318 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
April  10,  1902. 
Edinburgh  Agricultural  College. 
Tlie  Edinburgh  Agricultural  College  is  about  fully  organised 
at  last,  and  the  East  of  Scotland  counties  are  enjoying  all  the 
advantages  to  be  derived  from  the  operations  of  this  institution. 
Nursery  and  Seed  Trade  Association. 
Tlie  twenty-fifth  annual  report  of  the  committee  of  manage¬ 
ment  was  presented  to  the  members  at  the  general  meeting  at 
the  offices  of  the  Association,  30,  Wood  Street,  Cheapside, 
London,  E.C.,  on  March  11,  1902.  The  Association  now  consists 
of  157  members,  120  of  whom  are  in  the  United  Kingdom  ;  the 
remaining  37  are  foreign  members.  A  balance  of  £8  6s.  2d. 
remains  on  hand.  The  secretary  to  the  Association  if  Mr.  J.  P. 
Worrell. 
The  Kyrle  Society. 
Lord  Monkswell  writes  on  behalf  of  the  society  to  ask 
the  assistance  of  those  who  own  gardens  to  spare  cut  flowers 
or  plants,  bulbs,  or  seeds  “  to  help  to  cheer  the  poor,  tired 
workers  in  our  great  City  who  have  tO'  live  all  the  year  round 
in  the  hot,  dusty  streets  and  crowded  tenements  of  London.” 
As  a  pot  of  growing  flowers  and  the  rearing  of  seeds  and  bulbs 
give  great  pleasure,  the  society  has  now  a  branch  for  window 
gardening  as  well  as  for  cut  flowers.  A  post-card  to  the  lion, 
secretaries  of  “Flower  Distribution”  or  “Window  Gardening,” 
Kyrle  Society,  2,  Manchester  Street,  London,  W.,  will  receive 
a  prompt  reply,  giving  addresses  to  which  flowers  or  plants  can 
be  sent. 
The  Worshipful  Company  of  Fruiterers. 
An  essay  on  gathering,  preparing,  packing,  and  profitably  dis¬ 
posing  of  home-growm  fruit  and  vegetables  by  cottagers  and 
others  with  small  holdings  is  asked  for  by  the  above  company. 
A  prize  of  twenty-five  guineas,  together  with  a  gold  medal,  is 
offered  by  the  Worshipful  Company  of  Fruiterers  for  the  best 
essay  written  on  the  above  subject.  The  essay  is  not  to  exceed 
25,000  words,  to  be  plainly  written  on  foolscap  or  sermon  paper 
on  one  side  only.  The  object  is  to  assist  and  encourage  small 
growers.  The  copyright  in  the  successful  essay  (if  any)  is  to 
become  the  property  of  the  Company.  If  in  the  opinion  of  the 
judges  none  of  the  essays  be  of  sufficient  merit  they  may  refrain 
from  awarding  the  prize.  The  essays  are  to  be  addressed  to  the 
Clerk  of  the  Worshipful  Company  of  Fruiterers  (John  Eagleton, 
Esq.),  40,  Chancery  Lane,  W.C.,  not  later  than  1st  October,  1902. 
Copies  of  the  suggestions  for  this  essay  may  be  obtained  from 
Mr.  Eagleton. 
Oxford  County  Council. 
Under  this  Council  the  Reading  College  last  year  made  trials 
at  Clifton  Hampden  on  the  manuring  of  Potato  crops,  Mr.  S. 
Heaton,  the  horticultural  instructor,  directing  the  work.  Two 
varieties  only  were  grown,  namely,  Reliance  and  Abundance, 
in  separate  sections  of  the  ground,  each  section  being  sub-divided 
into  five  lots  and  manured  differently.  Thus,  No.  1  received  no 
manure ;  No.  2  had  Icwt  of  nitrate  of  soda,  2cwt  superphosphate, 
Icwt  of  muriate  of  potash ;  No.  5  plot  had  2cwt  of  superphosphate 
and  Icwt  of  muriate  of  potash.  Which  came  out  best  ?  The  latter 
did.  Both  varieties  responded  unmistakeably,  and  gave  higher 
crops  than  did  those  plots  otherwise  manured.  Thus,  with  no 
manure,  1  acre  yielded  4  tons  Icwt  81b  of  saleable  Potatoes; 
No.  2  plot  (with  the  three  manures,  costing  £1  4s.  l^d.  per  acre) 
yielded  5  tons  18cwt  1041b  of  saleable  tubers;  but  the  best 
example,  as  we  have  stated,  was  No.  5  plot,  with  the  super¬ 
phosphate  and  mnriate,  costing  15s.  l^d.  per  acre,  and  returning 
6  tons  7cwt  961b  of  Reliance  Potatoes.  The  same  two  fertilisers 
applied  to  Abundance  gave  7  tons  12cwt  561b  of  saleable  Potatoes, 
though  the  total  yield  per  acre  of  tubers  of  this  variety  was 
11  tons  7owt  161b.  A  large  number  of  other  reports  on  the  work 
conducted  by  the  County  Council’s  representatives  on  the  AlloU 
inent  holdings  accompany  the  report  of  the  Potato  manuring 
trials.  Application  for  these  can  be  made  to  the  Reading  College 
authorities. 
Jamaica  and  Tasmania. 
Jamaica  hopes  to  export  over  12,000,000  bunches  of  Bananas 
this  year.  *  *  The  first  consignment  of  Tasmanian  Apples — 
and  beautifully  graded  fi'uits  they  are' — have  been  shown  in 
Covent  Garden  during  the  week. 
Farmers  Emigrating. 
The  agricultural  outlook  in  South  Notts  is  exceedingly 
gloomy.  About  fifty  farms  are  unoccupied,  and  one  extensive 
landowner  has  twenty  farms  untenanted.  Forty  farmers  are 
booking  their  passages  to  Canada. 
Weather  in  the  North 
While  in  whole  or  part  inany  of  the  days  of  the  past  week 
have  been  bright,  the  prevalence  of  intensely  cold  winds  has 
made  the  weather  less  pleasant.  Sleety  showers,  too,  have 
frequently  fallen.  On  five  successive  mornings,  beginning  with 
the  4th  inst,  frost,  ranging  from  3deg  to  8deg  on  Tuesday  morn¬ 
ing,  has  been  registered,  dense  rime  accofnpanying  in  each 
case. — B.  D.,  S.  Perthshire. 
Sussex  Weather. 
The  total  rainfall  for  the  past  month  at  Abbots  Leigh, 
Haywards  Heath,  was  1.83in,  being  0.14in  below  the  average; 
the  heaviest  fall  was  0.77in  on  the  14th;  rail  fell  on  ten  days. 
Total  for  the  three  months  4.34in,  Avhich  2.32in  below  the  average. 
The  maximum  temperature  was  60deg  on  the  31st,  the  minimum 
27deg  on  the  5th;  mean  maximum  52.25deg,  mean  minimum 
36.23deg,  mean  temperature  44.24deg,  wliich  is  3.35deg  above 
the  average.  A  mild,  favourable  month.  Frost  occurred  on  seven 
nights.  The  latter  half  of  the  month  was  showery,  and  but  little 
bright  sun.  Vegetation  is  w’ell  on  the  move,  and  fruit  trees  look 
promising. — R.  I. 
March  Weather  at  Belvoir  Castle. 
The  prevailing  direction  of  the  wind  was  S.W.,  total  14  days. 
The  total  rainfall  was  1.26in;  this  fell  on  13  days,  and  is  0.30in 
beloAV  the  average  for  the  month ;  the  greatest  daily  fall  was 
0.53in,  on  the  14th.  Barometers  (corrected  and  reduced)  :  Highest 
reading,  30.218in,  on  the  16th  at  9  p.m.  ;  lowest,  28.996in,  on 
the  24th  at  9  p.m.  Thei'inometers ;  Highest  in  the  shade,  59deg, 
on  the  31st ;  lowest,  24deg,  on  the  6th ;  mean  of  daily  maxima, 
50.87deg ;  mean  of  daily  minima,  36.06deg ;  mean  tempera¬ 
ture  of  the  month,  43.46deg ;  lowest  on  the  grass,  23deg, 
on  the  6tli ;  highest  in  the  sun,  106deg,  on  the  19th  and 
23rd ;  mean  temperature  of  the  earth  at  3ft,  41.41deg.  Total 
sunshine,  130h  20m,  which  is  28h  12m  above  the  average  for  the 
month.  There  were  two  sunless  days. — W.  H.  Divers. 
Temple  House  Gardens,  Bucks 
Herewith  are  the  returns  giving  maximum  and  minimum  tem¬ 
peratures,  also  rainfalls,  for  March.  There  were  eight  frosts 
during  the  month  and  eight  foggy  days.  On  the  10th  we  had  a 
very  dense  fog  from  12.50  until  2  p.m.  and  a  slight  fog  rest  of  day  ; 
a  very  rough,  wet  night  on  the  14th,  hail  and  thunder  on  the  21st, 
and  a  heavy  hailstorm  on  the  24th,  with  gale  during  the  night. 
In  March,  1901,  the  liighest  maximum  temperatures  were  56deg 
on  the  5th  and  12th,  and  the  lowest  minimum  temperature  was 
18deg  on  the  28th.  The  rainfall  for  March,  1901,  was  1.47in.  We 
are  situated  close  to  the  banks  of  the  River  Thames,  and  105in  Os 
above  sea  level. — G.  G. 
A  Pernicious  Seed-selling  Scheme. 
From  “Truth”  of  April  3  we  quote  the  following  paragraph :  — 
“  The  send-no-money  business  is  no  longer  confined  to  the 
vendors  of  cheap  metal  ornaments.  A  seedsman  at  Kilcreggan, 
Dumbartonshire,  Foyer  by  name,  sends  out  his  catalogue  accom¬ 
panied  by  an  illustrated  list  of  Foyer’s  premium  watches,  with 
the  following  notification :  ‘  Any  of  the  above  collections  of  seeds 
will  be  sent  post  free  to  any  boy  or  girl  who  will  undertake  to 
sell  them  and  to  remit  the  price,  15s.,  when  sold.  For  so  doing 
he  or  she  will  be  presented  with  a  first-class  watch,  and  may  make 
choice  of  any  of  the  five  shown  on  illustrated  sheet  enclosed.’ 
The  collections  referred  to  are  in  penny  packets.  Fancy  entrust¬ 
ing  any  child  who  will  send  an  order  on  a  post-card  with 
180  pennyworths  of  seed  to  sell  on  commission!  A  more  per¬ 
nicious  method  of  pushing  business  can  hardly  be  conceived,  and 
I  should  hope  that  every  grown  person  who  sees  the  catalogue 
containing  this  offer  will  leave  Mr.  Foyer  to  do  what  business  he 
can  through  his  boy  and  girl  agents.” 
