201 
JOUnXAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTATE  GABDENER. 
March  5,  1903. 
Temple  House  Gardens,  Great  Marlow,  Bucks. 
Tlie  rainfall  hero  for  Fobrnary,  1903,  was  lin,  and  for 
February,  1902,  l.SOin  ;  the  maximum  temperature  for  February, 
1903,  was  59deg  on  the  20th,  and  the  minimum  21deg  on  the  17th  ; 
the  maximum  for  February,  1902,  was  54deg  on  the  27th  and  28th, 
and  the  minimum  14deg  on  the  loth.  There  were  seven  rough 
days  during  February,  1903,  viz.,  on  the  8th,  21st,  22nd,  23rd, 
24th,  25th,  and  26th;  a  foggy,  dull  day  on  the  16th;  and  heavy 
hailstorm  on  the  26th.  We  are  situated  close  to  the  banks  of 
tile  River  Thames,  which  is  rising  rapidly. — G.  G. 
The  Weather. 
The  abnormally  warm  .sunny  weather  recently  experienced 
has  given  us  a  taste  of  real  spring,  and  the  hands  and  brains  of 
gardeners  generally  are  pretty  busy  in  keeping  pace  with  the 
season.  Most  of  us  have  grave  fears  of  the  ultimate  result  when 
vegetation  is  so  far  advanced  by  the  end  of  February,  as  tho.se 
ruthless  spring  frosts  speedily  dash  to  the  ground  high  liopes  and 
expectations.  It  may  be,  however,  that  for  once  we  are  to  be 
favoured  with  a  really  genial,  as  well  as  early,  spring.  We  should 
have  something  standing  to  our  credit  in  regard  to  weather  to 
atone  for  the  sunless  skies  of  la.st  year,  let  us  hope  we  shall  be 
paid  in  full  during  the  present  year  of  grace. — H. 
A  Substitute  for  Dishorning.  ' 
Dishorned  cattle  can  be  managed  and  fattened  with  greater 
facility  than  horned  animals,  and  can  be  conveyed  by  sea  or 
land  with  less  danger  of  injury.  They  are  worth  from  10s.  to 
15s.  per  head  more  than  horned  cattle.  The  practice  of  di.s- 
horning  cattle  by  sawing  off  inflicts  great  pain  upon  the  animals, 
but  there  is  a  method  of  preventing  the  growth  of  the  horns 
by  the  application  of  caustic  potash  to  the  horn-bud  of  young 
calves.  It  is  done  thus: — Clip  the  hair  from  the  top  of  the  horn 
when  the  calf  is  from  two  tO'  five  days  old.  Slightly  moisten  the 
end  of  a  stick  of  caustic  potash  with  water  or  saliva,  and  rub 
the  tip  of  each  horn  firmly  with  the  potash  for  about  a  quarter 
of  a  minute.  The  horns  should  be  treated  in  this  way  from  two 
to  four  times  at  intervals  of  five  minutes.  If  a  little  blood  appears 
it  will  only  be  necessary  to  give  another  very  slight  rubbing  with 
the  potash- — (Board  of  Agriculture.) 
February. 
The  weather  of  this  month  was  in  many  respects  ijhenomenal. 
The  rainfall  in  the  Hamilton  di.strict  has  been  nearly  7in,  a  re¬ 
cord  which  must  exceed  that  of  any  February  for  many  years. 
Gales  and  high  winds  prevailed  throughout  the  whole  month  with 
remarkable  persistence,  and  few  were  the  days  that  the  atmo¬ 
sphere  was  settled  or  that  sunshine  cheered  the  face  of  Nature. 
The  temperature  was  high  for  the  time  of  the  year,  and  only  on 
three  occasions  was  there  any  appearance  of  frost,  and  then  but 
a  few  degrees.  The  closing  days  of  the  month  were  severe,  but 
perhaps  not  so  very  much  so  as  farther  south.  February  “  Fill 
Dyke  with  black  or  white  ”  is  certainly  true  with  the  black 
tjuantity,  at  any  rate  here,  for  ditches,  streams,  and  rivers  have 
had  their  greatest  capacities  taxed.  In  truth,  few  people  will 
be  sorry  for  the  departure  of  a  month  wdrich,  on  the  whole,  i^ro- 
duced  so  little  to  animate  Nature  or  cheer  the  heart  of  man.  It 
was  not  so  always  with  Februarius,  as  the  Romans  called  this 
inonth.  We  find  that  previous  to  Numa,  the  Roman  calendar 
did  riot  include  it  among  the  ten  months  of  which  the  ancient 
Romulian  year  consisted.  In  the  reign  of  Numa,  January  and 
February  were  added  to  the  year,  so  that  then  February  w'as  the 
closing  month  of  the  year — the  ancient  year  began  in  March. 
It  took  its  name  from  the  “Februalia”- — (februum,  literally  a 
purgative) — a  great  sacrificial  festival  held  about  the  15th  for  the 
purification  of  the  people  from  the  sins  and  crimes  of  the  year. 
Like  all  the  Roman  months  Februarius  had  its  share  of  festivals. 
A  very  pretty  one  was  the  “  Dii  Manes,”  which  lasted  for  several 
days.  The  closing  days  of  this  festival  were  devoted  to  feasts 
of  peace  and  love  among  friends  and  relatives  to  atone  for  any 
(|uarrels  or  differences  that  might  have  occurred  during  the  year. 
How  commendable  and  beautiful  is  such  a  spirit  in  any  people ! 
Can  we  to-day,  notwithstanding  our  superior  privileges  and  pre¬ 
sumptions,  not  afford  to  emulate  a  similar  attitude  to  one 
another,  when  truly  “  man’s  inhumanit3’  te  man  ”  would  bid  fair 
to  be  expunged  from  the  social  calendar? — D.  C. 
“One  and  All”  Gardening,  1903. 
The  eighth  issue  of  this  very  popular  annual  has  reached  a. 
circulation  of  80,000  as  stated  by  the  publi.shers,  and  is  as  full  of 
varied  information  on  gardening  topics  as  any  little  book  can 
well  be.  Mr.  Owen  Greening,  as  editor,  has  enlisted  the  help  of 
such  writers  as  Mr.  Iggulden,  T.  W.  Sanders,  Richard  Dean,  and 
D.  S.  Fish,  so  that  what  is  from  their  pens  can  be  relied  on  as 
sound  advice.  There  are  numerous  letters  from  distinguished 
persons  appreciative  of  gardens  and  gardening,  and  the  work 
teems  with  illustrations,  many  of  them  from  Mr.  Fish’s  photo¬ 
graphs.  In  all  there  are  200  pages,  yet  the  paper-bound  edition 
only  costs  2d. !  Copies  on  art  paper,  and  bound,  can  also  be 
secured.  The  book  is  published  by  the  Agricultural  and  Horti¬ 
cultural  Association,  Limited,  92,  Long  Acre,  London,  W.C. 
Bryophyllum  calycinum. 
On  the  opposite  page  we  figure  the  inflbrescence  of  this  green¬ 
house  succulent  plant  (Crassulacese)  with  one  of  its  tripartite, 
crenated  leaves.  The  leafstalk  was  tied  to  the  flower  stem,  and 
appears  as  one  and  the  same  wdth  the  latter,  but  this  impression 
is  incorrect ;  the  leaves  are  quite  separately  produced.  Our 
specimen  was  recently  sent  for  name  by  a  correspondent  who  had 
his  plant,  he  tells  us,  from  Madeira.  It  is  a  subject  of  some 
interest  on  account  of  its  tendency  to  produce  plantlets  on  the 
edges  of  the  smooth  fleshy  leaves,  and  can  be  propagated  by 
severing  these  little  plants.  The  papyraceous  calyx  envelopes  the 
corolla ;  is  tinted  rose-purple  at  its  base,  but  is  otherwise  of  a 
creamy  shade,  and  very  effective  during  the  period  of  its 
flowmring.  It  seems  to  endure  a  long  time,  for  w'e  have  had 
flowers  by  us  for  three  weeks  in  presentable  condition.  Drooping 
as  they  do,  and  so  sweetly  coloured,  they  are  highly  ornamental. 
Scottish  Horticultural  Association. 
The  usual  monthly  meeting  of  this  Association  was  held  in 
5,  St.  Andrew’s  Square,  on  Tuesday  evening,  the  3rd  inst.  A 
very  lai-ge  number  of  members  were  present.  After  routine 
business  and  the  election  of  new  members,  the  secretary  read 
a  paper  by  Mr.  F.  W.  Burbidge,  of  Dublin,  entitled  “  The 
Gardener  as  a  Man.”  The  paper  was  listened  to  with  rapt 
attention,  and  delighted  the  large  audience.  It  was  full  of  wit 
and  wisdom,  beautifully  expressed,  and  many  valuable  hints  were 
given  to  the  young  men  present  to  go  on  ever  educating  them¬ 
selves  for  the  highest  attainable  positions  n't  his  profession.  We 
hope  to  refer  to  the  paper  on  a  further  occasion.  Exhibits  :  The 
table  was  gay  with  exhibits  of  spring  flowmrs  of  high  culture  and 
excellence.  Mr.  McHattie  exhibited  from  the  Public  Gardens 
beautiful  pans  of  Daffodils,  splendidly  grown,  early  Tulips,  and 
Lily  of  the  Valley.  Messrs.  Dickson  and  Co.  exhibited  wmll 
grown  plants  of  Primula  sinensis  of  a  very  beautiful  strain.  Mr. 
Johnston,  Hay  Lodge,  Trinity,  exhibited  two  very  pretty  pots 
of  Primula  floribunda ;  Mrs.  Algie  sent  some  beautiful  Violets 
from  Ireland. 
Meteoroloiical  Observations  at  Chiswick. 
Taken  in  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  Gardens  at  Chis¬ 
wick,  height  above  sea  level  24  feet. 
Date, 
Temperature  of  the 
Air. 
Temperature  of 
the  Soil. 
At  9  A.M. 
O 
1J03 
February. 
ll 
At  9  A.M, 
Day. 
Night 
.9 
*3 
At 
1-ft. 
deep. 
At 
2-ft. 
deep. 
At 
4-ft. 
deep. 
U  • 
5 
U 
Q 
Dry 
Bulb. 
Wet 
Bulb. 
43 
03 
bo 
S 
43 
03 
<D 
o 
JSg 
«  o 
Sunday  ...22 
S.W. 
deg. 
47-6 
deg. 
46-2 
deg. 
54-4 
deg. 
42-8 
Ins. 
0  09 
deg. 
45T 
deg. 
44-9 
deg. 
45-4 
deg. 
34'8 
Monday  ...25 
S.W. 
44-9 
42  6 
47-3 
44-0 
0'04 
45-9 
45  2 
45-5 
39  8 
Tuesday  ...24 
S.W. 
45-9 
42-8 
48T 
34  0 
0-16 
431 
45-2 
45  6 
2iq 
Wed’sday  25 
S.W. 
47-1 
43  4 
53-3 
44-2 
0T2 
44T 
44-9 
45-8 
36-5 
Thursday  26 
S.W. 
44-2 
40-9 
51-2 
42-2 
0-08 
44-4 
45-0 
45  8 
36-6 
Friday  ...27 
S.W. 
50-9 
46'8 
52  T 
40-3 
0  27 
44-5 
45-0 
45-8 
33  0 
Saturday  25 
E.S.E. 
38'4 
37-2 
46T 
370 
0  03 
44-6 
45*1 
45'9 
35-5 
Means  ... 
45  6 
42-8 
50*4 
40*6 
Total. 
0-79 
44-5 
45  0 
45  7 
33-9 
Rough  windy  weather  has  been  the  yrevailiog  fcaAirc  during  the 
past  week,  with  briglit  sunshine  and  occasional  shower-. 
