AugUKt  16,  1900. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
151 
Recent  Weatber  in  Iiondon. — Oa  Saturday  we  had  the  first 
indicatioss  of  the  coming  of  the  second  heat  wave  from  America,  where 
it  has  been  so  serious  in  its  effects.  Sunday  was  very  warm,  the 
thermometer  registering  82°  in  the  shade,  as  ic  did  again  at  1.30  p.m. 
on  Monday.  Tuesday,  too,  was  very  close,  but  it  was  tempered  by  a 
delightful  breeze.  It  was  a  little  cooler  at  the  time  of  going  to  press 
on  Wednesday. 
A  Gallant  Flgfbt. — In  the  letter  appearing  on  July  19th  entitled 
“A  Gallant  Fight,”  and  relating  to  the  contest  between  Mr.  Hill 
Gray  aud  the  Rev.  F.  R.  Burnside  for  the  Tea  challenge  trophy, 
the  name  “  Spectator  ”  was  erroneously  appended  for  the  signature  so 
well  known  in  these  columns  of  “  D.,  Deal." 
Tbe  Vitality  of  Seeds. — A  very  unusual  experience  has  occurred 
in  connection  wtth  the  recent  good  fall  of  rain  in  the  Ahmednagar 
district,  says  the  “Pioneer”  (India).  It  seems  that  in  many  fields 
seed  which  was  sown  last  year  has  now  begun  to  grow.  Usually  seed 
which  does  not  germinate  soon  after  planting  dies ;  but  the  soil  has 
been  so  dry  in  the  recent  drought  that  it  kept  the  seed  uninjured,  and 
when  the  needed  moisture  was  supplied  the  seed  has  germinated. 
Devon  and  Exeter  Horticultural  Summer  Show.  —  Bad 
weather  and  Exeter  Flower  Show,  which  was  held  on  August  3rd,  keep 
company.  The  Devon  Bee-keepers’  Association  held  its  exhibition  in 
conjunction  with  the  show,  having  86  entries,  as  against  119  last  year. 
Messrs.  R.  Veitch  &  Son,  Royal  Nurseries,  Exeter,  had  a  capital 
display.  A  broken  rookery  formed  the  centre  of  their  stand.  The 
rocks  contained  many  choice  alpine  plants,  and  in  a  miniature  pond 
were  some  grand  Water  Lilies.  The  Gannas  and  Carnations  shown  by 
Mr.  W.  J.  Godfrey,  of  Exmouth,  filled  a  large  place  in  the  marquees,  in 
conjunction  with  hothouse  plants  and  out  blooms.  Roses  were  fair^ 
Mr.  Walters,  of  Mount  Radford  Nurseries,  having  some  good  blooms. 
Mr.  F.  C.  Fowle,  Devon  Chrysanthemum  Nursery,  Teignmouth,  had 
Sweet  Peas.  The  chief  prizetakers  were  Messrs.  Smale,  Torquay,  and 
Tuplin  &  Sons,  Newton,  Dahlia  blooms  j  and  Messrs.  Barnes,  F.  Lock, 
and  W.  Rowland  tables,  completely  arranged  for  dessert  for  eight 
persons,  with  in  the  general  section  Messrs.  Brock,  Farrant, 
H.  Hammond  Spencer,  and  Sir  J.  Shelley. — C.  B. 
Unfortunate  Flower  Shows. — August  Bank  Holiday  has  gene¬ 
rally,  from  its  first  institution,  enjoyed  such  a  good  reputation  for  its 
weather  that  gradually  flower  show  committees  all  over  the  kingdom 
had  begun  to  regard  it  as  safe  as  the  Bank  as  a  proper  exhibition 
day.  It  is  unfortunate  when  a  good  reputation  cannot  be  well  main¬ 
tained,  for  now  Bank  Holiday  has  lost  caste  altogether,  having  on  the 
6th  broke  out  into  a  fit  of  wild  intoxication,  raining  torrents,  blowing 
great  gales,  and  showing  a  really  ferocious  disposition.  Certainly, 
we  have  seen  flower  shows  on  wet  days  previously,  but  rarely 
when  they  have  been  such  failures,  so  deserted  and  sodden.  Talk 
about  enjoyment !  It  was  a  day  in  which  that  most  eccentric 
of  all  individuals,  Mark  Tapley,  may  have  revelled,  but  it  made 
the  average  man,  to  put  it  very  mildly,  most  unhappy.  Now 
and  then  we  have  read  of  flower  tents  coming  to  grief  ;  but 
these  were  rare  events,  and  regarded  as  not  unpleasant  incidents 
when  proceedings  became  monotonous.  But  on  Bank  Holiday  the 
record,  not  in  tent-pegging,  but  in  tent-felling,  was  completely  out,  for 
not  only  did  these  useful  coverings  come  down  in  all  directions,  but 
equally  from  eveiy  locality  where  a  flower  show  was  being  held  did 
there  come  a  report  of  the  local  disaster  in  the  belief  that  such  was 
the  only  one,  when,  lo,  and  behold  !  it  was  found  that  each  show  ground 
had  sought  to  rival  its  compeer  in  the  nature  of  its  failings,  the  fall 
in  tents  being  without  parallel.  Bat  there  is  worse  behind  the  weather 
and  its  vagaries.  For  too  many  societies  such  a  Bank  Holiday  must 
have  spelt  ruin.  How  truly  with  all  these  earnestly  hardworking 
anxious  bodies,  the  executives,  we  can  sympathise  !  They  will  find  it 
hard  to  surmount  the  pecuniary  losses  involved,  especially  that  they 
have  also  lost  faith  in  the  weather  reputation  of  the  August  Bank  Holi¬ 
day.  But  then  it  can  hardly  ever  be  so  wild  and  foolish  again  for  a 
generation. — A.  D. 
Honey  o aides  In  the  Dark. — There  is  a  hypothesis,  though 
scarcely  satisfactory  to  some  thinkers,  that  certain  colour  spots  'or 
lines  in  flowers  are  provided  as  guides  to  the  nectaries  of  honey 
secreting  flowers,  in  favour  of  insect  visitors.  But  the  arguments 
against  this  are  often  as  weak  as  those  in  favour  thereof.  For  instance 
it  has  been  asked  how  the  night-flying  insects  make  use  of  honey  lines 
in  the  dark  !  But  surely  nocturnal  insects  are  supposed  to  seej'as 
clearly  by  night  as  the  diurnals  do  by  day. 
Paris  Street  Trees. — Wide  streets  and  handsome  street  trees 
help  largely  in  the  fame  of  ^beautiful  Paris.  But  the  success  of  the 
trees  is  due  to  intelligent  oversight  by  the  authorities.  Even  with  this 
admirable  protection,  the  average  life  of  a  Paris  street  tree  is  found  to 
be  but  half  that  of  those  growing  in  the  environs.  Of  kinds,  the 
following  have  been  found  best  suited  to  the  conditions  of  Paris, 
preference  being  given  in  the  order  named  : — Horse  Chestnut  (which  is 
much  the  best).  Plane,  Ailantus,  Locust,  Linden,  and  Paulownia. 
Tbe  Iiondon  Parks. — This  has  been  a  very  trying  time  for  the 
floral  gardener.  Very  rarely  have  the  London  parks  shown  to  less 
advantage  at  this  season  than  they  do  just  now.  The  tropical  heat 
and  drought  and  then  the  deluges  of  rain  and  the  tempestuous 
winds  have,  for  the  time,  quite  baffled  the  gardener’s  skill,  and 
imposed  immense  labour  upon  him  to  get  things  into  order  again. 
Battersea  Park  is  usually  among  the  showiest  and  the  most  beautiful 
in  August.  This  year  it  is  singularly  uninteresting.  The  water  in 
the  lakes  looks  muddier  and  more  unattractive  than  ever,  the  really 
beautiful  waterfall  is  rarely  to  be  seen  with  even  a  trickle  of  water 
running  down  it,  and  the  flower  beds,  even  apart  from  the  damage  of 
storms,  are  decidedly  below  par.  We  do  not  know  whether  there  has 
been  any  falling  off  in  the  strength  of  the  staff,  but  the  gardens  have 
the  appearance  of  severely  economical  management.  There  is  one 
indication  of  short-handedness  that  is  much  to  be  regretted.  None  of 
the  flower  beds  this  year  are  labelled  with  the  names  of  the  flowers  and 
foliage  plants  contained  in  them.  To  amateur  gardeners  this  detracts 
very  much  from  their  interest. — (“  Daily  News.”) 
The  Future  of  Chtswlck  Carden. — We  learn  that  the  Royal 
Horticultural  Society  has  appointed  a  sub-committee  to  visit  and 
inspect  various  sites  that  have  been  suggested  or  offered  for  the  new 
gardens  in  place  of  Chiswick.  It  is  probable  that  at  no  very  distant 
date  a  selection  will  be  made,  and  the  old  garden  will  be  surrendered 
to  the  ground  owner,  the  Duke  of  Devonshire.  What  will  become  of  it 
is,  of  course,  at  present  undecided.  The  builders  have  got  their  eyes 
on  it,  and  it  is  understood  that  an  important  London  club  have  been 
turning  their  attention  to  it  with  a  view  to  setting  up  a  fine  club 
building  to  stand  in  its  own  grounds.  The  Chiswick  local  authorities 
have  also  set  their  hearts  upon  it  for  an  open  space  for  the  public.  It 
is  true  that  the  neighbourhood  has  Turnham  Green,  and  Kew  Gardens 
are  not  far  distant.  Bat  the  green  is  not  much  of  a  public  pleasure 
ground,  and  Kew  Gardens  are  not  a  playground.  If  it  is  possible  for 
the  public  to  get  this  fine  addition  to  their  breathing  spaces,  they  can 
hardly  do  wrong  in  securing  it,  and  it  can  scarcely  be  doubted  that 
this  disposal  of  the  land  will  be  most  favourably  considered  by  the 
ducal  owner. 
Acocks  Green  Horticultural  Society. — The  tenth  annual  show 
of  this  enterprising  society,  held  on  August  6th  and  7th,  was  marked 
on  the  whole  by  a  material  increase  both  in  entries  and  in  several 
respects  quality  of  the  exhibits.  The  chief  features  in  the  show  were 
the  groups  of  plants  arranged  for  effect,  and  Mr.  J.  V.  Macdonald, 
gardener  to  G.  H.  Kenrick,  Esq.,  Whetstone,  Edgbaston,  repeated  his 
last  year’s  successes  with  one  of  his  artistic  and  elegant  compositions. 
The  second  prize  was  awarded  to  Mr.  A.  Cryer,  gardener  to  J.  A, 
Kenrick,  Esq.,  Edgbaston,  and  the  third  prize  fell  to  Mr.  E.  Burden, 
Kings  Heath.  In  the  class  for  six  stove  or  greenhouse  plants  the  first 
and  second  prizewinners  changed  places.  Mr.  E.  Burden  was  third. 
Exotic  Ferns  were  finely  shown  by  Mr.  A.  Cryer.  Zonal  Geraniums, 
Fuchsias,  Coleuses,  Gloxinias,  tuberous  Begonias,  Pentstemons,  Carna¬ 
tions  and  Picotees,  hardy  perennial  cut  flowers,  and  annual  out  flowers 
were  all  well  shown.  Hand  bouquets  were  tastefully  arranged  by  Mr, 
J.  V.  Macdonald  and  Mr.  W.  Moseley,  Solihull.  Roses  were  not 
numerously  shown.  For  twenty-four  blooms  Messrs.  Perkins  &  Sons, 
Coventry,  were  adjudged  the  first  prize  in  an  easy  fashion  with 
excellent  blooms.  Fruit  and  vegetables  were  well  exhibited,  and  many 
examples  were  of  a  high  order.  In  the  non-competitive  exhibits 
Messrs.  Kelway  &  Son  sent  a  fine  collection  of  Gladioli. 
