310 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
October  3,  1901. 
Weather  In  Xondon. —  The  winter  fogs  have  already  been 
experienced ;  both  on  Sunday  morning  and  Monday  morning  the 
atmosphere,  more  especially  in  certain  districts,  was  thick  and  damp 
from  fog.  Saturday  was  a  delightful  day,  and,  while  most  of  the  days 
have  been  very  mild  in  the  afternoon,  the  evenings  have  been  clear  and 
chill.  Frost  might  be  recorded  on  any  evening  in  such  weather. 
Unexpectedly,  rain  fell  heavily  on  Tuesday  and  Wednesday. 
Curator  of  Washington  Botanic  Carden  In  Scotland. — Mr. 
W.  R.  Smith  of  the  Botanic  Gardens,  Washington,  is  visiting  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Carnegie  at  Skibo  Castle,  N.B.  Mr.  Smith  will  greatly  enjoy  Skibo, 
where  many  of  the  rarest  specimens  of  trees  in  and  about  the  park  are 
the  gift  of  Mr.  Smith  to  Mr.  Carnegie.  The  Robert  Burns  library, 
now  offered  for  sale  by  the  heirs  of  Mr.  Craibe-Angus  of  Glasgow,  at 
the  price  of  15,000  dols.,  is  to  be  purchased  by  Mr.  Smith  by  direction 
of  Mr.  Carnegie.  The  library  will  become  the  personal  property  of 
Mr.  Smith  during  his  lifetime,  and  will  afterward  go  to  the  Carnegie 
Library  in  Pittsburg. 
Fellows  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society.  —  Seven 
hundred  and  sixty  new  Fellows  have  been  elected  to  the  Royal 
Horticultural  Society  since  the  beginning  of  this  year.  As  each,  at 
the  least,  pay  1  guinea,  the  total  must  swell  the  general  revenue  of  the 
society’s  exchequer  to  a  degree  that  must  especially  please  the  Council 
the  secretary,  and  the  other  officials,  and  last,  but  not  least,  the  Fellows 
themselves.  Gardeners  would  do  well  to  subscribe  their  guinea,  if 
only  for  the  benefit  they  would  receive  by  obtaining  a  free  copy  of  each 
of  the  society’s  journals.  We  can  hand  the  names  and  addresses  of 
any  reader  of  our  paper  who  would  care  to  become  a  Fellow  to  Mr. 
Wilks,  the  secretary  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society. 
Is  it  True  ?— We  can  scarcely  believe  that  Mr.  Peter  Barr,  Y.M.H., 
the  specialist  in  Daffodils,  and  able  judge  of  Irises,  should  have  been 
hoaxed,  as  it  would  seem  he  has.  Last  year  the  American  and  the 
British  horticultural  journals  quoted  a  letter  written  by  Mr.  Barr  in 
respect  of  a  new  German  Iris  named  “  Painted  Lady.”  It  was  described 
as  possessing  colours  so  wonderful  that  everyone  stood  impatient  to 
hear  more  of  this  anomaly,  or  see  it.  A  great  number  of  growers 
have,  indeed,  written  to  Australia  for  further  facts,  and  here  is  the 
sequel,  as  proved  by  an  Australian  letter  to  an  American  : — “It’s  very 
laughable  about  the  scarlet  Iris,  as  from  inquiries  made  I  find  this  fine 
specimen  written  about  was  doctored  by  dipping  a  white  Iris  in  red 
ink.  Yon  are  not  the  only  one  in  the  U.S.  who  has  written  for  the 
plant.  I  am  sorry  I  cannot  give  you  more  satisfaction.” 
Sweet  Peas  in  America.— Rev.  W.  T.  Hutchins,  the  special 
authority  on  Sweet  Peas  in  America,  and  who  represented  that 
continent  at  our  Bicentenary  Celebration  last  year,  writes  despairingly 
of  the  failing  interest  in  Sweet  Peas  in  his  land.  Quite  extraneous 
to  this  part  of  the  subjeot,  however,  Mr.  S.  B.  Dicks,  an  English 
enthusiast,  instances  a  case  of  duplicity  among  certain  varieties.  He 
wrote  the  following  to  “  The  Florists’  Exchange”:— “  About  1896  Cooper, 
Taber  &  Co.  imported  from  a  thoroughly  reliable  grower  in  California 
some  Emily  Henderson  Sweet  Peas.  A  market  grower  having  proved 
these  to  be  pure  stock,  they  were  sent  to  growers  in  two  different 
parts  of  Europe,  many  miles  distant  from  each  other,  to  be  used  as 
stock  seed,  an  early  crop  being  required.  I  personally  inspected  both 
fields,  and  found  them  so  perfectly  pure  and  true  that  I  requested 
each  grower  to  reserve  a  portion  of  the  crop  to  be  used  for  stock  seed 
for  the  following  year.  There  was  no  other  variety  growing  within 
miles  of  these  two  fields,  but  to  my  great  surprise,  when  paying  my 
annual  visit  of  inspection  the  next  year  I  found  in  one  case  from  40 
to  50  per  cent,  of  Blanche  Ferry  and  the  old  purple,  and  in  the  other 
case  from  20  to  25  per  oent.  of  the  same  varieties.  4  A  careful 
examination  of  the  stock  seed  which  had  been  used  revealed  the  faot 
that  many  of  the  peas  were  almost  black  in  colour,  although  the  seed 
originally  received  from  California  was  of  the  true  dull  brown  tint. 
In  regard  to  the  soil  in  which  they  were  grown,  one  field  was  a 
marshy  limestone,  and  the  other  a  strong,  heavy  loam  ;  the  latter 
produced  the  fewest  rogues. — S.  B.  Dicks.” 
Coming:  Chrysanthemum  Shows. — A  long  list  of  fixtures  is 
published  in  our  advertisement  pages. 
Fungus  Foray. — On  Saturday  next,  October  5tb,  the  South 
London  Entomological  Society  has  arranged  for  a  “  foray  ”  to 
Oxshott,  led  by  Mr.  W.  Step  and  Mr.  W.  J.  Lucas. 
Crystal  Palace  Fruit  Show. — The  entries  for  this  show  close 
to-day,  Thursday,  October  3rd.  We  did  not  receive  the  official  notice 
of  this  until  we  had  published  last  week.  On  each  day  of  the  show, 
Fellows,  on  showing  their  tiokets  at  the  turnstile,  will  be  admitted  to 
the  Palace  free. 
The  Potato  Crop. — On  Monday  the  work  of  getting  in  the  Potato 
crop  commenced  in  earnest  in  the  Fen  districts.  Labour  is  scarce 
and  women  are  receiving  2s.  6d.  a  day.  Many  children  are  employed, 
and  throughout  the  Fens  the  sohools  are  closed  for  two  or  three  weeks 
at  this  season  of  the  year  in  order  that  the  children  may  help  in  the 
fields.  Owing  to  cold  nights  and  fogs  there  is  a  good  deal  of  blight,  and 
the  price  of  Potatoes  is  likely  to  rise  10s.  a  ton. 
IWtr.  G.  Fennell. — Many  friends  of  Mr.  George  Fennell,  who  for 
the  past  thirty  years  has  had  charge  of  the  gardens  and  grounds  of 
Fairlawn,  Tonbridge,  the  residence  of  W.  M.  Cazalet,  Esq.,  will  learn 
with  regret  that  he  has  just  retired  from  that  important  post.  Those 
who  have  had  the  pleasure  of  visiting  Fairlawn  during  the  last  quarter 
of  a  century  have  been  made  aware  of  the  many  extensive  additions  and 
considerable  alterations  and  improvements  he  initiated  and  carried 
through  in  the  most  successful  manner.  Fairlawn  is  a  place  of  great 
horticultural  and  historical  interest,  and  well  repays  a  visit.  The 
good  wishes  of  hundreds  of  friends  will  follow  Mr.  Fennell  into  his 
retirement. 
Our  Fruit  Humber. — Our  next  issue  will  be  specially  devoted  to 
articles  on  fruit  and  fruit  culture,  with  an  increased  number  of  illus¬ 
trations.  Besides  a  selection  of  Apple  and  other  figures,  there  will  be  a 
central  illustration  of  the  illustrious  Sir  Joseph  Paxton,  together  with  a 
short  sketch  of  bis  career,  which  it  is  hoped  will  be  weloomely  aocepted, 
the  more  so  in  view  of  the  great  exhibition  of  British  grown  fruit 
within  the  Crystal  Palace,  which  building  owes  its  presence  and  design 
to  the  remarkable  Paxton,  whose  first  Crystal  Palace  was  erected  just 
fifty  years  ago.  Illustrations  of  a  useful  and  thoroughly  practical 
nature  will  not  be  wanting,  so  far  as  space  allows,  and  we  trust  our  efforts 
may  meet  with  amicable  recognition. 
Secretaries  of  all  Gardening:  Mutual  Improvement 
Associations  and  Societies  are  kindly  requested  to  send  address 
and  title  of  their  organisations  to  the  Editor  of  the  Journal  of 
Horticulture,  at  12,  Mitre  Court  Chambers,  Fleet  Street,  London,  E.C., 
for  insertion  in  the  coming  edition  of  the  “  Horticultural  Directory,” 
which  is  published  at  the  beginning  of  December.  We  would  also  feel 
obliged  to  those  gardeners  who  have  changed  their  addresses  since  the 
last  publication  by  their  sending  us  notice  of  the  change.  Gardeners  or 
friends  who  know  of  changes  in  their  neighbourhood  might  likewise 
assist.  “  The  Horticultural  Directory  ”  has  beoome  the  recognised 
reliable  publication  for  the  names  and  addresses  of  gardeners,  nursery, 
men,  seedsmen,  curators,  &c.,  in  the  United  Kingdom,  and  we  endeavour 
yearly  to  make  this  directory  as  correct  and  complete  as  possible. 
Variorum.  —  Supporters  of  the  “  Garden  City  ”  scheme  and 
members  of  the  Garden  City  Association  opened  their  conference  in 
Birmingham  last  week  under  the  presidency  of  Mr.  Ralph  Neville,  K.C. 
The  chairman  deolared  that  the  conditions  of  life  in  our  large  towns 
were  incompatible  with  a  healthy  life,  and  with  physioal  degradation 
proceeding  apace  nothing  could  under  existing  circumstances  prevent 
the  ultimate  decadence  and  destruction  of  the  race.  “  More  air  and 
less  alcohol,”  he  suggested,  should  be  the  motto  of  the  association.  *  * 
A  three  days’  sale  of  forest  trees  was  held  last  week  at  Milton,  Stoke- 
on-Trent,  the  name  of  the  gentleman  who  “  knocked  down  ”  the  lots 
being  Mr.  John  Oaks  Asb,  a  well  known  local  auctioneer.  *  *  The 
Agricultural  Society  of  the  Medoc  has  awarded  the  gold  medal  for 
the  best  cultivated  vineyards  in  the  claret  districts  to  W.  &  A.  Gilbey 
for  their  estate  of  Chateau  Loudenne.  *  *  This  year’s  Potato  crop  in 
Ireland  is  said  to  be  the  best  in  that  country  for  a  quarter  of  a 
century.  *  *  The  distinction  of  being  the  smallest  tree  belongs  to 
the  Greenland  Birch.  Its  height  is  less  than  3  inches,  yet  it  covers  a 
radius  of  2  or  3  feet.  ®  *  Mr.  Bromley,  of  Botnsfleming,  has  in  his 
garden  two  Apple  trees  in  full  blossom — aRibston  Pippin  and  Blenheim 
Orange. 
