May  21.  1903. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
443 
base  of  petals  coppery  yellow,  different  coloured  flowers  being 
produced  on  the  same  plant. 
Muriel  Graham,  gold  medal  Rose,  a  splendid  sport  from 
Catherine  Mermet,  pale  cream,  faintly  flushed  with  rose. 
Mrs.  Edward  Mawley,  awarded  gold  medal,  and  is  a  perfectly 
faultless  Rose.  Colour  bright  carmine,  shaded  salmon;  Mrs. 
James  Wilson,  deep  lemon  yellow,  petals  edged  with  rose. 
There  is  yet  another  class  indebted  to  Messrs.  Alex.  Dick¬ 
son  and  Sons  for  three  valuable  additions.  These  are  Irish 
Beauty,  Irish  Glory,  and  Irish  Modesty  amongst  the  singles,  a 
class  that  is  increasing  in  popularity,  and  deservedly  so. 
When  one  looks  over  the  foregoing  list  of  Roses,  remember¬ 
ing  that  they  come  from  the  North  of  Ireland,  one  is  ready  to 
admit  this  well-known  firm  are  the  premier  i-osarians  of  to-day. 
I,  for  one,  shall  look  forward  with  interest  for  their  new  intro¬ 
ductions  during  the  coming  season,  and  have  no  doubt  these 
Irish  Roses  will  occupy  the  chief  positions  on  all  exhibition 
stands  yet  once  again. — J.  W.  J.,  Oswestrj'. 
Book  Notices. 
The  Book  of  Corn. 
This  is  a  transatlantic  publication  and  amounts  to  368  pages 
of  matter  on  the  subject.  In  the  space  at  our  disposal,  the  most 
we  can  do  is  to  name  the  titles  of  chapters,  which  begin  with  a 
brief  history  of  the  Maize  plant,  (2)  its  botany  and  varieties' — flint 
corns,  .soft  corns,  sweet  corns,  pop  corns,  &c. — history  of  famous 
and  well-known  kinds  ;  (3)  principles  of  corn  growth  and  feeding ; 
(4)  breeding  and  selecting  of  seed  corn;  (5)  corn  judging;  (6) 
harvesting;  (7)  marketing;  (8)  marketing;  (9)  corn  pests  and 
diseases;  (10)  cost  of  growing  corn  ;  (11)  new  uses  for  corn;  (12) 
maize  in  other  countries.  The  work  is  well  illustrated. 
The  “  corn  ”  treated  of  is  Indian  Corn  (Zea  Mays)  and  there  is 
no  mention,  so  far  as  w'e  find,  of  oats,  wheat,  or  barley  (our  corn) 
in  the  whole  book.  However,  these  cereals  are  of  little  impor¬ 
tance,  particularly  in  America,  again.st  the  maize  plant.  The 
editor  of  the  work  is  Mr.  Herbert  Myrick,  and  the  publishers 
are  the  Orange  Judd  Co.,  of  New  York. 
The  Estate  Book. 
In  his  preface  to  this  book,  the  editor  describes  the  object  of 
it,  and  of  the  Country  Gentlemen’s  As.sociation,  “‘The  Country 
Gentlemen’s  Estate  Book  ’  is  the  official  publication  of  an  asso¬ 
ciation  which  provides  an  organisation  so  complete  that  all  the 
advantages  of  combination  are  brought  within  reach  of  its 
members.  It  is  pali>able  that  such  an  association  can  be  useful 
in  a  variety  of  ways,  and  is  capable  of  enormous  extension.  This 
has  now  been  amply  proved,  for  not  only  has  the  association  a 
very  large  number  of  members,  representing  the  leading  land- 
owners,  land  agents,  and  farmers  of  the  kingdom,  but  the  amount 
and  variety  of  work  it  does  for  them  is  steadily  increasing  in  all 
directions.  The  principle  underlying  the  as.sociation  is  that  of 
mutual  advice  and  assistance  on  a  national  scale.  Every  country 
district  has  its  circle  of  neighbours,  all  more  or  less  on  friendly 
terms.  Tliej^  associate,  they  talk  of  the  management  of  their 
property,  the  state  of  their  farms,  the  cost  of  improvements,  the 
trouble  of  servants,  the  shooting,  and  other  kindred  topics;  and 
if  one  can  help  another  with  advice  or  information,  such  assistance 
is  readily  given.  What  these  good  friends  and  neighbours  do  in 
their  local  circle  the  association  does  throughout  the  whole  king¬ 
dom.  and  even  keeps  in  touch  with  tho.se  of  its  members  who  are 
in  the  most  distant  parts  of  the  world.  The  members  of  this 
national  circle  communicate  with  each  other  through  the  medium 
of  “  The  Estate  Book  ’  and  its  monthly  supplement,  ‘  The  Estate 
Booklet.’'  This,  however,  is  not  all.  The  national  circle  finds 
that  combination  of  interests  means  power,  and  what  is  more 
simple  than  to  utilise  that  power  for  the  comnion  good,  not  for 
selfish  purposes,  but  in  order  to  promote  and  improve  the  agricuh 
tural  interest,  which  every  Englishman,  whether  he  be  owner, 
agent,  or  tenant  has  at  heart  ?  ” 
This,  briefly,  is  the  object  of  the  Country  Gentlemen’s  Asso¬ 
ciation,  and  all  who  wish  for  further  information  may  readily 
obtain  it  from  the  Editor,  16,  Cockspur  Street,  Pall  Mall,  S.W. 
The  book  before  us  is  of  the  very  highe.st  value  to  the  clientele 
it  Is  intended  to  assist.  The  contents  are  divided  under  e.stat9 
management,  estate  work,  woods  and  forests^  farming,  gardening, 
sports  and  pastimes,  and  miscellaneous.  We  quote  some  of  the 
titles  of  articles;  A  model  country  dairy  (illustrated),  farm 
cottages  (illustrated),  brick  enclosure  walls,  how  to  interpret  a 
water  analysis,  building  memoranda,  water  supply,  engine  power, 
wind  power,  Norfolk  wastes:  can  they  be  reclaimed?  the  early 
Potato  indu.stry  in  Ayrshire,  farmers  and  remount  breeding,  the 
varieties  of  poultry,  the  feeding  of  farm  stock,  land  drainage, 
permanent  pastures,  the  principle  of  manuring,  fruit  growing  for 
profit,  and  the  extension  of  British  fruit  growing.  These  are  only 
a  few  of  the  titles  of  articles,  but  they  serve  to  show  the  tone  and 
nature  of  “  The  Estates  Book.”  It  is  published  by  the  associa¬ 
tion  at  os.  net,  post  paid. 
Paradisi  in  Sole. 
Messrs.  Methuen  announce  that  they  havm.  in  preparation  a 
reprint  of  Parkinson’s  most  fascinating  and  useful  old-time  gar¬ 
dening  book.  This  book  will  be  reproduced  with  the  greatest 
care  in  the  folio  form  of  the  original,  page'  for  page,  and  word 
for  word  from  the  edition  of  1629.  The  fine  illustrations,  of 
which  there  are  oyer  100,  will  also  be  given  in  their  entirety. 
One  thousand  copies  will  be  printed,  and  the  published  price 
will  be  3()s.  net.  An  edition  on  Japanese  vellum  will  also  bo 
printed,  limited  to  twenty  copies,  the  price  of  each  copv  being 
10  guineas  net. 
Among  the  herbalists  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  cen¬ 
turies,  John  Parkinson,  “Apothecary  of  London,  and  the  King’s 
Herbalist,”  holds  the  highe.st  place.  His  “  Paradisus  Terrestris  ” 
has  always  been  the  delight  of  English  gardeners;  and  during 
the  last  twenty  years  the  popularity  and  value  of  his  book  liave 
wonderfully  increased  both  in  England  and  America.  The  grow¬ 
ing  interest  now  taken  in  gardening  generally,  and  especially  in 
the  growth  of  hardy  plants,  has  caused  a  largely  increased  in¬ 
quiry  for  the  book  ;  and  the  book  once  read  or  consulted,  there  is 
little  fear  of  its  being  laid  aside  or  forgotten.  For  it  has  v'ery 
sterling  merits  of  its  own,  from  its  charm  as  a  literary  composi¬ 
tion,  and  from  its  usefulness  as  a  practical  book  on  gardening. 
Its  literary  charm  is  very  great.  Parkinson  was  a  man  of  much 
reading  and  original  observation  :  he  had  a  large  vocabulary  and 
a  power  of  expressing  himself  in  clear  English,  which  enables 
him  ahvays  to  use  the  right  word,  and  to  leave  the  reader  in  no 
doubt  of  his  meaning.  The  book  is  very  practical ;  the  cultural 
directions  are  excellently  expressed. 
The  House  Sparrow. 
The  house  sparrow  (Passer  domesticus,  LJ  is  so  well  known 
that  a  detailed  description  of  it  is  unnecessary.  In  almost  all 
parts  of  Europe  where  grain  is  grown  it  is,  unfortunately,  far  too 
comnion.  In  New  Zealand,  Australia,  and  North  America  it  has 
been  introduced,  and  has  increased  there,  as  here,  to  such  an 
extent  as  to  become  a  serious  pest  to  the  farmer  and  gardener 
alike. 
To  practical  farmers  the  case  for  the  reduction  of  the  sparrow 
to  smaller  numbers  rests  upon  an  estimate  of  the  damage  done, 
compared  with  the  useful  work  carried  cn  by  the  bird.  It  may 
be  taken  for  granted  that  no  one  wishes  to  exterminate  the 
sparrow  altogether,  but  it  is  the  opinion  of  all  who  have  fiaid 
any  attention  to  the  subject,  that  the  limits  of  the  sparrow’s 
usefulness  have  long  ago  been  overstepped. 
Hundreds  of  examinations  of  the  contents  of  the  stomachs 
of  sparrows  have  been  made  in  this  country  and  abroad,  and  it 
has  been  shown  that  from  7o  to  80  per  cent,  of  the  food  of  adult 
birds  throughout  the  whole  year  consists  of  cultivated  grain  of 
some  sort.  A  farmer  in  the  neighbourhood  of  a  town  or  village 
where  the  bird  has  been  unmolested  has  this  fact  forcibly  brought 
home  to  him  in  much  diminished  crops.  In  such  districts,  the 
profitable  cultivation  of  cereals  becomes  well-nigh  impossible. 
The  sparrow  does  most  damage  during  the  few  weeks  before 
harvest.  Thousands  of  adult  birds  and  young  of  the  season  feed 
upon  the  ripening  grain  and  live  almost  entirely  in  the  fields, 
deserting  the  village  and  farm  homesteads  for  a  time.  Later 
they  live  mainly  round  human  habitations,  taking  grain  from  the 
stacks  and  poultry  yards. 
The  destructive  practices  of  sparrows  are  not  confined  to 
grain  crops.  They  are  almost  equally  damaging  to  garden  pro¬ 
duce,  apparently  taking  a  delight  in  stripping  Gooseberry  and 
Red  Currant  bushes  of  their  buds,  tearing  in  pieces  various 
brightly  coloured  flowers,  such  as  Crocuses,  Primroses,  and 
Violets,  eating  the  young  shoots  of  Carnations  in  winter,  and 
pulling  up  rO'Ws  of  newly-sown  Peas  in  spring  and  summer.  Ricks 
and  thatch  are  damaged  by  them,  and  rain-water  pipes  are 
frequently  blocked  by  their  nests. 
It  may  reasonably  be  asked  if  nothing  can  be  said  in  favour 
of  the  sparrow.  Examination  of  young  birds  in  the  nest,  and 
those  recently  fledged,  has  shown  that  they  feed  partially  upon 
caterpillars,  beetles,  and  other  insects.  The  amount  of  their 
food  consi.sting  of  insects  is,  however,  not  more  than  50  or  60  per 
cent.,  and  then  only  for  a  short  period  of  their  early  life.  The 
extent  of  their  usefulness  in  this  respect  is  thus  not  sufficient 
justification  for  maintaining  the  vast  numbers  which  are  met  with 
throughout  the  country.  It  must  also  be  remembered  that  the 
sparrow  drives  away  swallows,  house-martins,  many  warblers, 
and  other  purely  insect-feeding  birds,  which  would  do  most  of  the 
useful  work  carried  on  by  the  sparrow  if  they  were  undisturbed.  ^ 
It  may  perhaps  be  advisable  to  note  that  the  hedge  sparrow 
(Accentor  modularis,  L.)  is  in  no  way  related  to  the  house 
sparrow,  the  former  being  a  very  useful  bird,  which  needs  protec¬ 
tion,  since  its  diet  consists  almost  entirely  of  insects.  It  has  a 
soft  narrow  beak  quite  unlike  that  of  the  house  sparrow  which 
is  hard  and  speciallv  adapted  for  eating  seeds.  The  only  bird 
likely  to  be  mistaken  for  the  liouse  sparrow  is  its  near  relative 
