398 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
October  30,  1902. 
NOTES 
Irish  Wild  Fruit. 
Just  now  the  business  of  gathering  Blackberries  and  C'rab- 
apples  for  the  English  markets  is  being  vigorously  carried  on  in 
the  South  of  Ireland.  A  great  demand  exists  for  these  articles 
owing  to  the  scarcity  in  the  fruit  supply  in  this  country.  Tons  of 
Blackberries  and  Crabs  are  being  picked  every  day  by  the 
gatherers,  who  scour  the  hedges  all  over  the  country.  No  doubt 
later  on  Crab-apple  jelly  and  Blackberry  jam,  “  Irish  brand,” 
will  be  very  plentiful  and  popular  in  England. 
Irish  Fruit  Preservation. 
Under  the  auspices  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  and 
Technical  Instruction  for  Ireland,  and  with  the  view  of  promoting 
a  fruit  industry  in  that  country,  a  very  large  fruit  show  was  last 
week  held  in  the  concert  hall  of  the  Cork  International  Exhibi¬ 
tion.  Splendid  samples  of  Irish  grown  fruits  were  sent  from 
every  county,  in  competition  for  valuable  prizes  offered  by  the 
department.  A  section  was  set  apart  for  preserved  fruits  of 
Irish  growth,  and  Mr.  J.  E.  Austin,  of  Kingston-on-Thames,  had 
the  honour  of  being  sole  judge  of  these  exhibits. 
Royal  Horticultural  Society. 
The  next  fruit  and  flower  show  of  the  Royal  Horticultural 
Society  will  be  held  on  Tuesday,  November  4,  in  the  Drill  Hall, 
Buckingham  Gate,  Westminster,  1  to  4  p.m.  A  lecture  on 
“  Th©  Dietetic  Values  of  our  Common  Vegetables  ”  will  be  given 
at  3  o’clock  by  the  Rev.  Prof.  G.  Henslow,  M.A.,  V.M.H.  *  * 
At  a  general  meeting  of  the  Society  held  on  Tuesday,  October  21, 
thirty  new  Fellows  were  elected,  amongst  them  being  Lady 
Owen  Roberts,  the  Hon.  Mrs.  Wood,  Col.  Henry  Moore,  and 
Col.  F.  B.  P.  White,  making  a,  total  of  one  thousand  and 
five  elected  since  the  beginning  of  the  present  year. 
Newport  (Mon.)  Gardeners’  Association. 
Tli0  usual  mooting  of  the  above  society  was  held  on  ^Vednes- 
day,  October  22,  when  Mr.  W.  E.  Lewis  read  a  paper  on  “The 
Culture  of  thel  Euchans.  Mn.  Lewis,  who  is  a  successful 
grower  of  the  Eucharis,  gave  a  very  interesting  account  of  his 
manner  of  treatment,  giving  instructions  as  to  potting,  soil, 
temperature,  &c.,  also  that  it  required  most  careful  watering, 
and  not  to  overpot,  once  in  four  or  five  years  being  often 
enough  after  they  are  in  lOin  or  llin  pots.  Mr.  Lewis  also  gave 
instructions  as  to  shading,  resting,  &c.,  and  bringing  them  into 
bloom  at  certain  specified  dates,  as  they  are  required.  A  good 
discussion  followed,  in  which  Messrs.  Ivenward,  Harris,  Duff, 
Jones,  Powell,  Daniels,  and  Reece  took  part,  and  many  questions 
were  asked.  Mr.  F.  S.  Daniels  presided  over  a  good  atten¬ 
dance  of  members. — J.  P. 
London  Dahlia  Union. 
The  undersigned  write  as  follows: — “We  have  the  pleasure 
to  invite  your  attendance  at  a  meeting  of  supporters  of  the 
above  to  take  place  at  the  Royal  Aquarium,  Westminster,  on 
Tuesday,  November  4  (the  first  day  of  the  Great  Exhibition  of  the 
National  Chrysanthemum  Society),  at  four  o’clock  p.m.,  in  the 
Gallery  Dining-room.  A  statement  of  receipts  and  expenditure 
duly  audited  will  be  submitted,  and  a  report  from  the  chairman 
and  secretary  to  the  effect  that  they  have  arranged  with  the 
directors  of  the  London  Exhibitions,  Limited,  Earl’s  Court,  West 
Kensington,  for  the  exhibition  of  the  London  Dahlia  Union  to  be 
held  in  the  Prince’s  Hall  of  the  Exhibition,  on  Wednesday  and 
Thursday  of  the  third  week  in  September.  The  directors  of  the 
Earl’s  Court  Exhibition  have  met  the  suggestions  of  your  chair¬ 
man  and  secretary  in  the  most  liberal  manner,  and  it  is  certain 
that  a  very  fine  exhibition  may  be  anticipated.  The  London 
Dahlia  Union  has  done  much  to  popularise  the  Dahlia  among  all 
classes  by  holding  exhibitions  of  a  high  character  in  a  place  of 
popular  entertainment,  and  thus  have  been  the  means  of  interest- 
ing  thousands  in  the  Dahlia  and  inducing  many  to  cultivate  and 
exhibit  it.  Requesting  the  favour  of  your  presence  and  also 
your  support  of  the  union  in  maintaining  its  most  successful 
career.— John  Giieen,  Chairman ;  Richard  Dean,  Secretary. 
Chrysanthemums  at  Westbury. 
In  his  notes  on  Chrysanthemum  maximum  and  latifolium 
varieties,  as  seen  at  Messrs.  Isaac  House  and  Son’s  nursery,  near 
Bristol,  our  correspondent  on  page  382  last  week,  named 
Margaret  Marwood  as  one  of  the  freest  flowering  and  best  sorts. 
This  is  incorrect,  and  indeed  there  are  far  better  varieties  than 
the  one  named.  It  might  well  be  omitted  from  collections. 
A  Unique  Society. 
The  employes  of  Thomas  Meehan  and  Sons,  Inc.,  German¬ 
town,  Pa.,  U.S.A.,  who  for  some  time  have  been  studying  botany 
at  the  nursery  office,  have  formally  organised  a  horticultural 
society.  Constitution  and  bye-laws  were  drawn  up  and  adopted. 
The  society  will  be  known  as  the  Thomas  Meehan  Horticultural 
Society,  so  named  in  honour  of  the  late  Thomas  Meehan,  one  of 
the  most  eminent  botanists  of  his  day. 
A  Weeping  Ash. 
I  enclose  photos  showing  winter  and  summer  state  of  one 
of  our  two  trees  of  Weeping  Ash.  Being  the  largest  specimens 
which  I  am  acquainted  with,  I  thought  probably  your  readers 
might  be  interested  in  them.  I  have  just  measured  the  height 
of  the  one  illustrated,  which  is  40ft  high ;  spread  of  branches, 
70ft;  bole  at  4ft  from  the  ground,  8ft  in  circumference;  age, 
about  120  years.  One  peculiarity  about  these  trees  is  their 
quickness  in  putting  on  their  summer  garb  and  assuming  such 
denseness  of  foliage  in  a  very  short  time.  The  same  quickness 
is  observed  in  casting  their  foliage ;  they  are  now  perfectly 
green,  and  at  the  first  frost  we  get  it  will  in  a  few  days  denude 
them  of  all  foliage.  The  photograph  was  taken  by  Mr.  Fair- 
bairn  of  Nostell. — J.  Easter,  Nostell  Priory  Gardens. 
Patent  Potato  Digger  Trial. 
The  Battersby  Patent  Potato  Digger  and  Gatherer  is  a  very 
handy  machine,  which,  on  trial  on  the  24th  on  Lord  Wenlock’s 
Menagerie  Farm  at  Escrick,  dug  up  and  stored  in  hampers  about 
a  cart-load  and  a  half  of  Potatoes  in  four  and  a  half  minutes.  It 
marks  a  distinct  advance  upon  the  ordinary  digger.  The 
advantage  the  new  machine  has  over  the  ordinary  diggers  is  that 
it  shoots  the  Potatoes  into  hampers,  which  can  be  easily  emptied 
into  a  cart,  whilst  the  others,  scattering  them  over  the  surface 
of  the  land,  require  a  large  number  of  followers. 
Potato  Growing  Experiments. 
Mr.  W.  L.  Hutton,  the  respected  proprietor  of  the  “  Ormskirk 
Advertiser,”  offers  special  prizes  at  the  Liverpool  Fruit  and  Root 
Show  for  the  newer  varieties  of  Potatoes.  The  following  season 
they  are  cultivated  in  the  best  possible  manner  with  a  view  to 
their  being  recorded  for  the  benefit  of  the  public  at  large. 
Ormskirk,  Lathom,  and  Aughton  (the  trials  taking  place  at  the 
latter  place)  are  amongst  the  best  centres  in  England  for  Potato 
growing,  so  that  the  notes  of  trials  just  published  will  be  of 
much  interest  to  all  readers,  and  more  especially  to  those  who 
market  them,  and  for  which  more  particularly  the  trials  are 
conducted.  Mr.  Henry  Jenkinson  has  had  sole  charge  during  the 
season,  the  weights  being  as  follows: — 
Weight  of  Weight  produced, 
seed.  Large.  Small.  Diseased, 
lbs.  lbs.  lbs.  lbs. 
Empire 
2 
9 
1 
0 
Pioneer 
3 
92 
6 
1 
General  Buller 
18 
2 
3 
Uncle  Tom 
2i 
oa 
6 
1 
0 
Empire 
.  # 
33 
2 
0 
Duchess  of  Cornwall  .. 
2f 
,  . 
61 
3 
1 
Pioneer 
n 
.. 
79 
3 
1 
Royal  Kidney.. 
2 
63 
2 
0 
Charles  Fidler 
21 
46 
6 
0 
The  Doctor 
2± 
43 
24 
0 
General  Gatacre  .. 
2| 
45 
2 
0 
Charles  Fiddler 
3 
16 
3 
1 
Charles  Fiddler 
2J 
2f 
63 
4 
1 
Pioneer 
63 
3 
1 
Enterprise 
2 
39 
2 
0 
Charles  Fiddler 
24 
31 
3 
0 
Winmarleigh  ..  .. 
2| 
21 
1 
0 
Edward  VII.  .. 
2 
12 
1 
0 
Charles  Fiddler 
2} 
62 
34 
0 
Charles  Fiddler 
24 
78 
6 
1 
Charles  Fiddler 
24 
•  • 
‘.0 
901 
3 
59 
0 
10 
From  the  above  it 
will 
be 
seen 
that 
several 
lots 
of 
certain 
kinds  were  planted,  Mr.  Hutton  receiving  them  from  the  show 
and  undertaking  their  planting.  Pioneer  leads  the  way,  followed 
by  Charles  Fidler  and  Duchess  of  Cornwall,  each  variety  being  of 
goog  table  quality. — R.  P.  R. 
