from  their  nests.  Each 
district  had  a  portion  of  these  islands  allotted  to  it.”  There 
are  many  places  where  guano,  or  the  dung  of  sea-fowls,  may  be 
collected,  as  at  Ichaboe  and  other  islands  on  the  coast  of  Africa ; 
but  none  are  equal  to  that  from  Peru,  for  the  obvious  reason 
that  here  less  rain  falls  than  in  any  other  place  where  guano 
is  found.  The  dung,  therefore,  is  at  once  dried  in  layers  by 
the  heat  of  the  sun,  and  each  layer  is  so  effectual  in  keeping 
the  ammonia  from  escaping  from  the  layers  beneath  it,  that 
when  they  are  dug  into  they  actually  emit  fumes  so  pungent 
as  to  pain  the  eyes  of  the  workmen  almost  insupportably.  The 
large  amount  of  rain  falling  in  our  latitudes  is  the  chief  reason 
why  there  is  no  accumulation  of  guano  on  the  islands  about  our 
northern  coasts,  which  are  so  abundantly  frequented  by  sea-fowl. 
