August  8,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
129 
Grapes  for  Export. — The  Department  of  Agriculture  at  Ottawa 
is  making  arrangements  to  push  forward  the  experimental  export  of 
Grapes  from  the  Niagara  district  this  autumn.  About  100,000  lbs.  of 
Rogers’  black  and  red  varieties  will  be  forwarded. 
Appointments. — Mr.  William  Dryden,  late  foreman  at  Nostell 
Priory  Gardens,  has  been  appointed  head  gardener  at  Halstead  Place, 
Sevenoaks,  Kent,  and  has  already  entered  upon  his  duties.  #  * 
Mr.  W.  J.  Grace,  for  the  past  twelve  years  head  gardener  at  Bickton, 
Fordingbridge,  Hants,  as  head  gardener  to  Mrs.  G.  Morrison,  Hamp- 
worth  Lodge,  Downton,  Salisbury,  Wilts. 
Sparing  the  Trees. — The  Improvements  Committee  of  the 
London  County  Council  report  that  they  have  had  a  further  conference 
with  Viscount  Esher,  Secretary  to  the  Office  of  Works,  in  regard  to 
the  Picoadilly  widening.  “  We  have  now  the  satisfaction  of  reporting,” 
they  say,  “  that  arrangements  have  been  made  by  which  it  is  believed 
that  it  will  be  possible  to  retain  as  many  as  eleven  of  the  existing 
trees  near  Park  Lane,  and  one  near  Walsingham  House ;  while  several 
of  the  existing  young  trees  will  be  transplanted  into  the  tree  pits  in  the 
new  footway.” 
Boulevards  lor  London. — Sir  John  Wolfe  Barry,  the  eminent 
architect,  who  is  initiating  a  scheme  for  the  improvement  of  the 
appearanoe  of  the  main  thoroughfares  of  London,  has  succeeded  in 
persuading  his  colleagues  on  the  Westminster  City  Council  to  authorise 
the  Works  Committee  to  consider  during  the  recess  the  practicability 
of  planting  trees  on  both  sides  of  Whitehall  and  Parliament  Street  from 
Horse  Guards  Avenue  to  Bridge  Street.  Should  this  be  successful  the 
north  side  of  the  improved  Strand  will  receive  similar  treatment. 
Cannell’s  Championship  Belt  for  the  best  fruit,  flowers,  and 
vegetables,  the  latter  grown  from  Cannell’s  own  home-grown  seeds,  and 
exhibited  by  the  various  gardening  societies  in  Kent,  was  sharply  con¬ 
tested  for  at  the  Eynsford  Show,  held  last  Bank  Holiday.  All  the 
productions  were  of  the  greatest  excellence,  and,  although  the  Eynsford 
Society  was  awarded  first  prize,  Chislehurst  second,  and  St.  Mary  Cray 
and  Orpington  third,  the  difference  between  them  was  trifling.  The 
judges  pronounced  the  exhibits  the  best  that  this  now  popular  county 
prize  has  ever  brought  forth,  and  the  keen  rivalry  caused  a  great  deal 
of  excitement  during  the  day. 
“  A  New  Growth.” — Naturalists  will  be  grieved  to  hear  of  a  new 
growth  called  the  “  Odium  botanicum.”  This  is  the  name  given  by  a 
departmental  committee,  consisting  of  eminent  men  of  science,  to  the 
rivalry  which  has  long  existed  between  Kew  Gardens  and  the  British 
Museum  in  the  field  of  botanical  research.  The  committee  propose  to 
eradicate  the  evil  plant  by  transferring  the  herbarium  now  in  the 
British  Museum  to  Kew — a  recommendation  from  which  one  of  their 
number,  Lord  Avebury,  vigorously  dissents,  on  the  ground,  as  he  says, 
that  the  proposed  removal  would  destroy  the  unique  character  of  the 
greatest  museum  in  the  world  by  depriving  it  of  an  integral  part  of  its 
natural  history  equipment.  The  botanical  collection  of  the  British 
Museum  had  its  beginnings  in  1753,  in  a  bequest  by  Sir  Hans  Sloane, 
while  that  at  Kew  dates  from  about  the  same  period,  and  owes  its  origin 
to  a  hobby  of  the  then  Dowager  Princess  of  Wales. 
A  Thames  Embankment  Garden. — The  men  attached  to  the 
fire-float  “  Alpha,”  moored  off  Blackfriars  Bridge,  have  displayed  both 
ingenuity  and  patience  in  constructing  a  garden — not  run  in  opposition 
to  the  Embankment  Gardens,  but  one  they  may  call  their  very  own. 
The  outlook  from  the  staging —water  on  one  side,  and  a  stone  wall 
topped  by  trees  on  the  other — becoming  monotonous,  they  conceived 
the  idea  of  forming  a  garden  which  iB  unique.  The  Btaging  to  which 
the  “  Alpha  ”  is  moored  is  connected  by  a  gangway  to  a  stone  buttress 
at  the  foot  of  Blackfriars  Bridge,  the  said  buttress  being  paved  with 
flagstones.  As  flowers  will  not  grow  on  flagstones,  they  got  over  the 
difficulty  by  making  a  border  about  a  foot  deep,  and  utilised  the  mould 
displaced  by  fixing  the  electric  light  standards  on  the  Embankment  for 
filling  it  up.  Commander  Wells  gave  them  a  number  of  bedding  plants, 
and  the  men  have  themselves  purchased  all  the  materials  in  the  shape 
of  cement,  &e.,  and  devoted  their  spare  time  to  the  construction  and 
laying  out.  The  beds  are  now  gorgeous  with  Pelargoniums,  Petunias, 
Pinks,  Calceolarias,  Marguerites,  and  other  bright  flowering  plants. 
Between  the  two  beds  they  have  built  a  tank,  which  contains  goldfish ; 
one  of  their  number  is  making  a  mpdel  of  the  Eddystone  Lighthouse 
for  the  side  of  the  tank,  and  to  make  it  more  realistic  he  suggests 
having  it  lighted  by  eleotrioity.  The  whole  reflects  great  credit  on  the 
men. 
Roses  at  the  Pan-American  Exhibition. — At  the  Pan- 
American  Exhibition  is  the  finest  display  of  Roses  ever  seen  in  the 
United  States.  Twenty  thousand  blush  Roses  are  now  in  full  bloom. 
In  walking  through  this  Rose  garden  one  is  reminded  of  the  famous 
valley  of  Cashmere,  where  for  centuries  the  attar  of  Roses  has  been 
made.  It  is  possible  this  industry  may  yet  be  introduced  on  a  large 
scale  into  the  United  States. 
“  Floral-aid  ”  for  Flower  Decorations. — The  “floral-aid”  is 
a  simple  device  for  the  easy  and  expeditious  arrangement  of  out  flowerB, 
foliage,  grasses,  and  similar  material.  The  figures  on  pages  134  and  13 
dearly  explain  the  patent,  which  we  feel  confident  in  reoommending. 
Mr.  C.  J.  Wakefield,  58,  Hindon  Street,  London,  S.W.,  is  the  patentee, 
and  has  frequently  exhibited  his  arrangement  at  Drill  Hall  meetings. 
These  “  floral-aids,”  as  they  are  called,  are  made  of  stout  dark  coloured 
wire,  variously  looped,  each  being  fixed  into  a  heavy  iron  basal  stand. 
The  heavier  the  floral  decorations  are  likely  to  be  the  more  weighty  is 
the  base,  so  that  there  need  be  no  fear  of  a  collapse.  They  are  very 
moderate  in  price. 
Profits  In  Bananas. — The  average  number  of  Bananas  on  each 
bunch  is  from  eight  to  nine  dozen.  The  conveyance  of  the  fruit  between 
the  island  of  Jamaica  and  Bristol  is  from  2s.  to  4s.  per  bunch.  The 
carriage  between  Bristol  and  Manchester  is  about  Is.  per  bunch. 
Allowing  that  the  cost  of  the  fruit  and  placing  it  on  the  boat  ready  for 
shipment  is  only  Is.  per  bunch,  you  have  an  initial  cost  to  the  exporter 
by  the  time  it  is  delivered  to  the  wholesale  salesman,  of  at  least  5s.  per 
bunch.  If  the  exporter  only  expects  6d.  per  bunoh  profit  after  taking 
all  the  risks,  and  the  wholesale  dealer  another  6d.,  this  brings  the  cost 
of  the  fruit  to  the  shopkeeper  to  6s.  per  bunch,  or  8d.  or  9d.  per  dozen. 
Therefore,  to  make  a  workable  profit  he  will  have  to  sell  at  Id.  each. 
Opening  of  Victoria  Park,  Birkenhead. — This  park,  which  is 
largely  to  be  used  as  a  recreation  ground,  was  opened  on  Thursday 
last  by  the  Mayor  of  Birkenhead,  Alderman  Cook,  with  whom  were  the 
Mayoress,  Councillor  Goodwin,  and  many  other  distinguished  residents. 
Situated  in  one  of  the  best  positions,  and  covering  an  extent  of 
15  acres,  it  must  prove  of  incalculable  benefit  to  the  largely  increasing 
population  of  this  great  shipbuilding  centre.  The  main  entrance  faces 
Bebington  Road,  and  as  the  Mayor  opened  this,  he  said  that  the 
ceremony  would  remain  one  of  the  most  pleasant  in  his  year  of  offioe. 
Councillor  Goodwin,  the  popular  chairman  of  the  Parks  Committee, 
next  opened  the  entrance  from  Albany  Road,  and  discoursed  upon  the 
utility  of  parks.  The  purchase  by  the  Corporation  has  cost  over 
£4000,  whilst  £2000  has  been  spent  on  its  improvement. 
Sussex  Weather. — The  total  rainfall  for  July  at  Abbot’s  Leigh* 
Haywards  Heath,  was  1*81  inch,  being  0-90inoh  below  the  average.  The 
heaviest  fall  was  0'42  inch  on  the  29th.  Rain  fell  on  ten  days.  The 
maximum  temperature  was  89°  on  the  19th,  the  minimum  46°  on  the 
8th  and  9tb.  Mean  maximum,  78'130;  mean  minimum,  52T70 ;  mean 
temperature,  65'15°,  which  is  2,08°  above  the  average.  July  has  been  a 
hot  dry  month,  the  shade  temperature  on  sixteen  days  rising  to  80°  cr 
above  it.  After  the  24th  there  was  thunder  with  slight  showers.  On 
the  28th  and  29th  there  were  heavy  thunderstorms,  and  rain  to  the 
amount  of  three-quarters  of  an  inch,  whioh  has  done  muoh  good. — R.  I. 
Meteorological  Observations  at  Cklswlck. — 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. 
£ 
1901. 
July 
and 
August. 
rectlon 
Wind. 
At  9  A.M. 
Day. 
Night 
a 
‘5 
P5 
At 
At 
At 
s  d  3 
Jr  m  u 
IS.® 
•j  §_§ 
Q 
Dry 
Bulb. 
Wet 
Bulb. 
Highest 
Lowest. 
1-ft. 
deep. 
2-ft. 
deep. 
4-ft. 
deep. 
H 
Sunday  ..28 
S.W. 
deg. 
64  9 
deg. 
68 '8 
deg. 
71-3 
deg. 
60-6 
Ins 
0-03 
deg. 
62-9 
deg. 
62-6 
deg. 
60-0 
deg. 
47-7 
Monday . .  29 
E.S.E. 
65-4 
Hi  -7 
77-0 
60-2 
0-02 
63-2 
62-7 
69'9 
47 ‘0 
Tuesday  30 
E.S.E. 
69-7 
63-6 
82  0 
52-5 
— 
64-6 
62-7 
69-9 
47 -9 
Wed’sday  31 
E.N.E. 
71-7 
650 
78 '5 
68  8 
— 
67-5 
63  *6 
69 '9 
64-0 
Thursday  1 
N.N.E. 
66-1 
61-6 
76-0 
68-5 
— 
67-8 
64-2 
69’9 
65  "6 
Friday  ..  2 
N.N.W. 
69*2 
62-8 
75-0 
56-2 
— 
67-5 
64-4 
60-1 
489 
Saturday  3 
S.E. 
64-5 
68-0 
74-0 
65-0 
— 
66  9 
64-5 
60-2 
48 '2 
Means  .. 
67*4 
61-6 
76  T 
64  5 
Total 
0-05 
65-8 
63-6 
600 
49-9 
The  first  part  of  the  week  was  rather  unsettled  ;  the  latter  part  has 
been  more  settled  and  somewhat  oooler. 
