June  22,  1899. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
511 
AXETEOROXOGZCAIi  OBSERVATZOE'S  AT  CHZSWZCK. 
Taken  in  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  Gardens — height  above 
sea  level  24  feet. 
Date. 
Direction  of 
Wind. 
Temperature  of  the 
Air. 
Rain. 
Temperature  of 
the  Soil. 
At  9  A.M. 
Lowest 
Temperature 
on  Gra-ss. 
1899. 
•June. 
At  9  A.M. 
Day. 
Night 
At 
1-ft. 
deep. 
At 
2-ft. 
deep. 
At 
4-ft. 
deep. 
Dry 
Bulb. 
Wet 
Bulb. 
03 
a> 
'S) 
X 
CO 
a> 
Be 
o 
hA 
Sunday  ..11 
Monday.  .12 
Tuesday  13 
Wed’sday  ll 
Tliursday  15 
Friday  ..16 
•Saturday  17 
K.S.E. 
N.N.W. 
N.N.E. 
N.N.E. 
N.N.E. 
E.N.E. 
E.S.E. 
deg. 
53-6 
69-9 
58-9 
50-7 
61- 9 
62 - n 
63- 6 
deg. 
50- 8 
.55-8 
51- 8 
46-7 
53'6 
53-9 
57-3 
deg. 
63-9 
70- 7 
60-8 
61-1 
71- 4 
75'2 
75-5 
deg. 
46-5 
44- 7 
48-5 
41- 8 
39-3 
42- 0 
45- 9 
ins. 
_ 
deg. 
62-4 
60-9 
62-5 
60- 5 
58 -9 
61- 6 
62-9 
deg. 
59-9 
59-5 
59-8 
59-8 
58- 1 
59- 2 
59 '9 
deg. 
55-2 
55-5 
55-6 
55-6 
55  "9 
55-9 
55-9 
deg. 
37-5 
37-0 
39-9 
31-9 
27-7 
34-1 
36-3 
Means  ..  : 
58-7 
52-8 
68-4 
44-1 
Total 
61-4 
59-5 
55-7 
34 -S 
The  weather  has  been  generally  dull,  with  drying  winds  from  the 
north  and  east,  with  very  cold  nights.  • 
-  The  Weather. — In  London  on  Friday  w'as  the  twenty-third, 
and  in  most  other  parts  of  the  country  the  twenty-second,  day  without 
"Tain,  the  spell  of  drought  in  the  metropolis  having  been  exceeded  only 
three  times  in  the  course  of  the  past  thirty-four  years.  In  the  spring  of  1893 
there  was  a  period  of  thirty  days  without  rain,  in  the  summer  of  1887  a 
•period  of  twenty-five  days,  and  in  .lune,  1865,  a  period  of  twentj'-six 
rainless  days.  During  Thursday  and  Friday  a  gradual  rise  of  temperature 
has  taken  place  over  England.  On  Wednesday  the  thermometer  in  London 
did  not  rise  above  60°  all  day,  but  on  Thursday  it  reached  a  maximum  of 
73  ,  while  in  the  course  of  Friday  it  rose  to  77°.  Friday’s  temperature 
was,  in  tact,  8°  above  the  average.  Since  this  day,  however,  there  has 
•been  a  distinct  change,  as  noted  above. 
-  Senecio  Doronicum. — Compared  with  such  as  S.  pulcher  and 
others,  this  is  not  a  particularly  strong  growing  plant,  but  it  is  a  very  free 
■flowering  and  useful  one.  The  blossoms  are  of  that  beautiful  rich  golden 
tint  that  is  so  much  admired  in  flowers  for  cutting,  and  they  last  well 
in  water.  The  plants  do  best  in  an  open,  free  working  soil,  where  they 
can  spread  out  freely  and  make  bold  clumps.  The  plants  do  not  grow 
wery  freely  for  a  year  or  so  after  planting,  but  once  well  established  they 
come  away  vigorously,  and  the  quality  of  the  flowers  is  distinctly  good.  It 
is  easily  propagated  by  division. — R,  Bury. 
Highbury  Notes. — Begonia  corallina  at  the  present  time 
makes  a  conspicuous  feature  in  the  long  corridor  attached  to  the  Orchid 
and  other  plant  structures  at  Highbury.  Nothing  could  be  more  beautiful 
than  the  effect  produced  by  the  profusion  of  elegant  coral  red  inflorescence 
and  acutely  pointed  oval-shaped  foliage  depending  from  the  roof.  I 
•think  it  may  be  safely  said  that  no  other  species  of  the  genus  can 
eclipse  this  in  the  combined  attributes,  beautiful  as  many  of  the  forms 
■may  be,  not  even  excluding  the  dainty  Gloire  de  Lorraine  or  the 
splendid  tuberous  hybrids.  Apropos  of  the  notice  by  “  C.  H,”  page  490, 
of  Clerodendron  fallax,  it  may  be  additionally  interesting  to  remark  that 
on  a  recent  call  I  was  agreeably  surprised  to  find  a  house  full  of  my  old 
favourite  in  brilliant  array  intermixed  with  a  foundation  of  Maidenhair 
Ferns.  Mr.  Deacon  informed  me  that  the  plant  is  much  admired  b3'  Mr, 
Chamberlain  and  the  members  of  his  family,  as  indeed  it  well  deserves  to 
be.  It  may  be  added  that  the  plant  is  also  extensively  grown  by  Mr. 
W.  B.  Latham  at  the  Birmingham  Botanical  Gardens. — W.  G. 
-  The  Art  op  Advertising.— The  amount  of  skill  that  has 
of  late  years  been  brought  to  bear  on  advertising  is  enormous.  On  every 
hand  may  daily  be  seen  the  power  of  some  ingenious  brain  directed  towards 
the  public  for  the  benefit  of  some  commodity  valuable  or  otherwise.  Now 
we  have  before  us  a  book  entitled  “  The  Art  of  Advertising — Its  History 
and  Practice  Fully  Described,”  by  Mr.  W,  Stead,  jun.,  and  published  by 
Messrs.  T.  B.  Browne,  Limited,  Queen  Victoria  Street.  As  ‘his  firm 
must  be  classed  as  one  of  tbe  most  successful  advertising  agencies  in  the 
world  it  may  be  taken  for  granted  that  its  directors  would  choose  a  man 
of  mark  to  write  such  a  book.  This  is,  indeed,  the  case,  for  the  work 
*eems  with  information  that  must  be  of  value  to  every  diligent  student  of 
its  pages.  It  is  admirably  printed  on  good  paper,  and  splendidly  illustrated. 
All  our  professional  readers  should  get  a  copy,  for  they  must  agree  that 
Macaulay’s  lines,  quoted  by  the  author,  “  Advertising  is  to  business  what 
steam  is  to  machinery,  the  grand  propelling  power,”  were  never  truer  than 
4hey  are  to-day  when  competition  is  on  every  hand  so  keen. 
-  Gardening  Appointment. — Mr.  Geo,  Lilley,  for  the  past 
seven  years  general  foreman  at  Shipley  Hall,  Derby,  has  been  appointed 
head  gardener  to  H.  E.  Barclay,  Esq.,  Gaddesby  Hall,  Leicester, 
commencing  from  July  1st. 
- Shirley  Gardeners’  Association. — The  monthly  meeting 
of  above  Society  was  held  at  the  Parish  Rooms,  Shirley,  Southampton, 
on  Monday  the  19th  inst.,  there  being  a  good  attendance,  presided  over 
by  W.  F.  G.  Spranger,  Esq.,  J.P.  The  lecture  was  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Technical  Education  Committee  Southampton  County  Council, 
and  was  given  by  Mr.  W.  Wheeler  of  Messrs.  Hugh  Low  k.  Co.’s 
Nurseries,  London,  whose  subject  was  a  large  one — namely,  “Ferns  and 
Palms,”  and  in  dealing  with  it  he  showed  considerable  artistic  talent  and 
resource,  speaking  first  of  the  natural  beauty  and  usefulness  of  Ferns» 
their  adaptability  to  all  situations,  their  comparative  easiness  of  culture. 
Mr.  Wheeler  next  gave  the  method  of  culture  adopted  by  those  who  turn 
out  vast  quantities  of  well-grown  plants  year  by  year.  Heat,  moisture, 
watering,  the  use  of  fertilisers,  and  manures  were  in  turn  considered, 
also  the  insect  pests,  and  the  best  means  of  destroying  them.  Then 
Palms  came  in  for  a  share  of  attention,  all  the  best  kinds  for  decoration 
receiving  due  attention. 
-  Fruiting  of  Oaks. — It  is  not  generally  known  to  the  average 
lover  of  trees,  though  botanists  are  well  acquainted  with  the  fact,  that 
some  Oaks  take  over  a  year  to  mature  the  acorns.  The  little  flower  in 
the  axils  of  the  leaves,  when  the  new  growth  is  just  starting,  receives 
the  pollen  from  the  long,  twine-like  catkins  that  hang  like  tassels  all 
over  the  branches,  and  then  go  to  rest  for  the  season.  The  next  year 
when  the  new  flowers  are  going  through  the  same  process,  the  little  germs 
fertilised  the  season  before  take  on  renewed  activity,  and  by  the  autumn 
of  this  second  season  are  mature  acorns.  Only  the  section  classed  as 
white  Oaks  go  through  the  whole  process  from  fertilisation  to  maturity 
the  same  season.  Of  those  that  are  natives  of  the  Atlantic  States  are 
Quercus  alba,  Q.  obtusiloba.  Q.  macrocarpa,  Q.  bicolor,  Q.  Prinus, 
Q.  Prinus  pumila,  and  the  Live  Oak,  Quercus  virens.  All  the  other 
species  take  two  seasons  to  perfect  their  acorns.  In  some  seasons  the 
male  flowers,  which  are  more  susceptible  to  heat  than  the  females,  come  to 
a  polleniferous  stage  before  the  fruit-bearing  flowers  have  advanced 
sufficiently  to  profit  by  the  pollen.  In  these  cases  the  crop  of  acorns 
fails  for  a  season.  And  this  is  true  of  all  amentaceous  plants.  A 
crop  of  nuts  of  any  kind  is  dependent  on  the  period  of  maturitj’  of  the 
catkins.  In  the  more  northern  regions,  where  there  are  but  few  extra 
warm  days  in  the  winter  season,  the  nut  crop  is  more  uniform  in 
successive  years. — (“  Meehan’s  Monthly.”) 
-  A  Day  at  Hodsock  Priory.— On  Thursday  last,  by  the 
kind  permission  of  Mrs.  Mellish,  the  beautiful  gardens  and  grounds  of 
Hodsock  Priory  were  thrown  open  to  the  public  at  a  small  fee,  the 
proceeds  being  in  aid  of  the  Gardeners’  Royal  Benevolent  Institution — 
one  which  is  very  popular  in  the  district,  where  its  benefits  have  been 
largely  experienced.  There  are  at  the  present  time  240  recipients  of  its 
benevolences,  seventeen  of  whom  were  elected  at  the  last  distribution 
out  of  sixty-five  applicants,  and  the  only  one  locally  supported — at  the 
nomination  of  Mr.  Mallender,  the  head  gardener  at  Hodsock — was 
amongst  the  successful  number.  Mr.  Mallender  is  a  loyal  supporter  of 
the  fund,  and  it  was  at  his  suggestion  that  Mrs.  Mellish  kindly  threw 
open  the  grounds.  Favoured  by  beautiful  weather,  there  was  a  large 
attendance  from  all  parts  of  the  surrounding  district,  and  altogether  the 
visitors  spent  a  very  pleasant  time.  The  grounds  may  appear  brighter  in 
the  Daffodil  or  Lilac  seasons,  or  in  the  Rose  season,  but  still  there  is  no 
lack  of  flowers,  particularly  as  Hodsock  is  noted  for  its  collection  of  the 
more  especially  hardy  blooms.  It  is  an  old  world  kind  of  garden,  one  of 
those  whose  beauty  lies  rather  in  its  variety  of  landscape.  At  every  turn 
one  comes  upon  something  unexpected.  Its  geographical  conformation 
contributes  to  this  charm,  and  in  its  mazy  meandering  paths,  amidst 
well-wooded  surroundings,  the  visitors  enjoyed  its  artistic  irregularity  to 
the  full.  The  gardens  are  famous,  and  have  been  for  many  years,  for 
their  variety  of  Roses.  Almost  every  new  variety'  and  many  old  ones  are 
to  be  found  here,  but  as  the  season  is  late  they  are  not  yet  seen  to 
advantage.  The  principal  flowers  just  now  are  the  German  and  Spanish 
Iris  in  the  full  glory  of  bloom,  the  very  showy  Oriental  Poppy,  several 
varieties  of  Pseonies,  the  rare  Fly  Orchid,  and  the  Lady’s  Slipper  Orchid. 
The  arboreal  beauties  of  a  well-wooded  landscape  are  some  splendid  Beech 
and  Sycamore,  and  the  finest  specimens  of  the  Picea  Pinsapo  anywhere 
in  the  district.  The  Rhododendrons  alone  are  well  worthy  of  a  visit. 
The  single  Roses  are  just  showing  themselves,  some  of  them  very  rare 
and  beautiful,  but  they  share  in  their  shyness  the  general  lateness  of  the 
season. — (“  Retford  Times.”) 
