April  3,  1902. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
297 
elated.  Now,  in  Wood’s  Hand-barrow,  a  frame  and  a  cover  to  go 
over  the  top  can  be  erected  in  a  few  seconds.  When  tlie  cover 
is  fixed  on,  there  is  no  possibility  of  harm  to  the  plants  from 
frost,  wind,  hail,  rain,  or  snow.  And  it  does  not  lack  wheels, 
either,  if  these  are  at  any  time  desired.  Having  four  legs,  as  in 
the  ordinary  hand-barrow,  there  are  also  two  half-moon-shaped 
iron  supports  fixed  between  the  front  pair  of  legs,  and  these  are 
turned  inward  under  the  body  portion  of  the  barrow.  The  tips 
are  fitted,  hook-like,  for  catching  the  axle  that  joins  a  pair  of  iron 
wheels  that  are  a  little  over  a  foot  in  diameter.  When  the  wheels 
are  placed  under  the  barrow  and  hooked  on,  the  barrow  is  lifted 
a  foot  high,  and  to  maintain  it  level,  a  rod  fitting  to  the  second 
pair  of  legs  is  adapted  to  descend  so  much  as  is  wanted  to  add  to 
the  length  of  these  legs, and  thus  equalise  the  height  of  both  ends 
of  the  barrow.  The  barrow  is  not  heavy,  and  two  men  or  lads  can 
manage  it  with  as  much  ease  as  an  ordinary  one.  Though  the 
description  of  it  may  give  the  impression  that  it  is  intricate,  this 
is  not  so,  and  anyone  can  at  once  fit  it  for  the  purpose  desired  on 
any  given  occasion.  It  has  undoubted  merits,  and  I  feel  certain 
that  it  will  meet  with  approval  from  gardeners  generally. 
Wood’s  Improved  Sprayer  is  a  very  useful  little  appliance,  that 
can  be  employed  with  one  hand,  leaving  the  other  hand  free  to 
hold  the  plant,  the  branch,  the  flower,  or  the  foliage,  as  the  case 
may  demand.  These  hand  sprayers  are  made  with  metal  or 
aluminium  reservoir,  and  indiarubber  tube  and  pump.  The  latter 
(egg-sliaped)  is  squeezed  by  the  same  hand  that  passes  through 
the  handle,  and  forces  a  fine  spray  through  the  nozzle.  For 
dewing  floral  decorations,  this  little  spray  will  prove  useful. 
There  is  the  “  Perfeeta  Spraying  Syringe,”  which,  by  very  easy 
application,  “  sprays  direct  forward  or  at  any  angle  within  an  arc 
of  90deg  from  axis  ” ;  that  is  to  say,  any  angle  between 
horizontal  and  vertical.  The  spray  can  be  coarse  or  fine,  or  an 
open-bore  jet  can  be  forced  through  at  the  will  of  the  operator. 
Weeks  and  Co.,  Chelsea. 
The  establishment  of  this  horticultural  building  and  heating 
firm  is  close  upon  the  King’s  Road,  at  Chelsea,  and  is  con¬ 
tiguous  with  the  grounds  of  Mr.  William  Bull  of  Chelsea,  and 
is  also  within  a  stone’s  throw  of  Messrs.  Veitch’s  Royal  Exotic 
Kunseries.  The  neighbourhood,  indeed,  is  veiy  much  “horti¬ 
cultural,”  for  here  also  is  Messrs.  Wimsett’s  extensive  market- 
nursery,  a  great  home  for  popular  Palms,  Ferns,  and  other 
useful  ornamental  plants.  Messrs.  J.  Weeks  and  Company  have 
also  offices  and  a  show-place  near  Sloane  Square,  which  is  over 
a  mile  up  the  King’s  Road,  and  nearer  the  more  busine.ss  part 
of  London.  Here,  as  well  as  at  “the  works,”  the  plans  and 
estimates  for  their  numei'ous  contracts  are  prepared,  and  any 
one  calling  at  either  of  the  places  may  find  draughtsmen 
actively  engaged  on  their  large-scaled  plans  and  cartoons.  I 
believe  the  firm  is  open  to  offer  contract  plans  to  those  who  are 
desirous  to  erect  or  alter  conservatories  or  other  glass  structures. 
Their  hothouse  buildings  are  largely  built  of  teakw'ood,  the  most 
durable  of  all  woods  for  the  purpose,  and  having  many 
qualities  besides.  I  was  privileged  to  inspect  the  works  where 
everything  is  prepared  and  fitted  before  being  despatched  to 
the  site  for  erection,  wherever  that  may  chance  to  be.  The 
astricles,  the  beams,*  the  stages,  the  doors,  and  every  part  of 
the  greatest  hothouses,  are  made  at.  the  works  in  Chelsea,  being 
measured,  planed,  turned,  drilled,  fitted,  fixed  together  and 
painted,  before  leaving  the  establishment.  This  consists  of  a 
massive  building,  with  smithy  and  furnaces  on  the  ground  floor, 
and  above  this  three  or  four  other  successive  floors,  each  devoted 
to  a  special  branch  of  the  joinery,  painting  and  glazing  busi¬ 
nesses.  When  one  “  floor,”  or  section  of  workmen  on  that 
floor,  have  finished  their  portion  of  the  preparatory  work  in 
hand,  the  article  is  passed  on  to  another  sejuad  for  further 
manipulation,  till,  lastly,  it  reaches  the  hands  of  those  who 
do  the  smoothing  and  painting.  The  division  of  labour  is 
carried  to  a  nicety,  and  every  proce.ss  is  nicely  regulated  and 
well  performed.  Suitable  machinery,  such  as  circular  saws, 
steam-power  augers,  and  drill  gouge,  are  also  much  employed. 
With  these  helps  to  good,  economical,  and  speedy  workmanship, 
the  appliances  and  fittings  of  hothouse  buildings  are  constructed 
on  the  most  approved  lines,  and  the  best  materials  of  their 
respective  kinds  only  are  employed.  Iron  and  wood  are  both 
employed  on  occasion,  according  as  particular  purposes  may 
refjuire  their  use. 
In  the  foundry,  on  the  basement  area,  the  firm’s  Upright 
Tubular  Boilers  were  being  fitted  together  with  much  din  and 
rattle,  by  a  staff  of  able-bodied  engineers.  This  “  one  boiler  ” 
system — the  Upright  Tubular  form — has  been  tried  long  enough 
in  every  part  of  the  country  to  have  gained  the  confidence  of 
gardeners.  A  summary  of  its  stated  advantages  are  that  it 
saves  from  25  to  30  per  cent,  of  fuel,  50  per  cent,  of  labour, 
and  is  very  rapid  and  intense  in  its  heating  power.  “  Experi¬ 
ments,”  it  is  claimed,  “prove,  without  doubt,  that  an  Upright 
Tiibplar  Boiler  with  less  fuel,  will  heat  an  apparatus  in  forty 
minutes,  which  it  would  take  a  saddle  boiler  1:1^  hour  to  accom¬ 
plish,  and  give  a  temperature  several  degrees  higher  than  that 
•which  the  latter  could  possibly  achieve. 
Chrysanthemum  Rust:  Is  it  Dying  Out? 
Mr.  Bolton,  in  the  Journal  of  March  13,  says  a  disemssion  on 
the  above  subject  would  be  interesting,  and  I  fully  endorse 
his  sentiments,  for  now'  are  we  laying  the  foundation  on  which 
to  build  our  reputations  as  Chrysanthemum  growers  in  the 
coming  autumn.  To  the  question  at  issue,  my  answer  is  a  very 
emphatic  “No!”  And  I  w'ould  add  that  so  long  as  Chrys¬ 
anthemums  are  so  extensively  grown  as  at  the  present  time,  it 
will  not,  of  its  own  free  will,  even  diminish.  Like  the  Potato 
disease,  in  some  years  the  so-called  rust  may  be  more  prevalent 
than  in  others;  but  now'  it  has  attacked  the  Autumn  Queen  we 
may  rest  assured  it  will  never  leave  her  unmolesled  unless  w'e 
knights  of  the  blue  apron,  &c.,  rally  round  our  Queen  and 
keep  the  enemy  at  bay. 
From  repeated  observations,  there  is  no  doubt  in  my  own 
mind  that  those  w'ho  cultivate  Chrysanthemums  in  or  near  to 
large  towms  have  an  advantage,  as  far  as  the  rust  is  concerned, 
over  those  who  are  situated  in  the  country.  This  is,  1  know', 
quite  contrary  to  a  great  many  people’s  ideas,  who  insist 
upon  telling  me  that  if  a  plant  camiot  be  kept  healthy  in  the 
country  it  certainly  cannot  be  expected  to  thrive  better  in  a 
towui!  In  support  of  the  former  statement  I  will  state  a  case. 
Our  own  Chrysanthemums  are  grown  on  the  confines  of  a  large 
park  (forest  w'ould  be  a  more  appropriate  name  for  it)  of  some 
1,100  acres  in  extent — in  fact,  we  are  surrounded  by  land  prac¬ 
tically  uncultivated.  Now',  wh  always  find  rust  on  some  of  our 
plants  in  January  and  February,  but  by  the  time  they  are  jilaced 
out  of  doors  in  early  May  there  is  no  suspicion  of  it  left.  Every 
leaf  on  wdiich  a  spot  appears  is  picked  off  and  burnt,  and  we 
never  see  a  speck  of  it  from  April  till  August,  or  perhaps  Sep¬ 
tember,  and  w'here  does  it  come  from  then?  Many  gardeners 
have  answered  that  it  has  been  lying  dormant  all  summer,  but 
vegetates  as  soon  as  the  foggy  nights  commence.  I’here  is  no 
doubt  that  the  temperatures  that  prevail  in  late  summer  and 
early  autumn  are  the  best  suited  to  its  development;  but  then, 
W'e  never  find  it  on  the  bottom  leaves  first,  but  almost  invariably 
half-w'ay  up  the  plant,  on  leaves  that  have  been  made  long  since 
a  particle  of  disease  had  been  seen.  I  believe  our  plants  are 
ab.solutely  immaculate  for  about  three  months,  and  as  there  is 
no  such  thing  as  sijontaneous  life  the  rust  must  come  from  with¬ 
out,  and  that  means  it  comes  from  the  wild  plants  growing  in 
the  neighbourhood.  I  have  noticed  a  very  similar  ])arasile  on 
Dandelion  leaves,  also  on  the  leaves  of  Senecio  Jacobsea  ( 1  forget 
its  popular  name).  Another  thing,  our  plants  are  grown  in  rows 
running  N.  and  S.,  and  w'e  have  noticed  that  the  plants  in  the 
western  row'  have  been  the  first  attacked,  probably  bc'camse 
western  winds  prevail  in  autumn,  bringing  with  them  spores 
galore. 
From  the  above  it  w’ill  easily  be  understood  why  I  consider 
plants  cultivated  away  from  Nature  in  her  more  primitive  state  will 
be  less  susceptible  to  rust  than  those  grown  in  the  open  country. 
Every  year  I  give  away  some  hundreds  of  Chrysant  lienium 
cuttings  tO'  gardening  friends  who  have  not  the  same  privilege 
of  buying  new  varieties  as  I  enjoy,  and  one  of  my  greatest  rivals 
at  our  annual  show'  is  also  one  of  my  best  customers — and,  I  may 
add,  my  best  chum  too.  He  lives  near  a  town,  and  on  one  occa¬ 
sion  only  has  he  had  the  rust  in  autumn.  I  was  then  reminded 
very  quickly  of  my  pet  theory,  “  and  for  the  nonce  ”  was  non¬ 
plussed,  for  I  knew'  how  carefully  his  plants  had  been  watched 
and  how'  free  from  disease  his  collection  had  apparently  been  for 
some  months.  The  mystery  w'as  unexpectedly  solved  by  his  fore¬ 
man  one  day  peeping  over  the  garden  wall  into  the  adjoining 
garden,  for  there,  immediately  beneath  him,  stood  a  lot  of  bush 
plants  in  as  bad  a  condition  from  rust  as  could  Avell  be  imagined. 
I  could  give  other  examples  similar  to  the  foregoing,  all  tending 
to  prove  that  if  a  collection  of  Chrysanthemums  is  kept  clean  in 
spring  it  w'ill  not  be  troubled  with  rust  in  autumn  unless  the 
disease  is  by  some  means  brought  to  the  plants.  Every  year  I 
buy  cuttings  from  all  the  principal  Chrysanthemum  nurseries, 
and  I  know  perfectly  w'ell  from  which  I  shall  receive  clean 
ciittings  and  from  w'hich  I  shall  get  cuttings  that  w'ill  develop 
rust  before  they  are  struck.  Yet  I  never  hesitate  to  patronise 
one  as  much  as  another,  for  it  generally  happens  that  the  cleanest 
plants  in  spring  are  among  the  first  to  take  the  rust  in  autumn, 
and  those  that  are  infested  in  spring  have  it  in  the  mildest  form 
later  on. 
I  trust  the  foregoing  will  not  deter  any  would-be  mummer 
from  commencing  the  culth'ation  of  this  lovely  flower,  but  rather 
inspire  him  with  a  determination  to  resist,  by  all  in  his  power,  our 
common  enemy.  It  seems  that  up  to  the  present  there  is  no 
cure  for  the  rust.  The  writer  has  tried  everything  that  he  has 
seen  advertised  or  recommended  for  that  purpose,  besides  trying 
every  salt,  spirit,  hydrocarbon,  &c.,  he  could  think  of  himself; 
but  everything  that  appeared  to  kill  the  spores  most  certainly 
killed  the  leaf  on  which  they  were  situated.  Preventives  there 
are,  and  the  best  I  have  found  is  liver  of  sulphur  and  softsoap, 
loz  of  the  former  and  ioz  of  the  latter.  Dissolve  the  two  together 
in  a  little  hot  water,  then  add  sufficient  water  to  make  a  gallon. 
