July  25,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
81 
Crops  In  the  c ountry.— Wheat  promises  to  be  a  very  moderate 
yield.  Barley  will  probably  be  an  average  crop,  and  in  places  there  are 
some  good  fields  of  Oats,  but  all  round  the  straw  is  very  deficient.  The 
corn  is  ripening  fast,  perhaps  too  last.  The  hay  crops  have  been  the 
lightest  for  many  years  past,  and  in  some  cases,  indeed,  hardly  worth 
the  labour  of  mowing.  The  pastures  are  very  short  of  keep.  Turnips 
are  veiy  backward. 
Public  Gardening:. — At  Leighton  Buzzard  County  Court  last  week 
Mr.  Henry  Bodsworth  and  Mr.  William  Page  and  their  wives  were  the 
defendants  in  a  case  in  which  the  Duke  of  Bedford  claimed  £10 
damages  and  an  injunction  to  restrain  them  from  taking  growing 
plants,  flowers,  Ferns,  and  shrubs  from  his  woods  around  Woburn.  It 
was  stated,  says  “  The  Star,”  that  the  defendants  belonged  to  what  is 
known  as  the  Munn  Gang,  the  family  name  of  the  ringleaders,  the 
women  of  whom  stowed  away  the  products  collected  and  sold  them  in 
Bedford  Market.  Judgment  was  given  for  £2,  and  an  injunction  was 
granted.  Defendants  said  the  produots  in  the  woods  always  had  been 
gathered  and  always  would  be,  and  declared  that  they  would  not  pay. 
The  Profits  from  Strawberries. — A  writer  to  the  “Chester 
Chronicle  ”  criticises  statements  regarding  the  total  amounts  realised 
by  certain  Strawberry  growers  in  the  Farndon  region.  He  asks  : 
‘.‘Did  he”  (the  correspondent  referred  to),  “make  his  calculation  on 
4000  pecks  per  day  at  5s.,  or  what  ?  The  last  ten  days,  taken  altogether, 
would  not  average  2s.,  mnch  less  5s.,  when  you  get  returns  from  Man¬ 
chester  and  other  places  at  9d.  per  peck  and  upwards  to  2s.  and  2s.  6d. 
There  is  not  mnch  chance  of  realising  £1000  per  day.  As  to  Mr. 
Beilis’s  Strawbeiry  growing,  there  are  no  growers  in  England  that 
expend  so  much  in  labour  and  preliminary  expenses,  in  prepaiing  the 
land  and  afterwards  in  laying  hundreds  of  tons  of  clean  straw  in  each 
of  the  fields  down  each  bed  to  protect  the  fruit.  If  we  had  a  railway 
station  close  to  Farndon  it  would  certainly  make  much  difference  to 
the  fruit.  It  leaves  the  fields  here  in  the  pink  of  condition,  but  the 
transhipment  from  lorries  to  railway,  and  railway  travelling  knocks 
the  fruit  about  so  much,  that  when  it  arrives  in  the  markets  it  is  soarcely 
recognisable  as  the  same  article.  Then  haulage  is  an  expensive  item 
when  you  have  no  less  than  twenty  or  thirty  horses  on  the  road  con- 
tinually,  and  wear  and  tear  to  contend  with.  I  think  when  you  consider 
these  items  mentioned  you  would  find  the  gross  profits  a  day  a  long  way 
short  of  £1000  to  any  large  grower,  and  the  smaller  fruit  growers  are 
now  complaining  that  they  don’t  think  Strawberry  growing  pays  any 
better  than  Potatoes  at  the  present  time.” 
Horticultural  College,  Swanley. —  The  Countess  of  Aberdeen 
paid  a  visit  to  the  Horticultural  College,  Swanley,  Kent,  on  Tuesday 
afternoon,  the  16th,  for  the  purpose  of  presenting  prizes  to  the  students. 
There  was  a  large  company  present,  including  several  former  pupils. 
Mr.  Philip  Martineau  presided,  and  in  his  opening  remarks  congratu¬ 
lated  the  friends  of  the  College  on  its  continued  success.  The  Countess 
of  Aberdeen,  having  distributed  the  prizes,  briefly  addressed  the 
oompany,  and  spoke  of  the  long  association  of  Miss  Cons,  honorary 
treasurer  and  a  member  of  the  governing  body,  with  the  College. 
Referring  to  the  work  carried  on  at  the  College,  Lady  Aberdeen 
remarked  that  even  to-day  it  was  in  some  quarters  still  regarded  as  an 
experiment.  That  was  not  the  case,  however,  with  the  students  or  with 
their  friends,  who  by  no  means  looked  on  it  as  an  experiment.  In 
their  work  at  the  College  the  lady  students  shirked  nothing,  but  went 
through  a  oourse  of  thorough  practical  training.  It  was  gratifying  to 
note  the  success  which  had  been  achieved  by  those  who  had  gone  out 
from  the  College,  many  of  whom  were  now  occupying  good  positions. 
Lady  Aberdeen  also  congratulated  the  students  who  had  recently  passed 
through  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  examination.  A  gold  medal 
had  been  gained  by  a  student  for  the  fifth  time  in  seven  years ;  thirty- 
three  passed  in  the  first  class,  and  eleven  in  the  second,  and  there  were 
no  failures.  Mr.  Herbert  Morrell,  M.P.,  in  proposing  a  vote  of  thanks 
to  the  Countess  of  Aberdeen,  said  he  had  paid  several  visits  to  Swanley, 
and  had  been  thoroughly  satisfied  with  what  he  had  seen  there.  During 
the  afternoon  a  demonstration  in  bee  management  was  given,  and  a 
floral  competition  waB  held  in  the  new  conservatories.  The  extensive 
range  of  buildings,  laboratory,  fruit  plantations,  poultry  yards,  and 
dairy  were  inspected  with  much  interest.  The  College  is  open  to  male 
and  female  students,  and  there  are  at  present  about  eighty.  Some  idea 
of  the  success  obtained  may  be  gathered  from  the  fact  that  two  houses 
last  year  yielded  3840  Peaches,  and  a  vinery  produced  700  lbs.  of  Black 
Hamburgh  Grapes. 
Painting  without  Oil  or  Brushes. — A  Canadian  horticultural 
newspaper  contains  an  advertisement  intimating^how  one  “  can  paint 
buildings  at  one-tenth  the  former  cost.”  The'S - oold  water  paint 
requires  only  the  addition  of  oold  water  to  make  a  fluid  paint.  It  is 
put  on  to  buildings  by  a  garden-engine-like  invention  with  painting 
attachments.  The  colour  is  said  not  to  rub  off.  A  woodcut,  showing 
how  this  ingenious  (!)  invention  works,  accompanies  the  advertisement. 
Foods  and  Their  Value. — The  Roman  soldiers  who  built  such 
wonderful  roads  and  carried  a  weight  of ’armour  that  would  orush  the 
average  farm  hand,  lived  on  ooarse  brown  bread  and  sour  wine.  They 
were  temperate  in  diet  and  regular  and  constant  in  exeroise.  The 
Spanish  peasant  works  every  day  and  dances  half  [the  night,  yet  eats 
only  his  black  bread,  Onion,  and  Water  Melon.  The  Smyrna  porter 
eats  only  a  little  fruit  and  sour  Olives,  yet  he  walks  off  with  his  load  of 
100  lbs.  The  coolie,  fed  on  rice,  is  more  active  and  can  endure  more 
than  the  negro  fed  on  fat  meat. 
Exeter  Gardeners’  Outing-. — The  annual  outing  enjoyed  by  the 
members  of  the  Devon  and  Exeter  Gardeners’  Mutual  Improvement 
Association  took  place  on  Wednesday,  July  17th,  to  the  gardens  of 
Cardiff  Castle,  where  Mr.  A.  Pettigrew  superintends.  Excellent 
arrangements  were  made  by  Mr.  Andrew  Hope,  hon.  sec.,  and  Mr. 
W.  Maokay,  hon.  treasurer.  The  party  journeyed  by  steamer  from 
Weston  to  Cardiff.  The  members  of  the  Cardiff  and  County  Horti¬ 
cultural  Society  invited  their  southern  confreres  to  visit  their  show 
then  being  held  in  Sophia  Gardens.  During  the  afternoon  a  demon¬ 
stration  was  given  by  Messrs.  Lumley  &  Co.  of  drying  fruit  by 
evaporation.  The  excursionists  reached  Exeter  about  eleven  in  the 
evening,  very  tired,  but  thoroughly  satisfied;  ninety-two  journeyed. 
Weather  around  Edinburgh. — The  prolonged  drought  expe¬ 
rienced  around  Edinburgh  has  caused  incalculable  loss  to  both  the 
private  and  commercial  gardeners.  Evergreen  shrubs  and  Conifers 
transplanted  during  the  spring  have  had  a  hard  time  of  it,  and 
specimens  which,  a  fortnight  ago,  were  in  a  good  state  of  health,  are 
now  showing  signs  of  succumbing  unless  copious  rains  come  presently- 
The  growth  of  deciduous  trees  is  also  short,  especially  in  bush  fruits, 
and  insects  pests  are  prevalent.  The  market  gardener  is,  however,  the 
heaviest  loser,  his  crop,  as  will  be  readily  understood,  being  more 
susceptible  to  failure  during  a  long  spell  of  dry  weather.  Visiting  one 
of  the  latter  this  afternoon  (Monday  22nd)  I  was  quite  surprised  to 
find  the  great  losses  to  be  contended  with.  All  the  early  planting  of 
Cauliflowers  was,  I  learned,  a  complete  failure,  and  plots  of  the  various 
Brassicas,  which,  at  a  distance  look  well,  upon  close  examination 
revealed  the  ravages  of  finger-and-toe,  and  the  maggot  (Anthomyia 
brassicae).  A  fine  batoh  of  Broad  Beans  would,  I  was  told,  return  not 
a  penny,  being  ruined  by  blight  caused  by  the  attacks  of  the  dolphin 
fly  (Aphis  fabae).  Commencing  at  the  top,  this  insect  works  downwards, 
until  nothing  is  left  but  black  stalks  and  pods  arrested  in  their 
development.  Sweet  Peas  are  also  scaroe  and  short  in  the  stalk. 
Strawberries  were,  as  a  whole,  a  fair  crop,  and  perhaps  the  most 
remunerative  of  the  season.  Until  rain  comes  transplanting  of  Leeks, 
&o.,  is  at  a  standstill,  so  I  came  away  thinking  to  myself  that  the  life 
of  the  man  dependent  for  a  living  on  the  caprice  of  the  weather  ie 
on  the  whole,  not  an  enviable  one. — W.  L. 
Meteorological  Observations  at  Chiswick. — Taken  in  the 
Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  Gardens — height  above  sea  level  24  feet. 
Date. 
o 
Temperature  of  the 
Air. 
Temperature  of 
the  Soil. 
At  9  A.M. 
© 
In 
-t>  S 
1901 
rection 
Wind. 
At  9  A.M. 
Day. 
Night 
Rain. 
At 
At 
At 
Lowes 
imperal 
»n  Gras 
July. 
Q 
Dry 
Bulb. 
Wet 
Bulb. 
Highest 
Lowest. 
1-ft. 
deep. 
2-ft. 
deep. 
4-ft. 
deep. 
H 
Sunday  ..14 
N.E. 
deg. 
63-8 
deg. 
57-5 
deg. 
68  7 
deg. 
52-5 
Ins. 
deg. 
66*9 
deg. 
63-2 
deg. 
58*8 
deg. 
47-6 
Monday.  .15 
N.N.E. 
68-4 
61*5 
78-2 
50*8 
— 
64-6 
62*9 
68-9 
43-3 
Tuesday  16 
b.  E. 
71-9 
62  5 
82*5 
49  2 
— 
65-8 
63-0 
63*9 
41*6 
Wed’sday  17 
S.  W. 
72-8 
62-5 
83-6 
49-8 
— 
67*9 
63-5 
69-0 
42'9 
Thursday  18 
E.S.  E. 
79-0 
63-1 
86-0 
59*5 
— 
69*7 
64*1 
69-0 
64-3 
Friday  ..  19 
E.S.  K. 
71*9 
65*3 
88-3 
65*0 
_ 
70-1 
64*7 
69*2 
46*6 
Saturday  20 
E.S.E. 
78-5 
66*5 
84-2 
58-9 
— 
70-1 
65  1 
69-4 
51-6 
Means  .. 
72-3 
62-6 
81-5 
63-7 
Total 
67-7 
63-8 
69-0 
46-8 
A  very  hob,  dry  week.  The  reading  of  the  maximum  thermometer 
was  more  than  80°  on  five  days,  and  the  mean  for  the  week  81*5°. 
