Juno  12,  1902. 
JOUnXAL  OF  HOnriCULTURE  ASD  COTTAGE  GAF^DENER. 
511 
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Liverpool  Keeping  Pace. 
If  ever  there  was  a  go-aliead  Parks  and 
Garden  Committee  Liverpool  posses.‘'es  it,  for 
only  during  last  week  a  new  playground,  sur¬ 
rounded  by  a  handsomely  built  Ruabon  brick 
wall,  with  shrubbery  borders  and  grass  vei’ges, 
and  a  centre  of  Southampton  gravel,  takes  the 
place  of  the  large,  unsightly  cinder  expanse  at 
Mrs.  Birt’s  Sheltering  Honie.s',  a  prominent 
corner  of  Myrtle  Street.  The  Lord  and  Lady 
Mayoress  performed  the  opening  ceremony,  and 
there  were  many  notable  citizens  present,  a 
charming  bouquet  of  Catherine  Mermet  Roses 
and  Lilies  of  the  Valley  being  presented  to  the 
Lady  Mayoress  by  the  daughter  of  Mrs,  T.  G. 
Wiliiamson.  It  is  said  that  one  gentleman  has 
defrayed  the*  entire  cost. 
At  the  City  Council  last  Wednesday,  the 
valuable  Calderstone  E-state  iir  Allerton  Road, 
even’  which  the  well-known  William  Tunning- 
ton  of  Chrysanthemum  fame  has  so  faithfully 
|)resided  for  Mrs.  Charles  Maciver,  was  recom¬ 
mended  to  be  purchased  for  the  purpose  of 
a  public  park,  the  price  fixed  being  £43, (K)O. 
Surrounded  by  giant  Oaks  and  spreading  Coni- 
fera?,  it  will  prove  a  great  boon  and  a  lasting 
benefit  when  in  the  not  distant  future  this 
Early  gathered  fruit  can  be  so  managed  as  to  have  it  much 
more  fully  coloured  than  if  gathered  late,  and  t^ie  keeping 
qualities,  which  are  even  more  important,  are  increased  by  the 
same  management.  The  nutritive  qualities  of  fruit  must  alwa.ys 
be  of  higher  value  than  mere  appearances,  though  the  latter 
greatly  affect  prices  in  the  market.  Early  gathering  insures 
both  results  in  the  greatest  perfection. 
Overripe  or  fully  ripe  fruits  must  be  sent  to  the  market  at 
once,  or  else  they  must  be  kept  in  a  very  cool  house  in  order 
to  thoroughly  stop  the  chemical  processes  within  the  fruit,  and 
when  they  are  taken  from  storage  they  are  very  likely  .soon  to 
decay.  Pears  are  especially  liable  iio  lose  quality  by  fully 
ripening  upon  the  tree.  The  cells  of  the  fruit  fill  up  with 
Conservatory  at  Lathom  House. 
Lathom  House,  Ormskirk,  Lancashire,  the  family  seat  of  the 
Earl  of  Lathom,  is  historically  famed,  and  it  is  only  right  and 
proper  that  we  should  also  look  for  something  intere, sting  in  the 
horticultural  phase.  In  this  the  visitor  is  not  disappointed,  for 
the  Earl  and  Countess,  greatly  beloved  by  all  the  tenants  and 
workpeople  on  their  beautiful  estate,  are  thorough  enthu.siasts 
over  the  fa.'-cinating  pursuit  of  horticulture,  and  their  words  of 
praise  are  highly  encouraging  to  their  well  known  head  gardener, 
Mr.  B.  Ashton,  who  brings  the  greatest  intelligence  into  all  hi.s 
undertakings.  The  handsome  conservatory,  so  well  depicted  on 
this  page  (from  a  photograph  by  Mr.  Ashton’s 
thirteen-year-old  son),  has  been  entirely 
remodelled  under  the  head  gardener’s  super¬ 
vision,  and  the  illu.stration  gives  a  perfect  idea 
of  this  charming  feature  of  intere.st  which 
adjoins  the  mansion.  In  it  you  have  a  magnifi¬ 
cent  wall  effect,  grand  tufa  boulders  reared  to 
the  roof  so  as  to  produce  the  most  natural  result, 
with  Begonias  and  Ferns  in  variety;  also  many 
other  suitable  subjects  depending  in  graceful 
profusion.  A  wide  gravel  path  winds  through 
the  whole,  at  each  extremity  of  which  are  tower¬ 
ing  Tree  Ferns  (Dicksonias)  whilst  in  the  centre, 
and  by  the  wayside,  as  it  were,  a  pond,  encircled 
by  a  moss-covered  border,  with  dot  plants  of 
Abutilon  vexillarium  variegatum,  is  cool  and 
restful.  A  moss-covered  border  also  follows  the 
course  of  the  conservatory  on  the  front  side,  and 
simply  contains  a  row  of  half-.standard  Roses, 
whilst  at  intervals  a  W.  Allen  Richardson  or 
Gloire  de  Dijon  Rose  cover  large  expanses  of 
the  roof  and  are  rarely  out  of  flower,  simply 
because  mildew  and  green  fly  know  them  not. 
Simplicity  with  a  due  regard  to  natural  effect, 
has  been  the  one  thing  aimed  at,  and  right  well 
has  it  been  carried  out. — R.  P.  R. 
The  Conservatory  in  Lathom  Gardens. 
gritty  mineral  matter,  much  to  the  detriment  of  the  texture. 
It  is  ordinarily  considered  that  the  best  time  to  pick  a  Pear  of 
any  variety  is  just  as  soon  as  it  reaches  its  full  size  and  before 
it  has  begun  to  colour. 
A  Peach  is  fit  to  pick  when  it  is  full  grown  and  has  begun  to 
develop  its  characteristic  colour.  Peaches  and  Apricots  do  not 
ordinarily  colour  up  well  after  tlie.y  are  picked,  although 
Plums  usually  will  do  so.  In  the  case  of  Cherries  and  Plums  it 
is  very  important  that  tlie  fruits  be  gathered  just  before  they 
have  reached  their  condition  of  most  edible  quality.  This  is 
largely  because  the  fruit-rot  fungus  is  very  likely  to  destro.y 
the  fruits  at  the  time  of  their  ripening.  At  full  maturity  of 
the  fruit  the  rot  is  usually  very  active.- -J.  J.  Willis, 
Harpenden. 
(To  be  contimied.) 
picturesque  part  will  be  merged  in  the  great 
seaport  city.  One  regrets  seeing  old  estates 
broken  up,  but  in  this  case  there  is  no  cause 
for  it,  as  tired  workers  will  be  benefited,  and  the  city  will  .see 
that  their  work  is  not  abused. 
A  handsome  now  building,  the  Botanical  Laboratory,  now 
roars  itself  at  the  corner  of  Brownlow  Street,  is  imposing  to  a 
degree,  urgently  wanted  by  students,  and  a  perfect  boon  to 
Professor  R.  J.  Harvey  Gibson,  the  popular  lecturer  on  Botany 
at  TJniversit,v  College,  Liverpool,  who  ha.s  for  years  been  cai ly¬ 
ing  on  his  studies  under  an.vthing  but  satisfactory  conditioi^. 
This  valuable  addition  to  the  College  is  tlie  gilt  of  M  .  P. 
Hartley,  Esq.,  a  great  supporter  of  the  Fniversity,  ami  will, 
when  thoroughly  ecpiipped,  be  on  an  eciuality  with  any  in  the 
kingdom.  The  opening  ceremony  was,  performed  by  Sir  W. 
Thistleton  Dyer,  in  the  presence  cf  a  large  assemblagi  .  1  he 
building  will  cost  about  £20,000.—  R.  P-  R- 
