X  452 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  -November  13,  1902. 
A  New  and  Destructive  Apple  Rot. 
An  unusual  and  serious  trouble  with  harvested  Apples  has 
appeared  in  Western  New  York.  It  is  confined  entirely  to  scabby 
Apples.  A  white  or  pinkish  mildew  appears  upon  the  scab  spots 
and  transforms  them  into  brown,  sunken,  bitter,  rotten  spots. 
On  very  scabby  Apples  these  rotten  spots  soon  coalesce  and  ruin 
the  fruit.  The  damage  done  is  enormous.  In  Niagara,  Orleans, 
Monroe,  and  Wayne  counties,  thousands  of  barrels  of  Apples 
have  been  ruined.  The  varieties  most  affected  are  Greening  and 
Fall  Pippins. 
A  Phenomenal  Season. 
Despite  the  lateness  of  the  season  fruit  and  flowers  grown  in 
the  open  are  still  being  gathered  in  various  parts  of  the  country. 
Raspberries  have  been  plucked  near  Leeds,  and  at  Lydney, 
Gloucestershire;  Plums  have  ripened  at  Epsom  ;  fresh  Primroses 
have  been  gathered  at  Wandsworth,  and  blossom  from  a  Labur¬ 
num  tree  now  in  flower  at  St.  Margaret’s,  Devon,  in  which 
county  wild  Strawberries  are  still  being  picked.  Apple  blossom, 
too,  has  been  obtained  from  Weybridge,  Surrey.  At  the  same 
time,  it  may  be  noted  that  corn  is  being  cut  at  Sandwick,  in  the 
Shetlands,  as  green  now  as  in  its  early  growth.  Green  Peas  were 
being  picked  at  Newport  (Essex)  on  Saturday  last,  and  ripe 
Strawberries  are  still  to  be  gathered  in  the  open. 
Reading  University  College. 
the  fees  usually  charged  in  horticultural  colleges  are  beyond 
the  means  of  the  ordinary  gardener,  who  is  none  the  less  con¬ 
scious  that  his  chances  of  passing  the  Royal  Horticultural 
Society’s  examination  would  be  greater  if  he  could  supplement 
his  practical  training  by  spending  a  short  period  in  the  labora¬ 
tories  of  a  horticultural  college.  At  Reading,  a  limited  number 
of  men  of  this  class  are  granted  a  course  of  free  instruction  for 
six  months,  and  a  maintenance  allowance,  together  with  railway 
fare  to  and  from  Reading.  They  are  required  to  devote  their 
time  between  work  in  the  laboratories  in  preparation  for  the 
R.H.S.  examination,  and  in  the  College  Gardens  at  practical 
work  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Patterson.  Particulars  -may  be 
obtained  of  the  Registrar,  Reading  University  College. 
Scottish  Horticultural  Association. 
A  meeting  of  the  Scottish  Horticultural  Association  was  held 
cn  November  4  at  5,  St.  Andrew  Square,  Edinburgh,  Mr.  Charles 
Comfort,  president,  in  the  chair.  There  was  a  large  attendance. 
A  paper  was  read  by  Mr.  John  Anderson,  Greenside  Place,  Edin¬ 
burgh,  on  “  Horticultural  Exhibitions  and  their  Commercial, 
Educational,  and  Social  Aspects.”  ,  Forty  new  members  were 
elected.  Among  the  exhibits  shown  were  a  collection  of  flowers 
from  the  open  border,  consisting  of  thirty-six  distinct  species  and 
one  hundred  varieties,  by  the  president  ;  twenty-five  varieties  of 
Cactus  and  pompon  Dahlias,  by  Messrs.  R.  B.  Laird  and  Sons;  a 
collection  of  Plums,  Apricots,  and  Cherries,  from  the  open  wall, 
by  Mr.  Webster,  Gordon  Castle,  Fochabers;  and  two  very  fine 
varieties  of  Pcntstemons,  by  Mr.  Smith,  Oxenford  Castle. 
Coggeshall  Royal  Root  Show. 
The  annual  root,  cereal,  and  vegetable  shew  in  connection 
with  the  firm  of  Messrs.  John  Iv.  King  and  Sons,  seedsmen,  of 
Coggeshall  and  Reading,  which  was  so  successfully  revived  some 
three  years  ago  by  the  present  enterprising  members  of  the  firm, 
Mr.  Herbert  T.  King  and  Mr.  Leonard  G.  King,  was  held  at 
Coggeshall  cn  Tuesday,  October  28.  Essex  is  a  seed-growing 
centre,  and  by  far  the  larger  proportion  of  seeds  used  in  the 
country  and  exported  all  over  the  world,  are  grown  in  Essex. 
The  centre  cf  the  industry  in  this  county  is  Coggeshall,  and  it 
was  here  as  long  agoi  as  1793,  that  Mr.  John  K.  King  established 
the  seed-growing  firm  now  so  widely  known  as  Messrs.  John  Iv. 
King  and  Sens.  The  huge  warehouses  cover  nearly  a  quarter 
cf  a  mile  of  ground.  The  founder  of  the  firm  originated  the 
principle  of  growing  seeds  from  pedigree  selected  specimens. 
Exhaustive  experiments  have  shown  beyond  doubt  that  crops 
grown  from  pedigree  seeds  are  from  25  to  40  per  cent,  heavier, 
while  their  value  for  feeding  purposes  is  proportionately  higher. 
I'o  illustrate  the  value  of  pedigree-grown  roots  and  their 
superiority  over  all  others,  as  well  as  to  meet  their  customers 
from  all  parts  of  the  kingdom,  Messrs.  John  Iv.  King  and  Sons 
have  instituted  their  Royal  Root  Show.  It  may  be  added  that 
the  firm  have  enjoyed  the  royal  patronage  for  many  years,  and 
are  now  seedsmen  to  H.M.  the  King. 
The  FruiterersUCompany. 
The  prize  of  twenty-five  guineas  and  the  gold  medal  which 
were  offered  by  the  Fruiterers’  Company  for  the  best  essay  op 
“  Gathering,  preparing,  packing,  and  profitably  disposing  of 
home-grown  fruit  and  vegetables  by  cottagers  and  others  with 
small  holdings,”  has  been  awarded  by  the  judges  appointed  by 
the  company  to  Mr.  R.  Lewis  Castle,  the  manager  of  the  Woburn 
Experimental  Fruit  Farm,  Ridgmont,  Beds.  Mr.  Castle’s  essay 
will  be  published  by  the  company  at  a  nominal  price,  and  it  is 
hoped  and  believed  that  it  will  form  a  valuable  and  useful  manual 
on  the  subject  with  which  it  deals. 
October  Weather  at  Belvoir  Castle. 
The  prevailing  direction  of  the  wind  was  N.E.,  total  six  days. 
The  total  rainfall  was  2.31in;  this  fell  on  twenty-two  days,  and 
is  0.77in  below  the  average  for  the  month ;  the  greatest  daily 
fall  was  0.46in  on  the  13th.  Barometer  (corrected  and  reduced), 
highest-  reading,  30. 485in  on  the  24th  at  9  a.m. ;  lowest  reading 
29.304in  on  the  15th  at  9  p.m.  Thermometers:  highest  in  the 
shade,  GOdeg  on  the  13th;  lowest,  29deg  on  the  19th;  mean  of 
daily  maxima,  53.90deg ;  mean  of  daily  minima,  42.45deg;  mean 
temperature  of  the  month,  48.17deg;  lowest  on  the  grass,  25deg 
on  the  19th  ;  highest  in  the  sun,  104deg  on  the  12th  ;  mean  tem¬ 
perature  of  the  earth  at  3ft,  51.67deg.  Total  sunshine,  52  hours 
5  min,  which  is  42  hours  43  min  below  the  average  for  the  month  ; 
there  were  ten  sunless  days. — W.  H.  Diveks. 
Feather  in  Tomatoes. 
Our  contemporary,  “The  Gardener,”  in  its  issue  of  November 
8,  describes  and  illustrates  a  so-called  new  and  serious  disease, 
to  be  known  as  “feather,”  affecting  Tomato  foliage.  The  plant 
figured  is  one  of  several  grown  in  the  Lea  Valley  in  large,  well 
heated  and  well  ventilated  structures  *to  produce  fruit  for 
market.  Many  plants. are  normal  in  leaf  and  fruit,  and  not  a 
few  are  abnormal  in  foliage,  being  in  the  condition  known  as 
“  feather,”  and,  though  flowering  somewhat  boldly,  not  produc¬ 
ing  any  fruit.  In  some  of  the  structures  only  a  few  plants  are 
affected  with  “feather,”  some  plants  having  normal  growth  and 
fruit)  and  also  abnormal  formation  and  no  fruit,  the  normal 
growth  being  the  first,  the  abnormal  the  succession.  In  most 
instances,  however,  the  young  plant  has  normal  lower  leaves, 
and  after  being  planted  out  and  advanced  for  fruiting  develops 
“feather,”  and  the  production  of  fruit  is  nil. 
The  Late  Mr.  Charles  Maries. 
This  noted  plant  collector  and  horticulteur  passed  away  on 
October  11  at  a  comparatively  early  age.  “The  Garden”  pub¬ 
lishes  the  following  notes  of  his  career:  “He  was  in  the  employ¬ 
ment  of  Messrs.  James  Veitch  and  Sons,  when,  in  1876,  lie  was 
entrusted  with  a  mission  to  explore  part  of  China,  Formosa,  and 
Japan,  with  a  view  to  introducing  into  Europe  some  representa¬ 
tives  of  the  splendid  vegetation  which  was  known,  or  was  only 
supposed  to  exist,  in  these  countries,  and  especially  in  the  great 
Ichang  Valley.  Mr.  C.  Maries  succeeded  in  sending  home  and 
in  good  condition  such  plants  as  Platycodon,  grandiflorum 
Mariesii,  Rodgersia  podophylla,  Abies  Mariesii,  Styrax  Obassia, 
Pteris  longifolia  Mariesii,  Hamamelis  mollis,  Hydrangea  Hor- 
tensia  Mariesii,  and  the  charming  H.  Hortensia  rosea,  which 
deserves  a  much  more  extended  cultivation  than  it  receives  at 
present.  He  also  reintroduced  the  long-lost  and  very  pretty 
Caryopteris  Mast  acanthus,  and  a  host  of  other  plants  of  equal 
merit.  His  success  in  introducing  these  plants  is  all  the  more 
remarkable  if  we  take  into  consideration  the  difficulties  with, 
which  collectors  had  to  contend  in  those  days  of  comparatively 
slow  navigation,  and  was  mainly  due  to  the  care,  and,  I  may  add, 
also  the  ingenuity  he  displayed  in  the  packing  and  forwarding  of 
these  plants  to  which  he  was  so  devoted.  Later  he  was 
appointed  superintendent  of  the  Gardens  of  Durbhungah,  and 
ultimately  of  the  magnificent  gardens  of  Gwalior,  where  lie  made 
some  very  extensive  alterations  and  improvements  during  the 
many  years  that  he  had  them  under  his  direction.  That  Mr.  C. 
Maries  had  well  employed  his  time,  and  that  his  exertions  were 
well  and  duly  appreciated,  is  evident  from  the  fact  . that,  besides 
being  an  occasional  contributor  to  the  gardening  papers  and  to 
the  Journal  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society,  he  was  also  a 
Fellow  of  the  Linnean  Society,  and  was  one  of  the  recipients  of 
a  Victoria  Medal  of  Honour.  To  his  widow,  his  son,  and  his 
daughter  we  offer  our  deepest  sympathy.”  , 
