July  5,  1900. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
9 
Recent  Weather  In  Xiondon. — The  weather  has  been  unsettled 
during  the  past  few  days.  Sunday  was  showery,  while  after  mid-day 
on  Monday  the  rain  fell  incessantly  until  nearly  nine  o’clock.  On 
Tuesday  heavy  rain  fell  at  intervals,  accompanied  by  thunder  and  vivid 
lightning.  Wednesday  opened  dull,  with  scanty  gleams  of  sunshine. 
Daniels  of  Norwich. — Under  the  title  of  Daniels  Brothers 
(Limited),  the  long  established  firm  of  seedsmen  and  nnrserymen  has 
recently  been  registered  as  a  limited  company.  There  will  be  no 
alteration  of  management,  Mr.  B.  E.  Fletcher  remaining  chairman  of 
the  board,  and  Mr.  Charles  Daniels  as  managing  director,  with  Mr. 
W.  Rogers  Smith  as  secretary.  Tte  former  proprietors  retain  the 
whole  interest  of  the  new  company. 
The  riow  of  Sap  In  Maples.  —  Before  a  meeting  of  the 
Biographical  Society  of  Washington,  Mr.  W.  A.  Orton  described  the 
result  of  experiments  made  to  determine  the  cause  of  flow  of  Maple 
sap  in  early  spring.  His  conclusion  was  that  the  flow  has  a  mechanical 
cause,  being  due  to  the  increasing  heat  which  expands  the  gases  in  the 
wood  cells,  and  thus  forcibly  expels  the  sap.  This  contradicts  the  view 
that  the  flow  of  sap  is  due  only  to  physiological  action  in  the  plant. 
Accident  to  Mr.  Robert  Fenn, — A  very  unfortunate  accident 
befel  Mr.  R.  Fenn,  the  well-known  Potato  hybridiser,  of  Cottage 
Farm,  Sulhampstead,  on  Tuesday,  June  26th.  Mr.  Fenn,  who  is 
eighty. four  years  of  age,  was  walking  in  his  garden  in  the  afternoon 
when  he  slipped  and  broke  his  leg.  Mr.  F.  W.  Faulkner  and  Mr. 
Maxwell,  who  were  near  at  hand,  assisted  the  unfortunate  gentleman 
into  his  house,  and  sent  for  Dr.  Cox  of  Mortimer,  who  arrived  very 
promptly  and  gave  every  care  to  his  patient.  Much  sympathy  is 
expressed  for  Mr.  Fenn,  who  is  widely  known  in  Sulhampstead  and 
surrounding  districts,  and  as  widely  respected.  He  is  now  going  on 
uicely. 
Palestine  Orange  Groves. — The  British  Consul  at  Jaffa  states 
in  his  report  that  oil  engines  are  rapidly  advancing  in  favour  in 
Palestine  for  the  purposes  of  drawing  water  from  the  deep  wells  to 
irrigate  the  Orange  gardens.  Hitherto  the  water  was  pumped  by 
animal  power.  There  was  a  large  water-wheel,  and  from  four  to  eight 
mules  were  required  to  revolve  it,  according  to  the  size  of  the  wheel. 
Not  only  was  this  a  slow  and  laborious  method,  but  it  was  very  expen¬ 
sive.  It  has  been  found  that  with  an  oil  engine  of  six-horse  power 
it  is  possible  to  pump  double  the  quantity  of  water  that  was  previously 
raised  by  eight  mules,  while  the  averags  expense  is  about  the  same. 
Quality  of  Seeds. — A  departmental  committee  has  been  appointed 
by  the  president  of  the  Board  of  Agriculture  to  inquire  into  the  con¬ 
ditions  under  which  agricultural  seeds  are  at  present  sold7  and  to  report 
whether  any  farther  measures  can  with  advantage  be  taken  to  secure 
the  maintenance  of  adequate  standards  of  purity  and  germinating 
power.  At  the  committee’s  first  meeting  there  were  present  the  Earl 
of  Onslow  (chairman).  Sir  W.  T.  Thiselton-Dyer,  Sir  Jacob  Wilson, 
Mr.  R.  A.  Anderson,  Mr.  R.  Stratton,  Mr.  Martin  J.  Sutton,  Mr.  James 
Walt,  Mr,  David  Wilson,  and  Mr.  A.  Brooke-Hunt  (secretary).  The 
committee  considered  the  evidence  they  should  endeavour  to  obtain, 
and  then  adjourned  till  after  Whitsuntide,  when  witnesses  will  be 
called. 
Botanical  XTame  of  Ragged  Robin. — A  correspondent  in 
“  Meehan’s  Monthly  ”  complains  of  confusion  in  regard  to  the  botanical 
name  of  the  familiar  Ragged  Robin,  which  he  has  known  as  Centaurea 
americana.  There  is  no  rule  for  deciding  the  right  of  a  plant  to  any 
particular  name.  Anyone  has  a  right  to  give  any  name  of  this  kind 
to  a  plant.  No  doubt  there  are  scores  of  plants  called  Ragged  Robin. 
If  priority  has  a  claim,  as  it  has  in  technical  botany,  we  must  go  back 
to  the  time  of  Robin  Hood — and  his  ragged  rangers  of  Lincoln  Green. 
In  this  way.  Ragged  Robin  came  to  be  associated  with  Lychnis  Flos- 
Cuouli.  England  is  a  small  territory,  and  a  name  once  started  gets 
through  the  community  easier  than  it  does  in  the  vast  American 
Continent.  This  Lychnis  is  the  only  Ragged  Robin  of  the  English 
people. 
A  Royal  Appointment. — We  are  informed  that  Mr.  Wm.  Baylor 
Hartland,  of  Cork,  has  been  sent  the  Royal  Warrant  .from  Buckingham 
Palace,  appointing  him  purveyor  of  seeds,  &c.,  in  Ireland  to  her  Majesty 
the  Queen.  The  firm  of  Hartland  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  Ireland,  dating 
back  to  1774. 
A  Privilege  from  the  Queen. — We  learn  that  upwards  of  4000 
people  listened  to  the  music  on  the  East  Terrace  of  Windsor  Castle  on 
Sunday,  which  was  thrown  open  to  the  public  by  command  of  the 
Queen.  The  terrace  garden  is  well  known  in  horticultural  circles  for 
its  exceptional  beauty. 
Flowering  of  Bamboos. — The  British  Consul  at  Pakhoi  in  his 
annual  report  to  the  Foreign  OSice  notes  an  interesting  fact  not  often 
observed,  viz.,  the  flowering  in  1898  and  1899  of  the  thorny  Bamboo  in 
various  directions  about  Pakhoi.  As  is  well  known,  most  Bamboos 
flower  once  and  die.  This  was  the  case  at  Pakhoi,  but  the  Consul  has 
been  unable  to  determine  satisfactorily  what  the  ages  were,  apparently 
about  thirty  years  in  a  good  many  cases.  He  has  kept  at  least  one 
specimen  showing  foliage  and  inflorescence. 
The  Royal  Botanic  Society. — In  the  House  of  Commons  recently, 
Mr.  Hanbury,  on  behalf  of  the  Commissioners  of  Woods  and  Forests, 
said  ; — “  In  the  case  of  the  Botanical  Gardens,  the  lease  would  come  to 
an  end  very  shortly — next  year  or  the  year  after.  That,  he  thought, 
would  afford  an  opportunity  of  seeing  that  the  public  had  more  interest 
in  the  institution  than  they  have  had  in  the  past.  Hitherto  the  gardens 
had  been  altogether  closed  to  the  public,  but  he  thought  it  would  be 
only  fair  that  in  any  new  lease  granted  there  should  be  a  condition 
requiring  that  the  public  might  be  admitted — of  course,  on  reasonable 
payment — upon  two  or  three  days  each  week.” 
Cllbrans  at  Vork. — In  our  report  of  this  show  we  omitted  to  make 
reference  to  the  handsome  exhibit  arranged  by  Messrs.  Clibran  &  Son, 
Altrincham.  It  comprised  stove  and  greenhouse  plants,  including 
several  of  the  firm’s  newer  varieties  of  Crotons  and  finely  coloured 
Dracaenas,  among  these  being  a  particularly  attractive  specimen  of 
D.  Doucetti.  Another  conspicuous  old  favourite  in  the  group  was 
Cyanophyllum  magnifioum.  A  made  up  basket  of  a  new  Pelargonium 
Oldfield  Defiance  attracted  general  attention.  The  fine  foliaged  Aralias 
Veitchi  and  V.  gracillima  were  graceful,  as  was  elegantissa.  The  group 
was  effectively  staged. 
The  Sweet  Pea  Celebration. — The  exhibition  and  conference 
meetings  in  connection  with  this  interesting  celebration,  which  is  to  be 
held  at  the  Crystal  Palace,  Sydenham,  on  the  20th  and  21st  insts.,  will 
be  presided  over  by  Alderman  and  Sheriff  Sir  W.  P.  Treloar.  The 
whole  of  the  eastern  division  ot  the  nave  from  the  Handel  Orchestra 
will  be  occupied  by  the  competitive  and  miscellaneous  exhibits,  and 
applications  for  space  for  the  latter  are  being  received  daily.  There 
will  be  an  opening  ceremonial  on  the  completion  of  the  judging,  to  be 
followed  by  a  luncheon  to  the  foreign  visitors  and  judges,  a  conference 
meeting  during  the  afternoon,  and  a  banquet  in  the  evening,  together 
with  conference  meetings  on  the  second  day.  There  is  the  promise  of 
a  very  large  exhibition,  and  numerous  entries  have  already  been  sent 
in.  The  secretary  and  treasurer  is  Mr.  Richard  Dean,  V.M.H.,  42, 
Ranelagh  Road,  Ealing,  of  whom  all  particulars  can  be  obtained. 
Fruit  from  the  Cape. — A  glance  at  the  returns  dealing  with  the 
importation  of  fruit  from  the  Cape  shows  that  this  industry  in  Cape 
Colony  has  made  a  conspicuous  advance  over  any  preceding  year, 
notwithstanding  the  war  in  South  Africa.  In  1898,  when  the  trade 
began  to  assume  appreciable  dimensions,  the  number  of  cases  imported 
was  9169  ;  in  1899  it  rose  to  10,817  ;  this  year  the  number  was  no  less 
than  17,336.  Among  the  fruits  were  Grapes,  Plums,  Pears,  Peaohe.a, 
Nectarines,  Quinces,  and  a  few  Apples,  but  as  these  last  come  into 
competition  with  large  imports  from  Tasmania,  the  inducement  to 
growers  is  not  great.  The  other  fruits  have  a  clear  market  and  do 
well.  Coming  in  as  they  do  in  January  they  fill  the  hiatus  that  would 
otherwise  exist  in  orchard  grown  fruit  between  the  close  of  the 
Californian  and  the  beginning  of  the  home  season.  Most  of  the 
orchards  and  vineyards  at  present  engaged  in  the  trade  are  situated 
in  the  Het  River  district,  about  ninety  miles  north-east  of  Capetown, 
a  district  which  has  escaped  the  actual  conflict.  Fruit  growers  in  the 
Colony  have  just  formed  an  association  for  their  mutual  advantage, 
which  will  make  a  point  of  encouraging  the  export  trade.  Among  other 
things  they  will  press  for  the  establishment  of  a  cold  store  at  the 
harbour  in  Capetown  for  the  storage  of  fruit  awaiting  shipment. 
