August  15,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
153 
An  Excess  of  Erult. — Too  good  a  harvest  is  the  complaint  of 
the  fruit  growers  in  Perthshire.  Fully  200  tons  of  berries  were 
despatched  from  the  Blairgowrie  distriot  last  week,  and  prices  for 
Strawberries  are  down  to  £7  to  £8  per  ton.  On  two  of  the  largest 
farms  the  fruit  is  to  be  left  to  rot,  as  the  price  offered  will  not  pay 
the  picking.  What  a  happy  time  the  Dundee  and  Glasgow  street  boys 
could  spend  on  these  farms ;  and  what  an  onerous  task  would  fall  to 
the  lot  of  the  philanthropist  in  getting  them  home  again.  Raspberries 
are  also  a  big  crop,  but  the  price  remains  at  £22  per  ton.  At  this  time 
last  year  Strawberries  were  selling  at  £23  to  £27  per  ton.  Truly  the 
life  of  the  husbandman  is  not  a  happy  one  where  the  more  plentiful 
the  reaping  the  less  the  profit. 
Tea  in  the  United  States. — With  regard  to  the  future  of  this 
promising  industry,  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  is  quoted  as  saying 
that  Americans  will  soon  raise  all  that  is  needed  for  home  use.  They 
are  now  succeeding  admirably  in  the  production  of  Tea  in  the  U nited 
States.  It  is  only  a  question  of  a  short  time  when  they  will  be  able  to 
raise  all  the  Tea  demanded  for  use  in  that  country.  The  two  tons  of 
Tea  grown  at  Summerville,  S.C.,  last  year  so  well  satisfied  the  New 
York  investors  interested  in  the  industry,  that  they  immediately  formed 
a  syndicate  and  bought  6000  acres  of  land  in  the  State  upon  which  Tea 
will  be  grown.  This  department  last  year  sent  Tea  plants  to  every  Gulf 
State  in  the  Union  from  the  Carolinas  to  California  for  experimental 
raising.  Report  from  South  Carolina  says  that  imported  machinery  in 
use  there  is  able  to  make  green  tea  from  the  black  product  in  one  hour. 
A  Public  Park  for  Rawtenstall,  Xaccashlre. — Rawtenstall 
was  en  fete  on  Saturday,  August  3rd,  on  the  occasion  of  the  opening 
of  its  new  public  park,  which  has  just  been  laid  out  by  Messrs.  W. 
Barron  &  Sons,  Elvaston  Nurseries,  Borrowash,  under  the  immediate 
superintendence  of  Mr.  William  A.  Holmes,  formerly  of  Putney.  The 
new  park,  which  is  in  the  towD,  was  formerly  the  Oak  Hill  Estate,  and, 
with  the  fine  old  mansion,  consists  of  some  28£  acres.  The  estate 
being  for  sale,  it  was  purchased  by  Mr.  Richard  Whittaker,  a  native 
of  Rawtenstall,  and  presented  to  the  town  as  a  public  park,  his 
design  being  to  carry  out  a  long  cherished  scheme  of  giving  the 
children  of  his  native  town  what  they  so  much  wanted,  but  which 
they  had  never  before  possessed — a  properly  equipped  and  abundant 
playground — and,  in  addition  to  purchasing  the  park,  Mr.  Whittaker 
has  also  borne  the  entire  cost  of  laying  out  his  splendid  gift.  The 
spacious  mansion  and  the  original  garden  about  it  are  retained  ;  the 
former  is  to  be  the  home  of  the  free  public  library,  while  the  garden 
has  been  entirely  renovated  on  previous  lines.  There  are  plenty  of 
large  shade  trees  about  this  portion  of  the  grounds;  water,  with 
fountains  and  cascades,  have  been  introduced,  together  with  other 
appropriate  and  diversified  features ;  there  are  three  spacious  terraces 
for  swings,  &c.,  and  as  recreation  grounds,  and  altogether  the  work  has 
been  done  by  the  contractors  in  a  manner  which  has  won  for  them 
great  credit.  The  park  is  to  bear  the  name  of  its  donor,  and  to  be 
known  as  the  Whittaker  Park. 
Kew  Gardens. — “  X.  Y.  Z.,”  writing  to  the  “  Times,”  under  date 
July  22nd,  says  : — “  May  I  call  attention  to  the  continued  exclusion  of 
the  public  from  the  grounds  of  the  ‘  Queen’s  Cottage,’  Kew  Gardens  ? 
These  grounds  are  geographically  part  of  Kew  Gardens,  from  which 
they  are  separated  only  by  a  wire  fence.  The  river  and  the  Deer  Park 
are  their  other  boundaries.  They  contain,  besides  the  oottage  itself, 
glades  and  woods  and  thickets  of  great  natural  beauty.  Soon  after  the 
Jubilee  of  1897  it  was  stated  officially  that  the  Queen  had  given  orders 
that  che  public  should  be  admitted  to  these  hitherto  olosed  grounds. 
In  1898  nothing  further  was  done,  because,  as  Mr.  Akerg-Douglas  stated 
in  the  House,  no  money  for  the  purpose  was  provided  in  the  estimates 
of  that  year.  In  May,  1899,  the  public  were  admitted  to  a  single 
grassy  track,  about  400  yards  long,  running  between  wire  fences  on 
either  side.  This  was  the  very  least  that  could  be  done  in  compliance 
with  her  Majesty’s  orders.  Yet  even  this  walk  was  rigidly  closed  from 
September,  1899,  to  May,  1900,  and  again  from  the  following  September 
to  May  last.  It  was  opened  again  last  May,  but  was  olosed,  for  some 
reason  or  other,  by  the  middle  of  June,  and  has  remained  strictly  shut 
np  ever  since.  This  is  the  grievance  to  which  I  ask  leave  to  call 
attention.  The  late  Queen  ordered  the  admission  of  the  public  to  a 
most  charming  piece  of  ground.  Her  orders  were  carried  out  as 
slowly  as  possible,  and  in  the  most  grudging  way.  They  are  now 
wholly  disregarded.  I  have  visited  Kew  Gardens  hundreds  of  times) 
and  if  any  member  of  either  House  of  Parliament  will  ask  a  question 
on  the  subjeot  he  may  rely  on  the  accuracy  of  my  facts  and  dates.” 
Rhineland. — “Rhineland”  opens  up, fresh  holiday  districts  in  the 
little  known  side  valleys  of  the  Rhine,  a  country  even  more  oharming 
and  varied  than  the  Ardennes,  which  were  made  known  by  Mr.  Percy 
Lindley  through  “  Walks  in  the  Ardennes.”  Leaving  London  in  the 
evening,  and  the  ohief  northern  and  midland  towns  in  the  afternoon, 
it  is  possible,  at  small  expense,  to  reach  Borne  of  these  valleys  early  the 
following  afternoon,  vid  Harwich  and  the  Hook  of  Holland.  A  little 
publication,  with  the  above  title,  is  published  at  30,  Fleet  Street, 
London,  E.C.,  giving  interesting  and  valuable  information  to  would-be 
Rhine  explorers. 
Interesting  Planting  Experiments. — The  German  Foreign 
Office  Report  for  1901  contains  an  interesting  account  of  an  attempt  to 
improve  the  vegetation  in  the  vicinity  of  Swakopmund,  the  port  of 
German  South  Afrioa.  The  neighbourhood  is  a  dreary  and  barren 
desert  of  sand,  and  it  was  necessary  to  choose  such  plants  as  required 
but  scanty  soil,  could  stand  considerable  changes  of  temperature,  and 
resist  excessive  dryness.  It  was  also  desirable  to  guard  against  the 
strong  sea  wind.  The  latter  difficulty  was  met  by  planting  a  screen  of 
wild  Tobacco,  which,  while  flourishing  well,  presented  an  interesting 
instance  of  adaptation  to  altered  conditions.  The  leaves,  which  at  a 
distance  from  the  sea  are  well  known  to  be  large  and  thiD,  became  in 
the  new  habitat  narrow  and  thick.  Young  trees  of  Oak,  Pine,  Juniper, 
Euoalyptus,  Date  Palm,  Vine  and  Fig  quickly  perished,  but  the  seeds 
of  the  Date  Palm  and  Port  Jackson  Acacia  promised  good  results. 
Another  instance  of  adaptation  to  environment. 
July  Weather  at  Belvolr  Castle. — The  wind  was  in  a  northerly 
direction  fourteen  days.  The  total  rainfall  was  2'69  inohcs;  this  fell  on 
nine  days,  and  is  0Y3  inch  below  the  average  for  the  month ;  the 
greatest  daily  fall  was  0'85  inch  on  the  24th.  Barometer  (corrected  and 
reduced)  :  highest  reading,  30‘302  inohes  on  the  7th  at  9  a.m.  ;  lowest 
reading,  29  568  inches  on  the  24th  at  9  p.m.  Thermometers :  highest 
in  the  shade,  88°  on  the  18th  and  19th  ;  lowest,  41°  on  the  14th ;  mean 
of  daily  maxima,  73‘74°;  mean  of  daily  minima,  54-51°;  mean 
temperature  of  the  month,  64-12°;  lowest  on  the  grass,  39°  on  the  14th  ; 
highest  in  the  sun,  141°  on  the  17th  ;  mean  temperature  of  the  earth  at 
3  feet,  59'67° ;  total  sunshine,  206  hours  40  minutes,  which  is 
13  hours  58  minutes  Above  the  average  for  the  month  ;  there  were  two 
sunless  days. — W.  H.  Divers. 
Terrific  Hailstorm  at  Hawick  and  District. — The  south  of 
Scotland  was  visited  by  the  most  disastrous  thunderstorm  within 
living  memory.  Untold  damage  has  been  done  to  property,  gardens, 
crops,  &o.  The  storm  was  accompanied  by  hail,  or  rather  lumps  of 
ice,  many  of  the  pieces  being  over  2  inches,  which  lasted  for  about  ten 
minutes.  The  nurseries  of  Mr.  John  Forbes  at  Hawick  appear  to  have 
got  the  full  force  of  the  storm  ;  over  4000  panes  of  glass  were  broken, 
while  in  the  grounds  plants  and  flowers  have  suffered  to  an  alarming 
extent,  so  that  Mr.  Forbes’  well-known  exhibits  will  be  absent  from 
many  of  the  leading  shows  this  autumn.  Luckily  the  newest  range  of 
houses,  which  fortunately  contained  the  new  Begonia  Caledonia, 
escaped  with  but  slight  damage.  The  storm  lasted  over  five  hours, 
during  whioh  time  the  rain  fell  in  torrents,  and  the  thunder  and 
lightning  hardly  ever  ceased. 
Meteorological  Observations  at  Cblswlck. — 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. 
2 
1901. 
rectlon 
Wind. 
At  9  A.M. 
Day. 
Night 
Rain. 
At 
At 
At 
£  S  | 
IS.o 
•J  a  a 
August. 
Q 
Dry 
Bulb. 
Wet 
Bulb. 
Highest 
Lowest. 
1-ft. 
deep. 
2-ft. 
deep. 
4-ft. 
deep. 
H 
Sunday  ..  4 
w.s.w. 
deg. 
64-9 
deg. 
68'2 
deg. 
67-2 
deg. 
66-0 
Ins. 
o-oi 
deg. 
66-7 
deg. 
64-6 
deg. 
60-2 
deg. 
48'5 
Monday..  6 
w. 
60 ‘4 
64-8 
66-0 
61 '3 
0-09 
64-6 
64-0 
60-4 
43-6 
Tuesday  6 
S.W. 
68-0 
67-0 
763 
62*6 
— 
63-6 
63-6 
60-4 
517 
Wed’sday  7 
s.w. 
66*9 
675 
76-2 
49-6 
— 
63-7 
63-2 
60-4 
42  2 
Thursday  8 
s.w. 
71*2 
64-2 
77-0 
61-4 
— 
66-5 
63-2 
60-4 
64*5 
Friday  ..  9 
N.E. 
65*6 
61-6 
82-7 
62-0 
— 
65-3 
63-4 
60-2 
462 
Saturday  10 
E.S.E. 
786 
67-0 
85-2 
64-7 
- ' 
67-6 
64-0 
60-2 
66’6 
Means  .. 
66-4 
60-0 
75-7 
65-4 
Total 
0-10 
66  2 
63-7 
603 
48-8 
The  weather  during  the  first  part  of  the  week  was  dull  and  rather 
oold  with  a  little  rain,  the  latter  part  being  brighter  and  much  warmer. 
