September  5,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
225 
Kewltes  and  gardeners  in  the  West  of  London  will  be  pleased  to 
learn  that  Mr.  Geo.  Massee,  F.L.S.,  the  Kew  fangologist,  will  deliver 
a  series  of  lectures  on  “  Fungi,”  at  Chiswick,  very  shortly. 
I>ady  Warwick  Hostel. — The  annual  report  of  the  Lady 
Warwick  Agricultural  Association  for  Women  appears  in  full  in  the 
“Woman’s  Agricultural  Times”  for  September,  copies  of  which  can 
be  obtained  by. addressing  Lady  Warwick’s  Hostel  at  Reading. 
Horticultural  Directory. — We  return  thanks  to  many  respondents 
who  have  sent  notice  of  their  own  or  their  friends’  altered  addresses  for 
insertion  in  the  coming  edition  of  the  “  Horticultural  Directory.”  We 
believe  that  after  this  date  this  will  be  the  only  gardening  directory 
published. 
Variorum. — The  very  fashionable  Panama  hat  is  made  from  the 
leaf  of  Carludovioa  palmata,  and  not  a  grass  at  all,  as  is  oommonly 
believed  to  be  the  case.  *  *  The  Consul  at  Frankfort,  Germany,  has 
notified  the  State  Department  at  Washington  that  the  agricultural 
societies  of  Italy  will  pay  a  prize  of  193  dole,  for  a  reliable  method  of 
ascertaining  the  quality  of  sulphur  and  of  mixtures  of  sulphur  and 
-sulphate  of  copper  most  effective  in  the  use  against  plant  diseases.  *  * 
The  hog  is  a  necessary  adjunct  to  every  orohard.  Turn  the  wormy 
fruit  into  pork,  or  better  still,  have  no  worm  fruits  at  all.  *  *  Accord¬ 
ing  to  a  U.S.  fruit  journal,  a  new  Nut  tree,  the  Queensland  Nut,  is 
being  introduced  to  America.  It  is  a  highly  ornamental  evergreen 
tree,  that  produces  within  a  very  hard  cover  an  edible  nut  of  good 
-quality,  which  it  is  thought  will  greatly  improve  by  cultivation. 
How  a  Frenchman  Protects  Ills  Mushrooms. — Those  lucky 
persons  who  are  the  possessors  of  fields  and  woods  wherein,  at  thiB 
season  of  the  year,  that  delicacy  of  the  table,  the  Mushroom,  makes  its 
-sudden  appearance  on  every  mild  morning,  will  be  interested  in  the 
manner  in  which  a  French  savant  protects  his  Mushrooms  in  the 
Meudon  woods  from  the  greed  of  the  pilferer.  Every  few  weeks,  says 
'“The  Westminster  Gazette,”  he  causes  a  news  paragraph  to  appear  in 
one  of  the  most  popular  Parisian  papers,  to  the  effect  that  yet  another 
poisoning  case  has  been  traced  to  the  eating  of  Mushrooms  from  the 
Meudon  woods.  The  paragraph  is  differently  worded  each  time,  but  as 
a  rule  it  is  “  a  whole  family  ”  or  “a  large  number  of  persons”  who 
have  made  themselves  desperately  ill  by  eating  of  the  said  Mushrooms. 
•Occasionally  there  is  a  lugubrious  ending,  in  which  it  is  doubted 
whether  madame,  or  mademoiselle,  or  the  little  boy  who  partook  of  the 
meal  will  recover.  The  result  is  that  the  learned  owner  of  the  woods 
has  now  never  to  complain  of  being  bereft  of  the  fungi  that  he  loves. 
The  Swift. — In  towns,  or  other  places  where  large  buildings  or 
lofty  towers  afford  these  birds  the  kind  of  shelter  in  whioh  they 
so  especially  delight,  they  linger  for  about  jthree  weeks  longer  than 
others  in  country  districts.  This  largest  of  the  swallow  tribe  is 
really  a  tropical  bird,  and  this  appears  to  be  the  reason  why  it  can 
only  endure  to  be  with  us  during  the  hottest  period  of  our  year.  It 
arrives  about  the  middle  of  May,  and  often  leaves  at  the  end  of  July, 
though  its  stay,  aB  already  observed,  is  frequently  prolonged  to  the 
■close  of  the  present  month.  Its  black  plumage  and  shrieking  ory 
associate  it  with  ill-omens  in  the  minds  of  the  superstitious,  whence 
arose  its  name  of  the  deviling  and  the  black  martin.  The  extreme 
lightness  of  its  body,  and  the  great  expanse  of  its  wings — for  the  first 
weighs  but  1  oz.,  and  the  latter  measure  18  inches  across — render  it 
the  most  untiring  in  its  flight  of  any  bird  visiting  our  climate. 
Salisbury  Crags,  Edinburgh. — The  Corporation  of  Edinburgh 
are  very  jealous  of  the  beauty  of  their  publio  buildings  and  of  the 
general  aspect  of  the  City  of  Edinburgh.  They  do  not  oast  their  eyes 
around  Salisbury  Crags  however,  or,  if  they  do,  they  must  often  have 
been  displeased  at  the  prospect  of  the  view  at  the  base  of  these  Crags 
where  the  ground  falls  in  a  straight  slope  down  to  the  Queen’s  (or 
King’s  ?)  Drive.  How  much  prettier  would  the  aspect  be  were  these 
slopes  decently  olothed  in  the  first  instance  with  Furze  (Whins).  A  few 
hundred  pounds  placed  at  the  disposal  of  Mr.  McHattie,  the  Edinburgh 
City  gardener,  with  instructions  to  furnish  with  Furze  the  braes  we 
menticn,  would  be  a  wise  start,  and  ought  to  have  full  success.  Such 
growth  would  in  a  measure  save  the  ground  from  crumbling  and 
slipping  away.  In  later  years  a  selection  of  mountain  Pines  might 
possibly  be  planted.  Successfully  performed,  the  whole  scene  towards 
this,  the  east  side  of  the  oity,  would  be  entirely  and  agreeably  altered. 
Much  more  ought  to  be  done  to  enliven  and  brighten  the  road  between 
Duddingston  and  Holyrood,  round  by  St.  Leonards,  by  planting  suitable 
hardy  shrubs. — D. 
Died. —  Mr.  Edmund  Tonks,  lately  of  Packwood  Grange,  Knowle, 
Birmingham. 
Excerpta. — The  canning  of  Pears  and  Peaches  is  “  booming  ”  in 
San  Franoisco  at  the  present  time.  “  There  is  more  danger  to  the 
oanneries  from  a  supply  of  cans  than  anything  else,”  says  the 
“  Fruit  World.” 
Prolific  Cucumber  Plant.— Mr.  Greenfield  of  West  Grinstead 
has,  this  season,  grown  a  Cucumber  plant  from  whioh  he  has  out  114 
well-developed  Cucumbers.  There  are  still  twenty  more  Cucumbers 
waiting  to  be  cut.  This  is  stated  to  be  a  record  for  one  plant. 
A  Present  of  Peaches. — The  following  kind  letter  came  with  a 
delightful  boxful  of  Peaches  from  Mr.  G.  Carpenter,  The  Gardens 
West  Hall,  Byfleet,  Surrey  “  The  sender  wishes  the  Editor  to  enjoy 
the  enclosed  Peaohes,  gathered  from  the  open  wall.”  The  fruits  were  a 
credit  to  the  sender,  and  proved  that  the  trees  must  receive  unwonted 
good  culture. 
Sussex  Weather. — The  total  rainfall  for  August  at  Abbots  Leigh 
Haywards  Heath,  was  1*81  inch,  being  060  inch  below  the  average’. 
The  heaviest  fall  was  071  inch  on  the  27th.  Rain  fell  on  ten  days" 
The  maximum  temperature  was  81°  on  the  19oh  ;  the  minimum  45°  on  the' 
17th,  27th,  and  28th.  Mean  maximum,  73T7°;  mean  minimum,  51-03° 
mean  temperature,  62-10°,  whioh  is  0  58°  above  the  average  of  thirteen 
years.  Another  dry  month.  There  was  a  sadden  fall  in  the 
temperature  on  the  26th,  and  we  had  a  good  rain  on  the  night  of  the 
27th,  whioh  has  helped  green  crops  a  little. — R.  I. 
Tfie  Mission  of  Flowers. — “  I  adore  flowers,”  says  some  lady 
contemplating  a  bouquet  of  Orchids  or  prize  Carysauthemums  that 
others  have  raised  at  her  expense.  But  she  never  watohed  the  wonder 
of  their  growth  ;  she  never  saw  the  shoot  start  to  life  ;  or  the  pseudo- 
bulb  form;  or  day  by  day  the  flower  spike  mature.  All  that  such  a  one 
cares  for  is  the  blaze  of  colour  when  it  oomes,  if  even  she  really  cares 
for  this.  With  those  who  love  the  flowers,  who,  whatever  their  oppor. 
tunities,  are  gardeners  born,  it  is  otherwise.  The  poor  woman,  for 
example,  worn  out  with  want  and  childbearing,  a  dweller,  perhaps,  in 
the  grimy  slum  of  some  vast  oity,  who  nurtures  on  the  window  sill  of 
her  one  room  a  Caotus  or  a  Rise  cutting.  Wnen  the  Cactus  opens  its 
gorgeous  dazzling  cup,  white  as  the  robes  of  saints  or  red  as  the  sunset 
what  does  she  not  see  in  it  ?  A  flower— yes,  and  more  than  a  flower’. 
Or  when  at  length  the  Rose  sheds  its  fragranoe  on  the  squalid  chamb  r 
what  memories  may  not  its  sweetness  reoall  of  childhood,  of  purir.y’ 
of  hopes  buried  in  the  midden  heap  of  life,  as  life  has  been  for  her 
poor  soul  ?  And  what  visions  of  another  life  as  it  may  be,  even  for 
her?  We  wreathe  our  dead  with  flowers;  they  are  the  best  we  have 
to  offer  them.  To  our  imagining,  the  heavea  we  hope  for  is  a  land  of 
flowers.  Gethsemane  was  a  garden,  and  to  each  human  item  as  he 
wanders  through  his  own  Gethsemane  suoh  flowers  as  blow  in  it  have  a 
message.  If  any  doubt  it,  let  them  visit  a  children’s  hospital,  and  see 
how  the  sufferers  there  turn  their  pale  faces  to  the  flowers  as  the  flowers 
turn  their  faoes  to  the  sun.  I  remember  writing,  I  know  not  where, 
that  even  in  a  flower  there  dwells  a  shadow  of  the  glory  of  its  Maker’ 
This  I  believe,  and  so  I  say,  “  Good  luok  to  those  who  oall  suoh  shadows 
to  the  earth;  good  luok  to  the  gardener;  and  good  luok  to  his 
gardening.” — Rider  Haggard. 
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. 
© 
u 
1901. 
43  .« 
o 
2* 
At  9  A.M. 
Day. 
Night 
.s 
*s 
At 
1-ft. 
deep. 
At 
2-ft. 
deep. 
At 
4-ft. 
deep. 
l&o 
j  a  o 
v  o 
H 
August. 
5 
Dry 
Bulb. 
Wet 
Bulb. 
CD 
® 
A 
a 
43 
m 
© 
k 
o 
3 
Sunday  ..25 
E.S.E. 
deg. 
68-6 
deg. 
61-2 
deg. 
82-5 
deg. 
49-9 
Ins. 
0-31 
deg. 
63-0 
deg. 
62-3 
deg. 
60-2 
deg. 
420 
Monday.  .26 
W.S.W. 
68  T 
61  9 
60  9 
66-0 
0-14 
64-6 
62-5 
60-2 
52*5 
Tuesday  27 
YV.S.W. 
65-9 
60-1 
63-6 
47-6 
0-42 
60-3 
62-2 
60  *1 
41*0 
Wed’sday  28 
W.N.W. 
60-4 
49-6 
64-9 
45-8 
69*6 
61-4 
60'1 
40*5 
Thursday  29 
YV.N.W. 
66-9 
60-3 
66-1 
49  2 
_ 
68-9 
60-8 
69-9 
41  0 
Friday  ..  30 
W.  S.  YV. 
61-1 
61-8 
67  9 
66-8 
_ 
61-0 
60-8 
69-9 
49*6 
Saturday  31 
YV.S.YV. 
63-1 
69-0 
66-7 
66-2 
0-36 
61-7 
60-9 
69-7 
496 
Means  .. 
69*2 
63-4 
67-5 
613 
Total 
1-22 
61-3 
61-6 
60  0 
45-1 
The  first  part  of  the  week  was  wet  and  stormy,  the  latter  part  fine 
but  dull,  with  cool  wind,  and  a  heavy  rain  on  the  31st. 
