December  20,  19()0. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
o6;5 
trees  and  shrubs  are  included  in  this  comprehensive  emporium, 
and  Mr.  Bunyard  has  more  than  once  spoken  strongly  in  favour  of 
their  more  general  utilisation  in  gardens.  In  furtherance  of  this 
object  the  firm  includes  in  its  most  recent  catalogue  selections  of 
these  and  Conifers  for  various  situations  and  soils,  the  observance 
of  which  should  reduce  failures  to  a  minimum.  Rhododendrons 
on  their  own  roots  occupy  a  considerable  amount  of  ground,  and 
are  apparently  in  excellent  health  There  are  the  trees  and  the 
shrubs,  and  anyone  who  wants  to  spend  a  profitable  day  in  the 
country  might  do  very  much  worse  than  travel  to  Allington,  even 
though  this  involves  the  journey  being  made  on  the  heartily  abused 
South-Eastern  and  Chatham  Railway. — D.  R.  W. 
[To  accompany  our  contributor’s  notes  Messrs.  G.  Bunyard  &  Co. 
kindly  give  us  the  loan  of 
the  two  blocks  representing 
a  view  in  one  of  the  Allington 
orchard  houses  and  an  example 
of  Pear  Pondante  d’Automne 
in  a  pot.] 
- - 
THE 
Black  Currant  Mite. 
That  injurious  insect  pest 
Phytoptus  ribis,  the  destroyer 
of  our  Black  Currant  crop, 
stilt  remains  the  entomological 
dragon  which  no  human  St. 
George  has  arisen  to  overcome. 
So  much  was  the  practical 
outcome  of  Mr.  Newstead’s 
not  uninteresting,  yet  far  too 
inconclusive,  lecture  before 
the  members  of  the  Royal 
Horticultural  Society,  at  the 
Drill  Hall  meeting  on  the  6th 
ult.  It  was  something  of  a 
surprise  to  find  that  the 
original  subject  of  “  Spraying 
for  Insects  and  Fungi”  should 
have  resolved  itself  into  one 
on  the  Black  Currant  mite 
alone,  yet  Mr.  Newstead  must 
be  credited  with  some  courage 
in  having  dealt  with  a  mite 
which  is  in  its  destructive 
powers  quite  a  giant. 
It  was,  I  thought,  humiliat¬ 
ing,  as  the  outcome  of  the 
lecture  to  have  to  admit  that 
so  far  no  known  means  of  Fig.  146. — An  Oechard 
combating  the  pest  success¬ 
fully  had  been  found.  The 
lecturer’s  statement  that  picking  off  the  buds  infested  with  the 
pest  had  proved  of  no  service  was,  in  my  opinion,  a  peculiarly 
pessimistic  remark.  Evidently  if  the  gathering  of  buds,  each  of 
which  may  be  at  a  given  time  in  the  spring  infested  with  thousands 
of  mites,  is  productive  of  no  benefit,  then  may  we  as  well  throw  up 
our  hands  and  admit  ourselves  beaten. 
It  was  not  a  matter  for  surprise  to  learn  from  Mr.  Castle  that  the 
result  of  experiments  in  the  direction  of  destroying  the  insect  at 
Ridgmont  showed  entire  destruction  of  the  bushes  to  be  the  only 
remedy.  Hot  water,  which  killed  the  bushes,  killed  the  insects- 
If  not  hot  enough  to  kill  the  former  then  the  insects  were 
uninjured.  Even  Mr.  Cousin’s  recently  published  remedy,  fumigating 
with  cyanide  of  potassium,  had  failed.  Cutting  down  the  bushes 
to  the  ground  had  killed  some,  and  in  other  cases  had  failed. 
Clearly  the  Entomological  Society  has,  to  use  an  Irishism,  a  very 
hard  nut  to  crack  in  the  Black  Currant  mite.  There  is  a  crown 
of  glory  waiting  for  the  man  who  can  biing  forward  a  reliable 
cure. — A.  D. 
Royal  Horticultural  Society. 
Drill  Hall,  December  ISth. 
The  last  meeting  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  for  the  present 
year — or,  perhaps,  we  might  say  the  present  century — was  held  on 
Tuesday  in  the  Drill  Hall.  There  was  a  varied  exhibition  for  the  season 
of  the  year,  hybrid  Begonias  from  Messrs.  J.  Veitch  &  Sons,  Zonal 
Pelargoniums  from  Messrs.  Cannell  &  Sons,  and  Chrysanthemums- 
from  Mr.  Edwin  Beckett  being  especially  noticeable.  Orchids  formed 
an  attractive  feature,  but  fruits  and  vegetables  were  not  numerous. 
Fruit  Committee. 
Present  :  G.  Bunyard,  Esq.  (in  the  chair)  ;  and  the  Rev.  W.  Wilks, 
with  Messrs.  J.  H.  Veitch,  C.  Herrin,  S.  Mortimer,  A.  Dean,  J.  Wright,  H. 
Esling,  F.  Q.  Lane,  E.  Beckett, 
J.  Willard,  G.  Reynolds,  J. 
Cheat,  and  H.  Balderson. 
Messrs.  H.  Lane  &  Son, 
Berkhamsted,  Herts,  stasred 
a  collection  of  Canadian 
Apples,  grown  by  Mr.  W.  W. 
Cox,  Collingwood,  Ontario. 
The  varieties  comprised  Onta¬ 
rio,  Spy,  King  of  Tompkin’s 
County,  Wagner,  Cranberry 
Pippin,  Ben  Davis,  Baldwin, 
and  Golden  Russet.  Some  of 
the  fruits  were  of  fine  colour. 
Messrs.  J.  Veitch  &  Sons, 
Royal  Exotic  Nurseries,  Chel- 
sea,  contributed  Carrots  Model, 
Matchless,  and  James’  Inter¬ 
mediate,  with  Celery,  Covent 
Garden  Red,  Early  Rose, 
Defiance,  Standard  Bearer, 
Champion  Solid  White,  and 
Ivery’s  Pink. 
Messrs.  J.  Carter  &  Co., 
High  Holborn,  arranged  a 
large  group  of  Capsicums  in 
fruit.  A  considerable  number 
of  varieties  was  represented, 
and  they  made  an  attractive 
display  (silver  Banksian 
medal).  Mr.  C.  Ross,  gardener 
to  Captain  Carstairs,  Welford 
Park,  Newbury,  exhibited  a 
seedling  Pear  named  Ace, 
which  is  said  to  be  a  cross 
between  Josephine  de  Malines 
and  Seokle.  Mr.  Ross  showed 
also  Apples  The  Houblon, 
Rival,  and  Mottled  Russet. 
Mr.  J.  Douglas,  V.M.H.,  Great 
Bookham,  staged  a  dish  of 
superb  Allington  Pippin  Apple. 
Mr.  W.  Allan,  gardener  to 
Lord  Suffield,  Gunton  Park, 
Norwich,  showed  Pear  Presi¬ 
dent  Barabe  ;  and  Mr.  W.  Bain, 
gardener  to  Sir  Trevor 
Lawrence,  Bart.,  Burford 
House  at  Allixgion.  Lodge,  Dorking,  Pear  Olivier 
des  Serres.  Mr.  Wadds, 
gardener  to  Sir  Weetman 
Pearson,  Paddock  Hurst,  Crawley,  showed  some  magnificent  Bananas 
(silver  Banksian  medal).  Some  bottles  for  fruit  preservation  with  a 
patent  closing  apparatus  were  shown  by  Messrs.  E.  Lee  &  Co., 
Maidstone.  Messrs.  H.  Cannell  &  Sons,  Swanley,  staged  Cannell’s 
Defiance  Cabbage  in  simply  perfect  condition.  The  awards  made  at 
Chiswick  for  Celery  and  Potatoes  weie  confirmed  on  the  present  occasion. 
Floral  Committee. 
Present  :  W.  Marshall,  Esq.  (in  the  chair)  ;  and  Messrs.  C.  T. 
Druery,  H.  B.  May,  R.  Dean,  Wm.  Howe,  W.  Bain,  C.  E.  Pearson,  C.  E. 
Shea,  G.  Gordon,  W.  J.  Cutbush,  W.  J.  James,  E.  T.  Cook,  Chas.  Blick, 
Geo.  Paul,  H.  J.  Jones,  and  Jas.  Walker. 
Messrs.  R.  &  G.  Cuthbert,  Southgate  Nurseries,  arranged  a  spring¬ 
like  table  of  double  Daffodils  disposed  in  a  bed  of  Maidenhair  Ferns. 
The  flowers  were  well  developed  for  the  season.  The  variety  was 
labelled  Early  Double  Golden,  but  was  very  much  like  the  old  Van  Sion 
of  an  inferior  form,  but  quite  a  novelty  at  this  season  (bronze  Flora 
medal).  From  Messrs.  H.  Cannell  &  Sons,  Swanley,  came  a  glorious 
display  of  Zonal  Pelargoniums,  arranged  in  specimen  glasses.  The 
colours  were  as  bright  as  one  expects  to  see  in  May,  and  the  individual 
blossoms  quite  as  large.  Such  a  display,  if  seen  in  a  private  green- 
