490 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
June  15,  1899, 
IVIE:TZ:oROI.OGXCAT:.  OBSSRVilTXON'S  i\T  chiswxck. 
— Taken  in  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  Gardens— height  above 
«en  level  24  feet. 
Date. 
«4-l 
O 
Temperature  of  the 
Air. 
Temperature  of 
the  Soil. 
At  9  A.M. 
0 
1899. 
.1  line. 
ection 
0  iiul. 
At  9  A.M. 
Day. 
Night 
2 
■  M 
At 
!  I-ft. 
deep. 
At 
2-ft. 
deep. 
At 
4-ft. 
deep. 
0  g  § 
b  a|5 
1  .b 
3 
Drv 
Bulb. 
Wet 
Bulb. 
Highest 
Lowest. 
qy  O 
.Sunday  . .  4 
E.S.K. 
'  deg. 
71-4 
deg. 
60-9  1 
deg. 
80 -.5 
deg. 
.50-0 
1  ins. 
deg. 
62-5 
deg. 
58-2 
deg. 
.53-1 
deg. 
41-1 
Monday.,  a 
w.s.w. 
71-8 
.59 -8  : 
49-9 
_ 
63-6 
58-9 
.  .53-5 
41-9 
Tuesday  0 
W'.S.W. 
69 -.9  1 
(i3-.5  ! 
79-3 
.51-2 
_ 
64 -9  ' 
59-7 
.53-9 
,  43-0 
\\-ed’.sday  7 
S.  E. 
,  70  0  , 
60-8 
75-9 
50-0 
_ 
63-4 
59-.9 
.54-3 
41-6 
Thursday  8 
E.S.E.  1 
'  .06-2  1 
49 -8  : 
62-8 
49 -.5 
62-5 
59-9 
.54-6 
47-0 
1-  riday  . .  9  ' 
E.N.  K. 
55-1  ' 
48-6  ' 
.58-9 
48-5 
'  _ 
61-8 
59-7 
54-9 
47-1 
Saturday  10  j 
N.N.E. 
56-7  ' 
50 -.5  I 
1 
67-8  j 
50-9 
— 
[  62-1 
59-7 
;  55-2 
43-4 
Means  .. 
64-4  ; 
5G'3 
72-6 
50-0 
Total 
63-0 
i  59-4 
1 
54-2 
43-6 
The  weather  during  the  week  has  been  remarkable  for  cold  drying 
winds,  mostly  from  the  east.  No  rain  has  fallen  since  May  2Jth, 
-  Tjie  Weather. — Another  very  sudden  fall  of  temperature 
occurred  on  Tuesday.  In  London  the  morning  reading  of  55°  was  only 
3°  lower  than  on  Monday.  Later  in  the  day,  however,  very  little  rise 
took  place,  the  maximum  reading,  62°,  being  7°  below  the  average,  and 
as  many  as  14°  lower  than  the  highest  point  reached  on  Monday. 
Tuesday  was  the  nineteenth  day  with  an  almost  entire  absence  of  rain 
in  all  but  the  extreme  northern  and  north-western  districts.  In  London 
it  was  the  twentieth,  the  drought  in  the  metropolis  being  naw  as  severe 
as  any  recorded  since  the  sptieg  of  1893.— (“  Daily  News.”) 
-  ]\fAy  Weather  at  Dowlais. — Rainfall  4-30  inches,  which 
fell  on  fifteen  days.  We  had  rain  each  day  from  the  loth  to  the  25th 
inclusive,  when  3'75  inches  fell.  Greatest  fall  1*49  inch  on  the  19th. 
Mean  maximum  temperature,  6 DOSS”  ;  highest  reading,  78°  on  the  29thj 
Mean  minimum,  38-161°  ;  lowest  reading,  26°  on  the  4th.  The  readings’ 
from  the  3rd  to  the  6th  inclusive  were  28°,  26°,  27°,  and  30°  on 
the  26th  and  27th.  The  wind  was  in  the  S.W.  on  ten  days,  and  in  the 
N.  and  N.E,  on  eleven  days.  There  were  ten  sunless  days.  Very  cold 
wind  throughout  the  month  ;  everything  very  late. — Wm.  Mahbott. 
-  May  Weather  at  Belvoir  Castle,  Grantham.— The 
wind  was  in  a  northerly  direction  twenty  days.  The  total  rainfall  was 
3-50  inches,  which  fell  on  fourteen  days,  and  is  1T4  inch  above  the 
average  for  the  month.  The  greatest  fall  was  0  69  inch  on  the  23rd. 
Barometer  :  highest  reading,  30-478  inches  at  9  P.M.  on  the  6th  and  28th  ; 
low  est  reading,  29’ 144  inches  at  9  A.M.  on  the  15th.  Thermometers  : 
highest  in  the  shade,  71°  on  the  31st,  lowest  27°  on  the  4th  and 
5th.  Mean  of  daily  maxima,  56-38°,  mean  of  daily  minima  39-54'°.  Mean 
temperature  ot  the  month,  47-96°  ;  lowest  on  the  grass,  22°  on  the  4th  and 
5th,  highest  in  the  sun  124°  on  the  ISth.  Mean  temperature  of  the  earth 
at  3  feet,  48-96°.  Total  sunshine,  187  hours  55  minutes.  There  were  four 
sunless  days. — W.  H.  Divers. 
Cytishs  scoPARius  Andreanus. — Now  that  nurserymen  are 
supplying  us  with  plants  ot  this  fine  Broom  on  its  own  roots  instead  of  grafted 
ones  on  the  common  variety,  we  can  see  more  what  the  plant  is  really 
capable  ot,  and  that  is  making  a  grand  show  now.  Grafted  plants 
stood  still  tor  nearly  two  years,  but  those  on  their  own  roots  planted 
twelve  months  later  have  caught  them  up  and  will  soon  leave  them  far  in 
the  rear.  W  hen  established  it  is  even  more  free-flowering  than  the 
common  Broom,  if  this  is  possible,  and  it  makes  a  reallv  grand  display. 
Although  not  particular  as  to  soil,  there  is  no  doubt  all  these  Brooms 
like  a  mixed  tilth  much  better  than  a  very  heavy  or  a  very  light  one. 
c. 
An  Addition  to  Epping  Forest. — Just  a  fortnight  ago 
the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Connaught  dedicated,  for  public  use,  an 
additional  28  acres  of  woodland  to  Epping  Forest,  at  the  part  over¬ 
looking  Enfield  and  the  valley  of  the  Lea.  Mr.  E.  N.  Buxton  is  the 
donor  of  the  land,  a  gentleman  who,  with  his  brother,  recently  presented 
the  Corporation  of  London  with  the  forest  land  known  as  Highams  Park. 
^  ardley  Hill  is  the  name  of  the  newly  added  gift.  In  the  presentation 
address  to  their  Royal  Highnesses  it  was  brought  out  that  £330,0  )0  had 
been  spent  by  the  Corporation  already  in  connection  with  the  forest, 
and  an  annual  outlay  ot  £-i0()0  was  required  for  its  maintenance.  The 
opening  ceremony  was  witnessed  by  many  people. 
-  Death  of  Mr.  Thos.  J.  Saltmarsh. — We  learn  with  deip 
regret  of  the  death  of  Mr.  T.  J.  Saltmarsh  of  Chelmsford,  which  occurred 
on  the  2nd  inat.  The  deceased  was  well  known  and  highly  respected 
for  his  upright  dealing  in  all  matters  of  bus’ness,  and  his  loss  will  be 
severely  felt  by  his  personal  friends. 
-  English  versus  Foreign  Apples.  —  Although  a  staunch 
supporter  of  English  fruit,  I  must  acknowledge  that  there  is  something 
about  the  quality  of  such  Apples  as  Tasmanian  Newtown  Pippins  which 
so  pleases  the  British  public  that  they  will  buy  them  freely  in  March,  and 
will  not  even  look  at  the  examples  of  English  growth  at  that  time.  It  is 
all  very  well  for  some  persons  to  toll  us  how  to  supplant  the  foreigner  in 
Apple  culture,  but  I  fancy  if  they  had  to  practise  the  sale  of  home-grown 
Apples  they  would  relate  a  different  tale.  I  know  from  experience  that 
even  Co.x’s  Orange  Pippin  in  good  condition  is  difficult  to  sell  when 
“foreigners”  come  into  the  market,  especially  at  a  long  price.  For  this 
reason  I  do  not  advocate  the  planting  of  late  varieties.  Plant  early  and 
midseason  sorts,  and  sell  them  direct  from  the  trees  before  there  is 
time  fur  the  fruit  to  depreciate  by  storage. — E.  Molyneux. 
-  Clerodendron  fallax. — Although  among  the  brightest  and 
best  of  stove  plants,  this  Clerodendron  is  not  given  the  attention  it 
deserves.  There  are  many  places,  it  is  true,  where  its  culture  is  taken 
up  with  spirit,  and  a  speciality  made  of  good  stocks  of  plants  to  follow- 
each  other  nearly  the  whole  year  round.  But  thej'  are  in  the  minority 
unfortunately,  and  there  are  many  hundreds  of  large  gardens  where  the 
plant  is  absolutely  unknown.  To  grow  C.  fallax  well  a  strong  moist  heat 
is  necessary  from  the  time  th^  cuttings  or  seeds  are  inserted  until  the 
flower  racemes  begin  to  show  colour,  when  rather  less  moisture  is 
necessary  in  the  atmosphere,  and  the  plants  may  be  removed  to  a  cooler 
structure  to  conserve  the  flowers.  Many  plants  are  injured  by  being  kept 
too  cool  in  the  winter,  and  plants  in  flower  ought  not  to  be  taken  to  dry 
and  draughty  conservatories  or  rooms,  or  they  are  injured,  and  will  show 
it  by  the  young  shoots  drying  off  instead  of  extending.  Ver}'  loose 
potting  is  not  advisable,  but  the  leaves  are  larger  and  handsoim-r 
when  they  grow  rapidly,  so  no  great  amount  of  ramming  need  be  practised. 
Good  fibrous  loam  and  a  little  peat  or  leaf  mould,  with  a  sprinkling  ot 
coarse  sand  and  a  rather  liberal  addition  of  either  dried  cow  manure  or  a 
good  concentrated  fertiliser,  will  mak-e  a  suitable  compost  for  the  plants. 
Be  very  careful  to  keep  insects  in  check,  as  these  will  soon  ruin  the 
finest  plants. — C.  H. 
-  A  Simple  Way  to  Tell  ip  Soil  Needs  Lime,  —  The 
following  methods  have  been  taken  from  Bulletin  No.  59  of  the 
Now  Hamp»hire  College  Experiment  Station  by  our  transatlantic 
contemporary  ‘‘  Gardening,”  and  are  so  simple  and  inexpensive  that 
they  can  readily  bo  used  by  eyery  gardener  in  testing  his  compost  heap 
and  potting  soil  : — “A  tablespoonful  or  more  of  soil  is  placed  in  a 
tumbler  or  cup,  and  moistened  with  sufficient  water  to  make  the  mass  of 
about  the  consistency  of  a  thick  paste.  It  is  boat  to  allow  it  to  stand  for 
from  fifteen  to  twenty  minutes  before  making  the  test,  though  it  may  be 
made  at  once.  With  a  knife  blade  part  the  soil,  and  introduce  one  end  of 
a  slip  of  blue  litmus  paper  (a  few  pence  will  buy  enough  to  make  many 
tests),  which  may  conveniently  be  one-half  toj  three-quarters  of  an  inch 
wide  and  2  inches  long,  press  the  S'  il  about  the  paper,  and  after  from  tw  o 
to  five  minutes  remove  the  paper  without  tearing  it,  rinse  off  the  adhering 
soil  with  water,  and  note  whether  it  still  retains  a  blue  tint  or  has  become 
positivel}'  red.  If  the  paper  has  been  strongly  reddened,  it  may  be 
concluded  that  lime  will  probably  ben-  fit  many  crops  which  may  be  grown 
upon  the  soil.  If  the  soil  has  a  n  arked  reddish  tint,  as  is  sometimes  the 
case,  it  may  be  better  to  bring  but  one  side  ol  the  paper  in  contact  with 
it ;  and  if  a  red  colour  comes  through  to  the  other  side  it  may  bo 
concluded  that  the  soil  is  acid.  In  all  cases  care  must  be  taken  not  to 
handle  the  end  of  the  paper  which  is  used  for  making  the  tost,  since  the 
touch  of  the  fingers  may  redden  it,  and  thus  one  might  be  deceived.  By 
another  method  a  teaspoontul  of  soil  is  stirred  into  a  glass  of  water  to 
which  a  few  drops  of  ammonia  have  been  added,  and  the  whole  set  aside 
for  some  hours  ;  the  liquid  which  remains  at  the  top  will  be  nearly- 
colourless,  but  where  lime  and  magnesia  are  lacking  in  a  soil  the  liquid 
has  usually  a  dark  brown  or  black  appearance,  the  intensity  of  colour 
depending  upon  the  amount  of  soil  taken,  and  of  course  upon  its  need  of 
lime.”  Wood  ashes  contain  a  large  amount  of  lime  in  a  very  available 
shape,  as  well  an  other  valuable  fertiliser  ingredients.  When  they  are 
not  at  hand  air-slaked  lime  can  be  used.  It  must  be  remembered  that 
lime  mixed  with  manure,  bone,  or  any  substance  containing  ammonia  will 
set  the  ammonia  free  to  pass  off  in  the  air  and  be  wasted.  In  using  lime 
or  wood  ashes  they  should  be  mixed  with  the  soil  before  the  other 
fertilisers  are  added,  and  the  soil  allowed  to  stand  for  some  time. 
