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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
June  6,  1901. 
Weather  in  Iiondon. — Thursday  was  a  splendid  day,  and  some 
heavy  showers  fell.  These  were  welcomed,  and  more  is  wished  for. 
Friday  was  “  a  grand  growing  day,”  to  employ  a  technicality.  Satur¬ 
day  and  Sunday  were  somewhat  uncertain,  the  former  day  being 
showery  in  the  evening,  though  Sunday  was  fair  throughout.  Monday 
was  duller  and  much  cooler,  but  Tuesday  was  again  bright  and 
moderately  warm.  Wednesday  (Derby  Day)  was  very  agreeable. 
Weather  in  Ireland. — The  climatic  conditions  for  the  latter  end 
of  May  have  been  truly  pleasant,  the  days  warm  with  absence  of  rain  ; 
however,  the  advent  of  the  present  month  has  been  variable,  with  a 
tendency  towards  ample  rain,  accompanied  with  sharp  winds,  just  now. 
The  rain  has  been  wanted  owing  to  the  dryness  of  last  month ;  if  not 
persistent  the  outlook  is  otherwise  satisfactory  from  the  standpoint  of 
produce. 
Variorum. — Half  an  ounce  of  Lavender  flowers  and  half  a 
Teaspoonful  of  powdered  cloves  make  a  cheap  and  delightful  sachet. 
*  *  A  Norfolk  gardener  has  produced  twin  Cucumbers,  growing  from 
the  same  stalk  and  joined  down  the  middle.  *  *  We  call  attention 
to  the  Richmond  Horticultural  Society’s  Show  on  June  26th,  of  which 
.further  particulars  are  found  on  advertisement  page  ii. 
Kent  Fruit  Prospects. — Everything  points  to  a  fairly  good  fruit 
harvest  in  almost  every  part  of  Kent  this  year.  All  growers  are 
agreed,  however,  that  the  yield,  as  a  whole,  will  be  immeasurably 
below  that  of  last  year,  when  there  were  hundreds  of  tons  of  mag¬ 
nificent  Plums,  Apples,  and  Damsons  which,  owing  to  their  poor 
market  value,  were  allowed  to  rot  on  the  trees.  Should  the  weather 
■continue  favourable  during  the  next  fortnight  or  so,  there  will  probably 
be  an  abundance  of  all  kinds  of  Cherries.  The  prospects,  too,  of  the 
Raspberry  and  Strawberry  crop  are  all  that  could  be  desired.  The 
Strawberries  especially  are  showing  remarkable  blooms,  and  only  some 
warm  showers  are  needed  to  insure  an  ample  crop.  Damsons  will 
be  somewhat  scarce.  Nowhere  will  there  be  an  average  crop,  while 
in  some  plantations  there  will  be  but  bushels  picked  where  last 
season  there  were  tons.  Plums  promise  well  in  some  places,  so  do 
Currants,  Apples,  and  Pears.  After  their  last  year’s  experience  Kent 
growers  say  that  they  believe  that  this  year  the  industry  will  bring 
them  a  far  better  return  for  their  outlay,  although  the  crop  be  barely 
an  average  one. 
Irish  Gardeners’  Society. — The  usual  monthly  meeting  of 
this  flourishing  sooiety  was  held  on  Thursday  last ;  the  chair  was 
occupied  by  the  president  (Mr.  O’Kelly),  there  was  a  large  attendance 
of  members.  After  the  usual  business  was  transacted,  Mr.  Hall  (hon. 
sec.)  read  the  minutes  of  the  last  meeting,  dealing  with  the  competition 
for  a  display  of  produoe  grown  by  the  exhibitor,  and  carried  in  the 
hand,  the  range  to  be  either  flowers,  vegetables,  or  floral  designs- 
There  were  three  prizes,  the  first  of  £1  being  again  given  by  a 
generous  donor,  Mr.  Cottier.  This  competition  aroused  keen  interest. 
After  some  time  was  devoted  to  the  arranging  of  the  floral  exhibits, 
the  judges  awarded  the  prizes  as  follows  First  to  Mr.  Richardson, 
gardener  at  Abbey ville,  Malahide  (Major  Cusack),  with  choice  floral 
designs,  a  handbasket  of  white  East  Lothian  Stocks,  the  centre  being 
filled  with  pink  Zonals,  Adiantum  cuneatum  being  likewise  requisitioned  ; 
also  a  crescent  and  star,  the  ground  composed  of  purple  East  Lothian 
Stocks,  a  row  of  buds  just  opening  of  Rose  William  Allan  Richardson, 
and  dotted  o’er  with  Adiantums,  supported  on  a  stand,  the  legs  of  which 
were  interlaced  with  Smilax.  Second  and  third  prizes  were  put 
together,  as  the  judges  considered  two  of  the  exhibits  of  equal  merit,  Mr. 
Ryan,  Belcamp,Raheny,  and  Mr.  O’Kelly.  The  former  had  a  fine  collection 
of  late  spring  flowers ;  a  feature  was  a  bunch  of  S  weet  Peas.  The  latter 
had  a  giant  Cabbage  (Nonpareil),  Green  Peas,  and  early  Potatoes. 
Amongst  the  other  exhibits  Mr.  Reid  showed  a  specimen  pot  of  the 
improved  Sohizanthus  pinnatus  (rosy  pink,  Veitch’s),  likewise  Mr. 
Walsh  Paeonies,  Pansies,  &o.,  recommended  for  a  certificate  of  merit. 
Several  new  members  having  been  proposed  and  seconded,  their  names 
were  submitted  to  the  council  for  ratification.  After  the  usual  votes  of 
thanks  were  carried,  the  meeting  shortly  afterwards  adjourned. — 
A.  O’Neill. 
Victorian  Horticultural  Medallist. — At  the  meeting  of  the 
Scientific  Committee  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society,  on  Tuesday 
afternoon,  Dr.  Masters  opened  the  proceedings  by  presenting  to  Sir 
George  King  of  Calcutta  the  medal  which,  owing  to  his  absence  on 
May  7th,  was  not  then  formally  given  to  him.  In  response,  Sir  George 
King  expressed  his  thanks  in  a  few  well  chosen  words,  which  were 
warmly  applauded  by  those  present. 
Xectures  at  Chiswick. — The  Rev.  Prof.  G.  Henslow,  M.A., 
V.M.H.,  has  arranged  to  deliver  the  following  lectures  at  Chiswick 
on  Wednesday  evenings  at  eight  o’clock  : — 1  :  June  12th,  “  Propagation 
of  Plants  without  Seeds.”  2:  June  19th,  “The  Awakening  of  Buds 
and  the  Sleeping  of  Leaves.”  3:  June  26jh,  “How  Plants  Climb.’ 
4  :  July  3rd,  “Injuries  to  Plants  by  Smoke.” — W.  Wilks,  Sec. 
Monster  Asparagus  'at  Evesham. — The  Mayor  of  Evesham 
(Mr.  J.  S.  Slater)  on  Monday,  June  4th,  opened  an  Asparagus  Show, 
promoted  by  a  firm  of  root  merchants,  at  the  Evesham  Town  Hall. 
Mr.  W.  B.  Childs,  of  Acock’s  Green,  was  the  judge.  Some  Asparagus 
of  very  high  quality  and  heavy  weight  was  shown.  The  first  prize  for 
a  hundred  of  the  best  quality  was  awarded  to  Mr.  C.  Faulkner,  whose 
exhibit  was  the  heaviest  in  the  show,  weighing  25£  lbs.  It  was  sold  by 
auction  for  35l  ;  Mr.  D.  Print,  of  Mount  Pleasant,  was  second  with  a 
hundred  weighing  19^  lbs.,  which  realised  25s.’ ;  Mr.  R.  Mason,  of 
Haselor,  was  third,  his  hundred  weighing  15i  lbs.  ;  it  was  sold  for  17s. 
In  the  competition  for  the  heaviest  hundred  Mr.  Faulkner  was 
disqualified,  as  he  had  won  in  the  other  class,  and  the  prize  went  to 
Mr.  F.  Warner,  of  Offenham,  the  weight  being  22|  lbs.  This,  however, 
was  of  inferior  quality,  and  only  realised  4s. 
The  rruit  Season. — England  does  an  immense  business  with  the 
Azores,  not  only  in  Oranges  and  Lemons,  but  in  Pine  Apples  as  well 
St.  Michael,  in  particular,  is  becoming  quite  famous  for  the  fashionable 
fruit,  which  was  produced  originally  from  British  seeds,  and  now  grows 
luxuriantly  in  the  island  without  any  artificial  heat  whatever,  so  that 
fortnightly  shipments  reach  this  country  with  the  utmost  regularity. 
Most  of  the  Grapes  in  the  market  are  forced  Grapes  from  Worthing  and 
other  places  on  our  South  Coast.  Consignments  are  ariiving  from 
Belgium,  and  supplies  will  oome  later  on  from  Spain  and  Portugal. 
Lovers  of  Grapes  will  be  gratified  to  learn  that  the  luscious  fruit  is 
certain  to  be  plentiful  this  season.  Already  one  firm  alone  at  Covent 
Garden  receives  every  morning  nearly  1000  baskets,  each  containing 
8  lbs.,  and  in  the  height  of  the  season  the  quantity  is  more  than  doubled. 
Melons  are  entering  the  market  freely  from  Jersey  and  Guernsey. 
Cherries  are  likely  to  be  abundant,  but  the  late  rain  in  the  South  of 
France  has  not  improved  the  condition  of  the  fruit  from  that  quarter. 
Spanish  Apricots  are  shipped  in  boxes  which  fetch  wholesale  from  8d. 
to  Is.  a  box  of  twenty  or  twenty-four.  In  the  orchard  districts  of 
Devonshire  and  Hereford  the  Apples  may  be  scarce.  Australian  Apples 
have  been  delivered  here  in  too  ripe  a  condition,  and  prices  have  suffered 
accordingly.  The  early  Strawberries  with  which  the  market  is  glutted 
mostly  come  from  Brest. 
Paris  Horticultural  Show. — The  horticultural  show  in  the 
Tuileries  Gardens,  Paris,  on  May  29th,  opened  its  gates  with  great 
eclat.  The  President  of  the  Repub'io  paid  an  official  visit,  and  other 
personages  present  were  M.  Millerand,  Minister  of  Commerce,  General 
Andre,  M.  Doumer,  Governor- General  of  Indo-China,  who  took  much 
interest  in  conversing  with  M.  Loubet  about  the  colonial  specimens 
exhibited.  The  executive  deoided  to  close  the  show,  owing  to  a  rain 
downpour,  and  forthwith  stopped  many  more  people  from  coming  in. 
The  work  of  rescue  then  began.  Strong  gardeners  took  their  boots  and 
stockings  off,  and  began  wading.  The  Rose  tent  had  more  water  in  it  even 
than  the  main  pavilion,  but  the  court  of  implements  came  off  the  worst. 
There  was  12  inches  of  water  covering  the  entire  area.  The  arrange¬ 
ment  of  the  exhibits  was  carried  out  with  excellent  judgment,  and  the 
effect  from  the  balcony  at  the  end  of  the  main  tent  was  exquisite. 
Near  the  main  entrance  was  a  particularly  good  display  of  Gloxinias, 
Begonias,  and  Cyclamens,  shown  by  MM.  Yallerand  Frhres ;  M.  Auguste 
Nonin  also  exhibited.  The  Rhododendrons  sent  in  by  M.  Moser  of 
Versailles  were  of  perfect  shape  and  infinite  variety.  The  Cannas  were 
striking  for  size  and  assortment.  There  was  also  a  clump  of  an  entirely 
new  speoies  of  Malmaisons,  known  as  CE.lteta,  which  have  obtained  the 
gold  medal ;  they  were  marvels  of  size,  and  the  recipient  of  the  high 
distinction  was  M.  Henri  Vacherot.  M.  Vilmorin  had  an  extraordinary 
show  of  large  double  Calceolarias  and  Pseonies.  The  exhibition  lasted 
three  days. 
