Aiiffiist  -28,  1900. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
177 
Tbe  Robert  Fean  Xestlmonlal. — Some  weeks  ago  horticulturists 
were  expressing  general  regret  at  the  news  of  Mr.  Robert  Fenn 
of  Reading  having  met  with  a  serious  accident,  entirely  incapacitating 
him  from  work,  at  the  age  of  eighty-six.  “  The  Gardeners’  Chronicle  ” 
and  Mr.  Alexander  Dean  of  62,  Richmond  Road,  Kingston,  Surrey, 
kindly  consented  to  act  as  the  channels  for  donations  from  the 
admirers  of  their  old  friend  and  teacher,  “  Upwards  and  Onwards,” 
whose  horticultural  work  dates  from  before  the  accession  of  the  Queen, 
and  whose  horticultural  fame  is  older  than  the  Crimean  War.  So  far 
the  subscriptions  reach  a  total  of  £37.  The  donors,  through  “  The 
Gardeners’  Chronicle,”  include  Mr.  G.  F.  Wilson,  F.R.S. ;  Dr.  Masters, 
Mr.  T.  Turton,  Mr.  C.  Ross,  and  Mr.  Arthur  Sutton  of  Messrs.  Sutton 
and  Sons ;  while  those  through  Mr.  Dean,  representing  the  Journal 
of  Horticulture,  include  Messrs.  R.  M.  Hogg,  John  Wright,  V.M.H. ; 
H.  M.  Pollett,  A.  Pettigrew,  T.  Peed,  N.  H.  Pownall,  A.  F.  Barron, 
Y.M.H. ;  Alexander  Dean,  Mrs.  Falcon  Stewart,  and  the  Rev.  H.  H. 
D’Ombrain.  Those  who  appreciate  Mr.  Fenn’s  lifelong  devotion  to  the 
spade  and  the  pen  in  his  efforts  to  advance  the  sweet  and  civilising  art 
of  gardening  are  reminded  that  the  lists  are  not  yet  closed  to  sympathetic 
contributors. 
Zn  the  Market. — The  glut  of  fruit  at  Covent  Garden  is  really 
phenomenal.  These  are  some  of  the  prices  obtained  recently.  They 
speak  for  themselves.  English  Rivers  Plums  were  sold  for  Is.  a  half¬ 
sieve  of  24  lbs.  of  fruit,  in  some  cases  even  less.  Spanish  Denia 
white  Grapes  were  sold  at  3s.  to  4s.  6d.  a  barrel,  containing  24  lbs.  of 
fruit;  and  black  Grapes  5s.  6d.  to  7s.  Cases  of  twenty-four  yellow 
Valencia  Melons  brought  but  48.  6d.  to  5s.  The  first  arrivals  of  Lisbon 
Grapes  sold  for  only  8s.  6d.  to  10s.  a  half-box  of  48  lbs.  net,  while  cases 
of  Tomatoes  from  the  same  source,  weighing  36  to  40  lbs.  net,  brought 
10s.  to  11s.,  showing  the  altogether  unwonted  spectacle  of  excellent 
Grapes  selling  at  a  lower  rate  than  Tomatoes.  For  24  lbs.  of  French 
Green  Gages  only  4s.  to  4s.  9d.  could  be  obtained;  and  the  same 
quantity  of  Orleans  Plums  brought  2s.  6d.  to  3s.  French  William 
Pears  commanded  no  more  than  2s.  6d.  to  3s.' for  boxes  of  forty -eight 
exceptionally  fine  samples,  and  a  somewhat  inferior  grade,  running 
fifty-six  to  the  box,  went  off  slowly  at  2s.  to  2s.  3d.  Californian  Pears, 
Peaches,  and  Plums  shared  the  general  fate  in  respect  of  prices.  It 
should  be  observed,  however,  iu  calculating  retail  prices  from  those 
given  here,  that  the  absolute  loss  of  the  retailer  in  soft  fruit  from  one 
cause  or  another  ranges  from  50  to  100  per  cent,  of  his  entire  purchase. 
Cardiff  Gardeners’  A-ssoclatlon  at  Gunnersbury. — August 
13th,  1900,  will  long  be  remembered  by  the  members  of  the  Cardiff 
Gardeners’  Association,  for  a  delightful  and  instructive  day’s 
excursion  made  to  the  Royal  Gardens,  Kew,  and  also  to  Gunnersbury 
House  and  Gunnersbury  Park,  the  residences  of  Mr.  Leopold  de  Roth¬ 
schild.  The  party  reached  Kew  at  12.30,  where  they  were  regaled  with 
a  splendid  luncheon  at  the  Rose  and  Crown,  the  chair  being  taken  by 
Councillor  Gerhold,  vice-president.  After  the  toast  of  ‘‘The  Queen 
and  the  Royal  Family  ”  had  been  given,  Mr.  Hybart  proposed  “  Success 
to  the  tCardiff  Gardeners’  Association.”  Mr.  Farmer  proposed  “  The 
Visitors,”  and  Mr.  Malpas  proposed  “  The  Chairman,”  to  which  Mr. 
Gerhold  made  a  humorous  reply.  Mr.  Graham  then  proposed  “  The  Hon. 
Secretary,”  whereupon  Mr.  J.  Julian  in  responding  stated  that  the 
membership  for  twelve  months  had  increased  from  105  to  150.  At 
two  o’clock  a  move  was  made  for  the  Royal  Gardens,  where  a  most 
interesting  couple  of  hours  were  spent.  At  4.30  the  members 
reassembled  at  the  Rose  and  Crown,  and  thence  proceeded  to  Gunners¬ 
bury  House  and  Park  where,  in  the  absence  of  Messrs.  J.  Hudson  and 
J.  Reynolds,  who  were  away  on  their  holidays,  they  were  met  by  Mr. 
Camp  on  behalf  of  Mr.  Hudson,  and  Mr.  Quainton  on  behalf  of  Mr. 
Reynolds.  On  reaching  the  mansion  (by  the  kind  forethought  of  Mr.  de 
Rothschild)  tea  was  found  to  be  prepared  and  was  thoroughly  enjoyed, 
after  which  Mr.  Parmer  moved  a  very  hearty  vote  of  thanks  to  their 
host.  Messrs.  Camp  and  Quainton  then  took  charge  of  the  party,  and 
the  latter  part  of  the  afternoon  was  spent  in  admiring  the  culture,  the 
Grapes,  the  Pigs,  the  Melons,  the  Pine  Apples,  and  the  specimens  of 
Dicksonia  antarctica  in  the  Old  Palm  house  by  the  lake.  The  pleasure 
ground,  too,  with  its  beautiful  lakes  filled  with  many  varieties  of 
Water  Lilies,  surrounded  with  Bamboos,  &c.,  its  gpgantic  Cedars  and 
tastefully  arranged  flower  beds,  fairly  captivated  the  minds  of  the 
excursionists.  The  few  remaining  hours  until  midnight  were  spent  at 
various  places  of  amusement  in  London,  the  party  reaching  Cardiff 
at  6  A.M.  on  Tuesday  morning,  all  enthusiastically  satisfied  with  the 
outing. 
Derbyshire  Agricultural  and  Horticultural  Show. — The 
thirty-ninth  annual  exhibition  of  this  society  will  be  held  at  Derby 
upon  the  12th  and  13th  of  September  next.  Entries  close  upon 
September  5th.  Special  prizes  for  vegetables  are  offered  by  Messrs. 
Sutton  &  Sons  and  Messrs.  Webb  &  Sons,  and  the  prizes  in  the  open 
classes  for  both  plants  and  fruits  should  attract  many  competitors. 
The  long  record  of  successes  already  achieved  at  this  meeting  is  a 
guarantee  that  the  coming  one  will  not  fall  short  of  its  predecessors. 
Seed  IVarranty  Case.  —  A  case  of  interest  to  farmers  and 
brewers  was  heard  on  Friday  at  Wareham  County  Court,  Harry 
Budden,  a  farmer,  sueing  Robert  Cann,  corn  merchant,  for  £25  on  a 
breach  of  warranty  of  seed  Barley.  Plaintiff  ordered  a  quantity  of 
Hallett’s  Pedigree  Barley.  The  yield  turned  out  small,  only  198  sacks 
being  obtained  for  3  acres  ;  and  when  it  was  offered  for  sale  to  buyers 
for  Burton  breweries  it  was  discovered  to  be  a  type  of  Goldthorpe 
Barley,  which  expert  evidence  showed  was  5s.  different  in  value.  The 
defence  was  that  the  seed  when  sold  was  believed  to  be  Hallett’s, 
having  been  obtained  from  a  firm  in  Smethwick.  It  was  not  disputed 
that  a  mistake  had  been  made.  The  judge  said  the  evidence  showed 
that  £75  had  been  lost,  and  the  defendant  as  an  honest  man  owned  to 
the  mistake.  He  gave  judgment  for  the  amount  claimed,  which  he 
considered  was  a  moderate  claim. 
Severe  Thunderstorm. — A  thunderstorm  of  considerable  severity 
visited  several  districts  of  the  Metropolis  and  the  home  counties  on 
Friday  afternoon.  The  storm  was  curiously  local  in  its  character. 
Thus  while  visitors  to  Kenningtou  Oval  experienced  but  a  slight  fall  of 
rain,  a  perfect  deluge  descended  in  West  Brixton,  Peckham,  Denmark 
Hill,  and  localities  little  more  than  a  mile  away,  while  the  lightning 
flashes  were  very  vivid,  and  the  thunder  crashes  loud  and  almost 
continuous.  The  storm  clouds  passed  from  east  to  south,  and  about 
five  o’clock  large  hailstones  fell  on  Peckham  Rye,  while  the  lightning 
was  incessant.  The  surplus  water  flooded  several  streets  both  there  and 
at  Brixton.  In  the  Ilford  district  the  flooding  was  considerable. 
Happily  no  one  was  injured,  and  little  damage  was  done. 
The  Wet  Weather. — It  is  earnestly  to  be  hoped  that  no  part  of 
the  kingdom  will  have  a  wet  harvest  time.  The  country  now  has 
burdens  enough  to  endure,  but  a  wet  harvest  would  be  indeed  a  national 
misfortune,  for  it  would  doubtless  destroy  millions  of  pounds  worth  of 
bread  stuffs,  besides  doing  harm  in  very  many  ways.  In  spite  of  the 
complaints  made  in  June  as  to  the  irregular  growths  of  early  Potatoes 
there  is  so  far  every  prospect  of  there  being  a  heavy  crop  of  tubers. 
But  the  recent  heavy  rains  have  created  great  anxiety  on  the  Potato’s 
account,  for  sprouting  from  the  young  tubers  is  proceeding  apace,  and 
there  is  danger  that  very  great  injury  to  the  crop  will  result  in 
consequence.  We  have  just  at  the  present  moment  the  very  greatest 
need  for  warmth  and  dryness.  The  soil  is  snfiiciently  saturated,  and 
presents  a  wonderful  contrast  in  its  condition  to  what  was  seen  when 
only  a  few  weeks  since  the  intense  and  distressing  heat  which  prevailed 
had  seemed  to  scorch  almost  everything  that  was  shallow-rooted. 
Crops  then  suffered  from  burning  drought,  and  have  since  equally 
suffered  from  excessive  moisture,  fierce  winds,  low  temperature,  and 
lack  of  sunshine. 
Meteorological  Observations  at  Chiswick. — Taken  in  the 
Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  Gardens — height  above  sea  level  24  feet. 
Date. 
•M 
o 
Temperature  of  the 
Air. 
Temperature  of 
the  Soil. 
At  9  A.M. 
<D 
U 
-.3  9 
1900. 
August. 
action 
tVind. 
At  9  A.M. 
Day. 
Night 
Bain. 
At 
At 
2-ft. 
deep. 
At 
4-ft. 
deep. 
Lowes 
mperai 
m  Gras 
5 
Dry 
Bulb. 
Wet 
Bulb. 
Highest 
Lowest. 
i-ft. 
deep. 
H 
Sunday . .  12 
w. 
deg. 
66-7 
deg. 
63-2 
deg. 
77-6 
deg. 
61 -8 
ina. 
deg. 
62-6 
deg. 
60-7 
deg. 
69-5 
deg. 
470 
Monday.  .13 
iW.S.W. 
69-3 
62-9 
82-2 
61  0 
_ 
64-3 
61-6 
59-5 
46-2 
Tuesday  14 
W.N.W. 
69-4 
61-7 
80-6 
60-8 
_ 
65 -5 
62-5 
69-5 
44-8 
Wed’sday  15 
E.S.E. 
65-6 
59-2 
70-7 
67-9 
_ 
66  2 
62-9 
59 -5 
51  6 
Thursday  16 
E.N.E. 
07-6 
60-5 
76-2 
67-2 
— 
65-6 
63-2 
59-8 
61-2 
Friday  . .  17 
E.N.E. 
62-3 
60-3 
79-2 
60  0 
— 
65-9 
63-2 
59-9 
65-4 
Saturday  18 
E.N.E. 
71-9 
66 '9 
83-2 
57-3 
— 
66-5 
63-5 
60-0 
52-2 
Means  .. 
67-5 
61-4 
78-5 
55T 
Total 
66-2 
62'5 
59-7 
49 '8 
A  week  of  warm  bright  weather  entirely  without  rain. 
