362 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
May  4,  1899. 
Recekt  Weather  in  London.— Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  a 
considerable  amount  of  rain  has  fallen  of  late  the  wind  still  continues 
cold.  When  the  sun  is  shining  brightly  it  is  not  so  noticeable,  but  in  the 
evening  it  is  keenly  felt.  There  were  one  or  two  heavy  showers  on 
Saturday.  Sunday  and  Monday,  however,  were  fine,  as  was  Tuesday. 
Wednesday  opened  dull  and  cold. 
-  Weather  in  the  North.— The  close  of  April  brought  no 
more  genial  weather.  Saturday  was  one  of  the  most  bitterly  cold  days  of 
the  season,  and  rained  throughout.  Frost  succeeded,  and  4°  were  regis¬ 
tered  on  Sunday  morning  ;  the  day  was  bright,  but  cold.  On  Monday  it 
snowed  heavily  for  hours  in  the  morning,  and  the  day,  till  late  in  the 
afternoon,  was  one  of  November  chill  and  gloom.  May  certainly  brought 
no  promise  of  milder  weather  in  its  opening.— B.  D.,  S.  Perthshire. 
- The  Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan  Fund. — At  a  meeting  of 
the  Committee,  held  on  the  29th  ult.,  the  sum  of  £32  23.,  inclusive  of 
two  annual  subscriptions  for  1  guinea  each,  was  received  from  the 
Gardeners’  Charity  Guild,  per  Mr.  Gerald  Dean,  Secretary,  as  the  result 
of  the  smoking  concert  held  at  the  Cannon  Street  Hotel  on  March  15th. 
A  special  vote  of  thanks  was  accorded  to  the  Committee  of  the  Guild, 
and  SIX  of  its  members  were  placed  on  the  list  of  life  voters. 
-  Antirrhinums  in  Pots. — Those  who  may  not  have  grown 
these  summer  flowers  in  pots,  or  seen  them  thus  treated,  have  no  con¬ 
ception  of  the  striking  and  really  effective  plants  they  make  for 
conservatory  embellishment  in  the  spring.  At  the  present  time  I 
have  a  number  of  plants  in  full  bloom,  in  various  shades,  that  are  rot 
only  much  admired,  but  are  really  useful,  because  they  take  the  place 
of  Cinerarias  and  Primulas,  which  have  run  their  course.  My  plants 
were  obtained  from  seeds  sown  in  August  and  wintered  in  a  cold  pit, 
which  was  well  ventilated,  so  as  to  keep  them  sturdy.  From  here  they 
were  shifted  into  a  cool  house  towards  the  end  of  January,  and  during 
April  they  have  made  a  gay  and  useful  floral  display.  They  are  not  by 
any  means  so  fleeting  as  some  spiing  flowers,  and  they  have  the  advantage 
of  being  useful  both  in  the  conservatory  and  the  house  or  as  cut  flowers  for 
vases.  Only  the  dwarf  sorts  should  be  chosen  for  pot  work,  as  there  is 
a  tendency  in  them  to  grow  tall.  The  seeds  should  be  sown  thinly  in  boxes, 
and  every  encouragement  given  the  plants  for  sturdy  advancement 
throughout  their  career.  An  earlier  cr  later  supply,  of  course,  could  be 
obtained  by  sowing  in  accordance  with  the  need  and  time  of  flowering.  I 
feel  sure  that  those  of  your  readers  who  have  not  seen  the  Snapdragon  thus 
treated  would  be  surprised  at  the  bright  show  they  make  in  pots. — R.  A. 
-  April  Rains. — What  a  vast  amount  of  good  has  been  done  to 
the  country  by  the  abundant  rains  of  the  past  month.  Certainly  we  have 
had  some  cold  weather,  and  especially  at  nights^  but  on  the  whole 
the  month  has  been  more  typical  of  the  Aprils  of  tradition  than 
has  been  found  for  several  years  past.  If  the  trees  under  the  com¬ 
paratively  low  temperature  open  slowly,  at  least  the  rains  are  helping 
the  roots  to  produce  leafage  that  is  intensely  green  and  luxuriant. 
What  do  we  owe  to  the  early  leafing  Larch  for  presenting  to  us  in 
trees  the  most  precocious  of  rich  colouration  amongst  deciduous  kinds. 
How  the  rains  have  helped  to  produce  that,  and  also  the  fine  leafage 
now  seen  on  the  earlier  Horse  Chestnuts.  But  within  a  few'  day's  and 
under  the  influence  of  warmer  weather,  all  deciduous  trees  will  have  put 
on  their  spring  clothing,  fresh  and  green  from  Nature’s  factories,  and 
the  country  will  be  indeed  lovely  to  look  upon.  No  trees  just  now  can 
rival  the  Pear  in  beauty.  The  Plum  trees  have  been  very  full  of  bloom, 
but  they  arc  pretty  well  over,  whilst  the  Pear  bloom  has  but  just  come 
in.  Nowhere  is  this  more  dense  than  in  ^Ir.  R.  D.  Bhekmore’s  extensive 
Pear  orchards  at  Teddington,  where  the  free  grown  trees  towering  up 
spirally  to  considerable  heights  are  masses  of  snowy  whiteness.  It  may 
be  well  with  such  wealth  of  bloom  everywhere,  for  thinning,  as  a  means 
of  saving  a  moderate  crop  of  fine  fruits,  to  be  practised.  Apple  trees  are 
just  bursting  into  bloom,  and  they  will  show  us  a  grand  body  of  colour. 
How  richly  green  and  luxuriant  is  the  grass  everywhere  ;  a  heavy  swathe 
for  the  mowers  now  seems  inevitable.  Gardens  look  rather  bare  at 
present,  but  crops  are  coming  on  rapidly,  and  in  a  week  or  two  bareness 
will  have  changed  to  abundant  leafage. — A.  D. 
- Pelargonium  Dorothy. — The  flowers  of  this  fine  variety 
are  among  the  best  of  those  of  the  regal  section,  and  is  not  only  showy',, 
but  a  plant  of  splendid  habit,  dwarf  and  vigorous.  The  trusses  are 
very  large,  as  are  the  flowers,  the  colour  being  a  soft  satiny  rose  with 
feathered  blotches  of  amaranth  in  the  sepals.  It  is  very  useful,  for  it 
requires  no  tying,  the  stems  being  stout  and  self-supporting,  and  this 
is  a  consideration  where  a  number  of  plants  is  grown.  Being  so  easy 
to  grow  it  is  one  of  the  best  for  amateur  cultivators,  who  will  find  no 
difficulty  in  growing  fine  specimens.—  R.  S.  E. 
-  Richardia  (Calla)  maculata.— Though  old  and  to  some- 
extent  neglected,  this  is  well  worthy  of  mention  as  a  useful  sprirg- 
flowering  plant,  with  very  handsome  leaves.  These  are  halbert 
shaped,  deep  glossy  green,  with  transparent  white  spots,  and  the  spathes 
are  white,  with  a  deep  purple  centre.  It  is  more  strictly  herbaccous- 
than  the  ordinary  Arum  Lily,  and  after  flewering  must  be  gradually 
dried  off  and  wintered  quite  cool,  with  very  little  moisture.  Repot  at  tho 
new  year,  just  as  the  points  of  growth  appear,  in  a  sound  rich  compost, 
and  water  freely  when  established.  It  is  capital  for  grouping  in  tho 
conservatory.— C.  W. 
-  Old  and  New  Melons. — As  the  Melon  season  is  coming 
along  the  tasting  faculties  of  the  R.H.S.  Fruit  Committee  will  again  be 
brought  into  action,  that  is  if  the  forthcoming  season  brings_,so  many  so- 
called  new  varieties  to  be  put  on  the  table  as  has  been  the  case  hitherto,. 
In  many  establishments  we  see  a  few  standard  sorts,  of  which  Hero 
of  Lcckinge  is  an  illustration,  still  relied  on.  There  are  a  few  old 
varieties  of  admitted  merit  which  seem  to  lose  little  of  their  true 
character  in  spite  of  the  years  they  have  been  grown,  and  yet  in  the 
meantime  there  have  been  many  new  sorts,  which  have  come  like  a  flasb 
in  the  pan,  and  gone  back  into  obscurity. — V.  T. 
-  Tulips  at  Long  Ditton. — I  observe  a  contributor  to  » 
daily  paper  whose  pen  seems  to  have  run  away  with  him  in  floriferoua 
description  of  the  beautiful  flowers  at  Long  Ditton.  Perhaps  becarse  not 
so  enraptured  wdth  the  Daffodil,  I  prefer  to  admire  the  glorious  masses  of 
colours  found  in  the  early  Tulips  at  the  same  place,  and  I  can  imagine- 
that  any  Daffodil  enthusiast  who  has  seen  the  hundreds  of  thcusnnds- 
of  Emperors,  Ilorsetieldi.^,  Barris,  ornatus,  and  others,  must  hail  gladly 
the  diverse  and  glorious  hues  of  the  Proserpines,  Globe  d’Ors,  yellow  and 
white  Pottebakkers,  De Parmas,  and  numbers  of  other  early  Tulips.  How- 
fine  are  Tulips  this  year,  and  what  grand  blocks  of  colour  they  give.— D., 
-  Late  Broccoli.— Although  while  Broccolis  are,  or  have  been; 
turning  in  this  spring  rather  later  than  usual,  yet  because  of  the  compara¬ 
tive  scarcity  of  spring  Cabbage.s,  so  far  seldom  have  they  been  more- 
welcome.  But  very  late  varieties  have  great  value,  as  I  could  butrecognise^ 
when  the  other  day,  looking  over  a  large  breadth  of  Sutton’s  Late  Queen, 
I  saw  the  weaker  plants  just  turning  in,  whilst  the  stronger  ones  bid  fair 
to  furnish  larger  and  very  firm  white  heads  all  through  May.  As  a  rule 
the  variety  turns  in  during  the  latter  portion  of  May  ;  but  in  this  case,, 
owing  to  the  previous  season’s  drought,  the  plants  started  late,  and  con¬ 
sequently  many  had  not  made  more  than  half  growth.  The  strongest 
ones  would  be  the  latest.  Some  beautiful  heads  of  Model,  misnamed 
something  else,  were  staged  by  Mr.  Wythes  at  the  Westminster  Drill 
Hall  on  Tuesday.  Prices  for  white  Broccolis  in  shops  range  from 
3d.  to  4d.  each,  and  for  tiny  Cabbages  1  Jd.  There  ought  to  be  money  ia 
market  gardening. — Wanderer. 
-  Spinach  Beet. — An  all-the-year  round  supply  of  the  ordinary: 
or  common  Spinach  is  not  always  a  certainty,  the  weather,  both  of 
summer  and  winter,  having  a  favourable  or  untoward  influence,  more  or 
less,  on  its  welfare.  Extreme  heat  in  summer  causes  bolting  or  premature 
seeding ;  excessive  rain,  such  as  that  which  occurred  last  autumn,  sets 
up  a  wholesale  decay  of  the  root  stem,  and  severe  frost  destroys  the 
plant.  A  sowing  of  Spinach  Beet  should  only  be  treated  as  a  substitute 
for  the  more  succulent  summer  and  winter  Spinach,  and  kept  as  a  reserve- 
for  times  of  emergency.  The  present  is  a  very  good  time  for  sowing  for 
affording  a  supply  extending  well  into  the  spring  of  next  year,  allowing 
plenty  of  space  between  the  rows,  and  when  sufiBciently  advanced  for 
thinning  between  the  plants  in  the  rows  too.  Freshly  manured  ground 
is  not  desirable  ;  it  is  belter  to  employ  a  site  that  was  manured  for  some 
previous  crop,  and  this  made  firm.  A  vigorous  and  succulent  leaf  growth 
is  not  that  which  can  best  stand  the  frost,  so  it  is  safer  to  err  on  the  tide 
of  poorness,  rather  than  over-richness  in  the  soil.  An  ounce  of  teed 
would  be  sufficient  for  a  small  sized  garden,  and  twice  that  amount  would 
probably  supply  the  needs  of  a  large  one.  Any  position,  except  on  a 
sunnv  south  or  a  tool  north  border,  would  meet  all  requirements  in  the- 
matter  of  site. — S. 
