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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
April  18,  1901. 
Weather  In  london. — On  Thursday  forenoon  of  last  week  some 
tremendous  rain  showers  fell,  and  the  afternoon  was  equally  squallorous. 
Friday  was  a  leaden  sort  of  day,  with  now  and  then  a  sickly  gleer  of 
sunshine.  The  evening  was  clear  with  starlight,  but  Saturday  morning 
renewed  the  rainfall.  Sunday  was  of  the  “  Scotch  mist  ”  style  in  the 
forenoon,  but  sunny  and  bright  later  on.  Monday  was  fair  and  agree¬ 
able  •  Tuesday  was  showery,  while  as  we  go  to  press  on  Wednesday 
the  conditions  are  exhibiting.  Growth  is  now  very  active. 
Weather  In  the  North. — There  has  been  from  2°  to  5°  of  frost 
on  several  mornings  of  the  past  eight  days,  and  a  cold  north-west 
wind  prevailed  throughout  most  of  the  week.  Sleety  showers  fell  on 
Sunday  and  Monday,  and  the  hills  around  have  fresh  snow  well  down 
to  the  level.  Wet  has  interfered  a  good  deal  with  outdoor  work. 
_ B.  D.,  S.  Perthshire. 
Appointments. — Mr.  J.  C.  Duncan  and  Mr.  J.  G.  Douglas,  lately 
engaged  in  the  Royal  Gardens,  Kew,  have  been  appointed  to  responsible 
charges  in  the  Corporation  Botanical  Gardens  at  Port  Elizabeth,  Cape 
Colony.  They  sailed  on  Saturday,  the  13th  inst.  *  *  Mr.  John 
Kyles,  for  five  years  head  gardener  to  Mr.  Crawford,  Lauriston 
Castle,  Midlothian,  and  latterly  at  Fullwood  Park,  Cheltenham,  has 
been  appointed  to  fill  the  same  position  to  D.  H.  Stewart,  Esq., 
Strathgurry,  Perthshire,  entering  upon  his  duties  about  the  beginning 
of  June.  He  succeeds  Mr.  McDonald,  who  retires  on  a  pension  after 
a  term  of  service  bordering  on  half  a  century.  *  *  Mr.  E.  Parry  has 
been  appointed  head  gardener  to  Mrs.  Thurnburn,  Hales  Hall,  Market 
Drayton.  Mr.  Parry  is  taking  charge  of  Kiddington  Hall  Gardens  till 
the  15th  of  May. 
Good  Friday  and  Cardenlng-. — The  “  Newcastle  Leader”  points 
out  that  more  gardening  is  done  on  Good  Friday  than  on  any  other 
day  in  the  year  almost.  From  time  immemorial  agricultural  labourers 
have  dug  their  gardens,  planted  their  vegetables,  and  sowed  their 
seeds  on  Good  Friday.  Railway  men  are  like  hinds  in  this  respect; 
they,  too,  do  their  gardening  largely  on  Good  Friday.  Perhaps  that 
has  arisen,  to  some  extent,  from  the  circumstances  that  the  early 
railway  men  were  largely  drawn  from  the  agricultural  population 
though  the  fact  that  Good  Friday  is  the  only  week  day  in  the  spring 
on  which  railway  servants  are  generally  free  from  duty  may  partially 
account  for  the  practice.  In  Devon  and  Cornwall  the  superstition 
almost  universally  prevails  that  anything  put  into  the  ground  on 
Good  Friday  is  sure  to  grow  well,  and  yield  great  increase.  This 
circumstance  is  all  the  more  curious,  especially  among  the  Methodists 
of  Cornwall,  because,  though  they  plant  their  gardens  on  Good  Friday, 
vet  they  will  not  begin  any  new  work  nor  put  off  to  sea  on  an  ordinary 
Friday. 
The  Jura  Flora  of  Yorkshire. — A  catalogue  of  the  Jurassic 
plants  from  the  Yorkshire  coast  has  been  issued  as  one  of  the  official 
natural  history  publications  of  the  British  Museum.  The  work  has 
been  prepared  for  the  trustees  of  the  Museum  by  Mr.  A.  C.  Seward, 
University  Lecturer  in  Botany  at  Cambridge.  The  series  of  these 
fossil  plants  preserved  in  our  National  Museum  is  particularly  fine,  its 
principal  source  being  the  collection  of  the  late  Mr.  William  Bean,  of 
Scarborough,  which  was  acquired  by  purchase  in  1859.  Mr.  Bean  was 
long  known  as  an  enthusiastic  collector,  and  by  means  of  his  vast  store 
of  duplicate  fossil  plants  he  was  able  to  make  exchanges  with  many 
foreign  museums.  Many  of  the  noted  palseobotanists  of  their  day  made 
the  oolitic  plant-remains  of  Yorkshire  the  object  of  their  special  study, 
and  they  are  in  many  ways  of  peculiar  scientific  interest.  Rich  as  the 
collection  in  London  is,  it  very  far  from  exhausts  the  available  material 
for  the  study  of  these  plants,  which  are  represented,  we  believe,  in 
nearly  every  museum  in  Britain,  as  well  as  in  several  of  the  larger 
Continental  collections.  In  order,  therefore,  to  make  his  work  as 
perfect  as  possible,  Mr.  Seward  found  it  necessary  to  supplement  the 
data  afforded  by  the  specimens  in  the  British  Museum  by  examining 
collections  in  other  places,  including  those  of  Cambridge,  Oxford,  York, 
Scarborough,  Whitby,  Manchester,  Newcastle,  and  Leeds,  all  of  which 
are  rich  in  Yorkshire  coast  plants,  while  on  the  Continent  he  found 
good  collections  in  Paris,  Stockholm,  Lund,  and  elsewhere. 
Xiadles  as  Jobbing  Gardeners.  —  In  the  Harrow  district 
(London)  it  is  rumoured  that  a  lady  jobbing  gardener  will  almost  at 
once  establish  herself  in  business  there,  with  the  object  of  obtaining 
orders  in  the  course  of  the  forthcoming  bedding-out  season.  Her 
assistants,  it  is  said,  will  be  qualified  disciples  of  the  craft  of  Adam  of 
her  own  sex.  “  For  she  is  a  jolly  good  fellow,”  &c. 
Excerpta. — A  writer  to  a  daily  paper  insists  that  the  Banana  is  a 
fruit  requiring  to  be  cooked,  and  ought  not  to  be  eaten  raw.  *  * 
Several  parts  of  France  are  threatened  with  serious  floods.  *  *  The 
funeral  of  Mr.  Edgar  Bruce,  for  many  years  lessee  of  the  Prince  of 
Wales  Theatre,  London,  was  remarkable  for  the  large  number  of 
beautiful  floral  wreaths  that  decked  the  coffin.  One  of  the  finest  was 
sent  by  the  King.  *  *  April  is  the  month  in  which  thunder  and 
lightning  storms,  as  a  rule,  begin  in  this  country.  *  *  The  cuokoo 
was  distinctly  heard  on  Thursday,  April  11th,  at  Wooton  in  Surrey. 
Messrs.  Protheroe  &.  Morris’  Register. — The  Register  of 
nurseries,  market  gardens,  farms,  florists’  seed  businesses,  and  partner¬ 
ships,  “to  be  let  or  sold,”  as  issued  by  Messrs.  Protheroe  &  Morris, 
67  and  68,  Cheapside,  London,  E.C.,  is  ready,  and  will  be  sent  to  anyone 
on  the  look-ont  for  any  of  the  above-noted,  on  their  application  to  the 
firm.  All  classes  and  sizes  of  farms,  market  gardens,  businesses,  and 
partnerships  are  ready  to  choose  from.  The  county  in  which  the 
business  or  plaoe  is  situated,  together  with  full  particulars  regarding 
them,  are  furnished  in  this  “  Register.” 
Kew  Bulletin  of  Miscellaneous  Information. — The  “  Kew 
Bulletin  ”  of  miscellaneous  information  is  issued  as  an  occasional 
publication  from  the  Royal  Gardens,  Kew,  price  4d.  per  copy,  or 
5d.,  post  free.  The  present  Bulletin  contains  the  lists  made  to  the 
Library  by  gift  or  purchase  during  the  year  1900.  The  lists  are 
printed  on  one  side  of  the  page  only,  to  allow  of  their  being  out  up. 
It  is  probable  that  many  persons  and  institutions  will  make  the  Kew 
library  catalogue  the  basis  of  their  own,  and  will  use  the  lists  of 
additions  to  supply  printed  slips  for  fresh  titles. 
Glasgow  Parks. — Visitors  to  the  Glasgow  Exhibition  this  summer 
should  not  miss  seeing  the  Camphill  houses  in  Queen’s  Park,  also  the 
new  houses  in  Springburn  Park,  which  were  recently  gifted  to  the  city 
by  Dean  of  Guild  Reid.  In  Camphill,  at  present,  there  is  a  large  and 
good  display  of  Bhododendrons.  Among  them  is  a  beautiful  white 
seedling,  Veitohianum  x  MacMillan’s  Large  White.  In  another  house 
there  is  a  good  collection  of  Aoers.  Odontoglossums  and  Dendrobiums 
have  been  specially  good.  There  is  also  a  well-flowered  batch  of 
Kalmia  glauca.  The  Springburn  houses  are  now  in  full  working  order, 
and  the  Cinerarias  are  quite  a  treat.  Cars  run  to  both  of  these  parks 
every  few  minutes,  and  I  am  sure  there  will  be  much  to  be  seen,  both 
in  and  out,  during  the  summer. — A.  B. 
Sale  of  Mr.  Philip  Crowley’s  library. — On  Monday,  15th  inst., 
at  Stevens’s  auction  rooms,  Covent  Garden,  W.C.,  record  prices  were 
obtained  for  books  on  natural  history  from  the  library  of  the  late  Mr. 
Philip  Crowley,  of  Waddon  House,  Croydon,  and  late  Chairman  of  the 
Fruit  Committee,  R.H.S.  “  Biologia  Centrali  Americana,”  thirty-five 
vols.,  fetohed  £90  ;  Lord  Lifford’s  “  British  Birds,”  seven  vols.,  £63 ; 
“  The  Ibis,”  forty-two  vols.,  £75  ;  “  Zoological  Society’s  Publications,” 
£60;  Dresser’s  “  Birds  of  Europe,”  £56;  “  The  Birds  of  Asia,”  “The 
Birds  of  New  Guinea  and  Papuan  Islands,”  and  “The  Birds  of  Great 
Britain,”  by  John  Gould,  £51,  £45,  and  £49  7s.  respectively. 
“  Monograph  of  the  Pheasant,”  by  D.  G.  Elliott,  was  sold  for  £53  11s. 
The  204  lots  realised  close  on  £1500. 
Royal  Horticultural  Society  :  Notices. — At  a  general  meeting 
of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society,  held  on  Tuesday,  April  9th,  forty 
new  Fellows  were  elected,  making  288  elected  since  the  beginning  of 
the  present  year,  among  them  being  Lady  Anstruther,  Lady  Hunter; 
Maj.-Genl.  Sir  Francis  Grenfell,  K.C.M.G.,  Col.  Spragge,  D.S.O.,  and 
Sami.  G.  Buxton,  J.P.  *  *  The  next  Fruit  and  Flower  Show  of  the 
Royal  Horticultural  Society  will  be  held  on  Tuesday,  April  23rd,  in  the 
Drill  Hall,  Buckingham  Gate,  Westminster,  in  connection  with  which 
the  National  Auricula  and  Primula  Sooiety  will  hold  their  annual  show. 
*  *  A  general  meeting  of  the  Fellows  will  be  held  at  three  o’clock  to 
approve  or  otherwise  the  proposal  of  the  Council  to  purchase  land  near 
East  Darenth,  in  Kent,  for  the  new  gardens  of  the  Society.  *  *  The 
Society’s  examination  in  horticulture  will  take  place  on  Wednesday, 
April  24th,  at  various  centres  throughout  Great  Britain.  Intending 
candidates  are  requested  to  forward  their  entries  at  once  to  the  Secretary 
R.H.S. ,  117,  Viotoria  Street,  London,  S.W. 
