Julv  19,  1900. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER 
Recent  Weather  In  Xondon, — The  violent  storms  that  have 
occurred  in  the  eastern  counties  have  not  visited  London,  though  it 
has  been  intensely  hot  with  occasional  lightning.  Monday  was  the 
hottest  day  of  the  year,  one  authority  putting  the  shade  temperature 
at  95°.  At  the  time  of  going  to  press  on  Wednesday  the  heat  showed 
no  signs  of  abating. 
Royal  Bees  In  a  Better  Box. — A  swarm  of  bees,  escaping  from 
Princess  Henry  of  Battenburg’s  gardens,  took  refuge  in  the  pillar  box 
outside  the  royal  entrance  to  Osborne.  The  postman,  at  some  risk, 
made  his  usual  collection,  but  the  bees  showed  no  signs  of  leaving,  and 
have  had  to  be  smothered. 
Tar  as  a  Bresslngr  for  Tree  Wounds. — Some  time  ago,  writes 
Mr.  C.  E.  Curtis  in  the  “  Estates  Gazette,”  I  had  occasion  to  refer  to 
the  subject  of  the  healing  of  wounds  in  trees  by  occlusion.  The  trees 
which  I  then  pruned,  and  to  which  I  alluded,  are  growing  rapidly  since 
the  operation,  and  the  wounds  are  now  almost  covered  over.  In  the 
case  of  those  surfaces  which  were  tarred,  and  to  which  I  also  drew 
attention,  the  wounds  have  made  no  advance  in  healing;  in  fact  the 
bark  has  separated  from  the  wood  all  round  the  wound  and  decay  has 
set  in.  This  clearly  shows  that  by  the  application  of  tar  the  cambium 
layer,  or  region  of  active  growth  and  development,  is  injured. 
Competition  In  Pears  — The  competition  in  early  Pear  supplies 
to  this  country  between  California  and  France  has  now  begun  in 
earnest.  In  a  week  or  two  about  ^COO  cases  of  choice  Pears  from 
California  will  be  put  upon  the  London  markets.  At  this  time  of  the 
year  the  French  senders  will  have  some  difficulty  in  doing  anything 
like  that,  and  it  is  expected  that  this  season  French  Pears  will  sustain 
a  severe  check  in  the  English  markets.  A  supply  of  large,  ripe  Pears 
in  July  from  California  must  have  an  appreciable  effect  on  the  fruit 
trade,  and  already  the  market  men  of  Paris  are  doing  their  utmost  to 
compete  with  the  early  Californian  shipment.  They  cannot,  however, 
touch  them  for  quality.  Among  dealers,  salesmen,  and  buyers  it  is 
pretty  generally  agreed  that  the  competition  between  the  two  sections 
of  Pear  growers  will  be  very  keen. 
Camberwell  Flowers,  —  A  crowded  gathering  was  drawn 
on  Friday  to  Cambridge  House,  Camberwell  Eoad,  when  Lady 
Macnaghten  gave  the  prizes  to  those  who  had  contributed  to  the 
Flower  and  Industrial  Exhibition.  All  that  was  said  of  the  various 
exhibits,  their  ingenuity  and  varied  character,  was  well  deserved.  The 
head  of  the  house,  the  Bev.  W.  Falkner  Bailey,  and  his  staff  of  workers 
are  carrying  through  an  admirable  work,  which  at  certain  seasons 
embraces  a  children’s  country  holiday  organisation,  happy  evenings, 
convalescent  homes,  lads’  church  brigade,  a  federation  of  toilers’  clubs, 
house  lec  ures,  friendly  societies,  and  Soldiers’  and  Sailors’  Families 
Association.  Dr.  Talbot,  Bishop  of  Rochester,  and  Mrs.  Talbot  have  a 
keen  and  earnest  interest  in  this  growing  University  Settlement. 
Tbe  illexandra  Palace. — It  is  interesting  to  note,  says  a  daily 
paper,  that  the  owners  of  the  Alexandra  Palace  and  grounds  have  no 
power  to  cut  up  the  land  for  building.  They  could  not  even  use  the 
Palace  and  grounds  as  a  private  dwelling-house  for  themselves.  By 
Act  of  Parliament  they  are  bound  to  maintain  the  Palace  grounds  as 
“  a  place  for  public  resort  and  recreation,”  and  it  is  expressly  provided 
by  statute  (the  Muswell  Bill  Estate  and  Railways  Act,  186fi)  that  “the 
public  shall  have  access  thereto  at  al  reasonable  times  subject  to  the 
observance  of  such  rules  and  regulations  as  may  from  time  to  time  be 
prescribed  by  the  company  or  other  the  owners  or  lessees  for  the  time 
being  of  the  said  gn  uuds  for  the  proper  order,  preservation,  and 
management  thereof,  and  of  the  palace  buildings,  works,  and  other 
property  therein,  and  subject  also  to  the  payment  of  such  reasonable 
sums  as  may  from  time  to  time  in  like  manner  be  prescribed  for 
admission  to  the  said  grounds,  palace,  or  other  such  buildings  or 
works,  or  to  any  exhibition  or  sights  therein.”  The  only  portion  which 
can  be  cut  up  for  building,  or  from  which  the  public  can  be  excluded  is 
that  small  portion  known  as  “  The  Grove,”  having  an  area  of  10  acres 
or  thereabouts. 
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Highwaymen’s  Haunt  as  a  Park.  —  Grange  Wood,  Croydon, 
which  tbe  Corporation  has  just  decided  to  turn  into  a  public  park, 
formerly  enjoyed  an  unenviable  notoriety.  On  four  occasions  it  was  the 
spot  chosen  by  Jack  Sheppard  and  Jonathan  Wild  for  robbing  the  mail 
coach. 
South  Ontario  Apple  Orchards. — These  are  more  than  usually 
promising  for  a  good  crop  of  fruit.  There  are  a  few  drawbacks,  for  in 
some  sections  the  web  worm  is  very  abundant,  and  in  others  the  canker 
worm  has  stripped  the  trees  until  one  would  think  a  fire  had  gone 
through  the  orchards.  Baldwins  have  set  a  very  fine  load  of  fruit,  but 
Spys  Pippins  are  very  light.  There  will  be  a  fair  crop  of  Astrachan, 
Russet,  and  other  varieties. 
Cherries  from  France.  —  Kent,  the  beautiful  “  Garden  of 
England,”  has  her  Cherry  trees  borne  down  with  the  weight  of  their 
ruddy  fruit,  and  yet  in  London  most  of  us  are  refreshing  ourselves 
with  Cherries  grown  in  France.  All  over  Kent  the  Cherry  crop  is 
exceptional — in  the  Sittingbourne  district  the  fruit  of  one  set  of 
orchards  realised  £1600  against  an  average  yield  of  £800.  But  all 
over  Kent  also  there  have  been  whole  days  of  rain,  and  much  of  the 
fruit  has  been  spoilt.  “  In  many  cases,”  said  a  dealer,  “  it  is  not  the 
grower  who  will  suffer.  It’s  the  speculator  who  goes  down  in  the 
spring,  before  the  Cherries  have  even  appeared  on  the  trees,  and 
offered  him  a  price  for  his  orchard’s  crop.  It  is  a  sporting  deal, 
and  the  subsequent  frost,  rain,  sunshine,  and  wind  have  their  influence 
on  the  outcome.  Now  the  dealer  has  a  big  crop,  and  at  the  eleventh 
hour  the  rain  is  cheating  him  of  his  profits.”  Fruit  dealers  state,  says 
a  daily  paper,  that  there  is  every  promise  of  big  crops  of  Plums, 
Pears,  and  Apples  in  tbe  English  orchards.  A  fortnight  hence  they 
expect  the  first  arrival  of  Californian  Pears,  and  fine  fruit  they  will  be. 
Cambridge  Botanical  Garden. — Among  the  plants  of  interest 
that  have  flowered  in  these  gardens  during  the  past  year  are  Brocchinia 
cordylinoides,  a  Bromeliad  from  British  Guiana  of  remarkable 
caulescent  habit ;  Campanumsea  javanica,  a  newly  cultivated  genus  of 
Campanulacese  ;  Codon  Royeni  var.,  a  curious  plant  from  the  Cape ; 
Colocasia  Fontanesi,  a  remarkable  Aroid  of  violet,  almost  bla^k 
coloration,  with  yellow  spathes  (to  be  figured  in  the  “  Botanical 
Magazine  ”)  ;  Cotyledon  (Echeveria)  Purpusi,  exceptional  in  its  hardy 
character,  figured  in  the  “  Botanical  Magazine,”  1899,  tab.  7713  ; 
Crinnm  Van  Tubergen,  and  described  by  the  Curator  as  previously 
unnamed ;  a  hybrid  Galtonia  (Galtonia  princeps  x  G.  candicans), 
raised  by  the  Curator  ;  Epiphronitis  Veitchi,  a  bigenerio  hybrid  Orchid  ; 
Enlophia  Colese  and  E.  Phillipsiae,  interesting  Orchids  from  Somali 
land  ;  Macleania  insignis,  figured  in  the  “  Botanical  Magazine,” 
January,  1900,  tab.  7694;  Matthiola  sinuata  var.  oyensis,  a  curious 
glabrous  variety  from  Western  France,  figured  in  the  “  Botanical 
Magazine,”  March,  1900,  tab.  7703  ;  Veronica  Cookiana,  and  various 
hybrids  of  Cineraria  (Seuecio)  raised  by  Miss  Pertz,  with  others  by  the 
Curator.  An  account  of  the  hybrid  Cinerarias  raised  by  the  Curator 
is  published  in  the  “Journal  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society,” 
April,  1900,  page  269. 
Heroes  in  Humble  Bife.— We  live  in  days  when  only  those  who 
kill,  or  assist  in  so  doing,  are  regarded  as  heroes.  But  how  many  men 
and  women  are  there  in  humble  life  whose  efforts  are  in  the  direction 
of  saving  and  supporting  human  life,  and  in  helping  to  promote 
happiness  and  prosperity  rather  than  war  and  bloodshed.  Such 
people  as  these  I  meet  with  constantly  in  our  Surrey  rural  districts. 
Men  and  women  whose  means  are  small,  who  live  in  humble  cottages, 
whose  lives  are  alway  of  labour,  and  who  in  their  walks  play  their 
parts  admirably.  Happily  for  them  they  want  no  poetry  in  their  praise. 
Have  they  not  Burns,  who  sang  the  lay  of  the  poor  in  his  beautiful 
“  Cotter’s  Saturday  Night,”  and  Gray’s  “  Short  and  Simple  Annals  of 
the  Poor  ?  ”  A  few  days  ago  I  had  to  judge  the  gardens  of  such  people. 
The  tidy,  well-spoken  woman,  was  an  admirable  type  of  the  English 
labourer’s  wife,  and  she  came  to  show  me  the  extent  of  the  garden.  It 
was  probably  50  rods  in  area,  splendidly  cropped  and  kept.  Besides 
vegetables  of  great  excellence  there  were  fruits  and  flowers,  the  latter 
in  rich  profusion,  with  many  stocks  of  bees.  “What  is  your  husband  ? 
I  asked.  “  A  farm  labourer,”  she  replied.  “  How  does  he  find  time  to 
do  this  garden  so  well  ?  ”  “He  is  up  early  and  late,  and  never  goes  to 
a  public  house,”  was  the  reply.  “Do  you  help  him?”  “Well,  sir,  I  pull 
a  few  weeds,  but  I  have  three  children  and  three  lodgers  to  look 
after.”  “  And  who  hives  the  bees  when  they  swarm  ?”  “I  do  when  low 
enough  down.”  Such  people  as  these  are,  or  should  be,  the  pride  and 
lory  of  our  nation.  Would  that  we  had  such  by  millions. — A.  D. 
