14 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE 
The  “Daffodil  King’’  on  Tour— No,  13. 
{Condiidecl  from  parje  o9S,  lust  vol.) 
A  call  was  made  at  Erromanga,  one  of  the  islands  of  the  New 
Hebrides,  where  they  were  entertained  by  the  Rev.  H.  A.  Robert- 
,son,  a  Canadian,  who  had  the  courage  to  follow  uij  the  civilising 
of  the  natives  after  the  missionary  Williams  and  several  other 
pioneei’s  had  been  murdered  and  eaten.  Here  was  witnessed 
an  interesting  sight.  Mr.  Robertson  had  been  absent  in  Aus¬ 
tralia  for  some  months  and  returned  to  his  flock.  On  the  steamer 
casting  anchor  the  mission  station  was  alive  with  excited  natives, 
waiting  on  shore  to  give  their  pastor  a  welcome,  which  was  of  the 
heartiest  description,' flags  and  sundry  decorations  being  much 
in  evidence.  On  a  neighbouring  island  Mr.  Cheesman  got  the 
natives  to  collect  a  large  number  of  Zamias,  and  in  various  parts 
of  the  New  Hebrides  he  collected  many  Crotons  (Coditeums)  and 
other  plants  of  interest.  Some  of  the  natives  on  these  islands 
wear  armlets  of  boars’  tusks.  These  tusks  are  trained,  so  to  speak, 
and  boars  whose  tusks  are  desired  are  kept  tied  uii  and  carefully 
attended  to.  Some  native  huts  had  large  nulubers  hung  about, 
the  tu.sks  being  considered  sacred. 
The  missionaries  in  the  New  Hebrides  are  in  the  pay  of  the 
London  Missionary  Society.  There  are,  however,  missionaries 
scattered  over  the  South  Sea  Islands  unconnected  with  any 
.society,  working  in  their  own  way  and  at  their  own  expense. 
The  missionaries  on  the  Banks  Islands  are  in  the  pay  of  the 
Church  of  England,  which  has  a  college  on  Norfolk  Island  for  the 
training  of  native  missionaries.  The  practice  in  the  South  Sea 
Islands  is  to  establish  stations  where  the  natives  are  willing  to 
have  teachers,  and  these  are  occupied  by  natives  who  have  been 
approved  for  the  work,  and  thus  the  work  of  civilisation  is  pushed 
forward.  The  head  mi.ssion  stations  are  located  on  the  seaboard. 
The  London  Mi,ssionary  Society  has  a  hospital  in  the  New 
Hebrides,  under  the  care  of  skilled  missionary  doctors,  where 
natives  and  traders  are  treated.  There  Mr.  Barr  saw  a  fine 
young  fellow  being  treated,  the  son  of  a  charming  and  hospitable 
German  trader,  who  was  named  after  our  good  friend,  Mr.  Peter 
Veitch,  of  Exeter. 
On  the  return  journey  a  few  hours  were  again  spent  on  Norfolk 
Island,  and  Mr.  Cheesman  and  Mr.  Barr  made  an  expedition  and 
discovered  several  plants  of  interest  and  commercially  valuable. 
Arriving  back  at  tlie  starting  point  Mr.  Barr  journeyed  to  Free- 
mantle  and  Perth,  in  We.stern  Australia,  where  he  saw  Banksias 
in  great  numbers  and  variety.  He  travelled  northward  to  Cool- 
gardie  and  Calgourie,  both  of  which  are  desolate  looking  places. 
Schinus  molle,  or  Paper  Tree,  does  w'ell  thereabouts,  and  is  used 
for  street  planting ;  indeed,  it  was  the  only  con.siderable  plant  he 
.saw  in  these  parts  of  West  Australia.  From  here  he  .sailed  for  South 
Africa.  He  arrived  at  Capetown  on  the  8th  of  August,  1901,  and 
there  remained  till  the  1st  of  October,  1902,  wdien  martial  law  had 
ceased.  He  then  made  a  .six  months’  tour  through  Natal,  Trans¬ 
vaal,  and  Orange  River  Colony,  as  mentioned  in  the  first  chapter 
of  this  record. 
South  Africa. 
With  the  exception  of  the  Vlakfontein,  and  around  Majuba 
Hill,  the  country  was  so  burnt  up  that  few  plants  were  seen. 
Natal  and  the  Orange  River  Colony  contain  the  best  farming 
districts,  though  it  must  be  remembered  that  Natal  is  sub-tropical 
and  has  within  its  borders  Pineapple  and  sugar  plantations. 
Ladybrand,  in  the  Orange  Colony,  has  remarkably  fertile  sur¬ 
roundings.  There  has  been  a  great  deal  of  tree  iilanting  around 
Johannesburg,  these  being  species  of  Blue  Gums  (Eucalyptus), 
which  have  taken  hold  and  have  already  developed  quite  into 
young  forests.  Generally  speaking,  Mr.  Barr  considered  Cape 
Colony  and  the  Transvaal  the  healthiest  parts  of  South  Africa. 
Stapelias  were  among  the  many  plants  collected  by  Mr.  Barr, 
and  at  Lobatsi,  in  Bechuanaland,  he  discovered  a  beautiful  speci¬ 
men  of  Decabelone  Barkleyi,  which  he  succeeded  in  sending  down 
to  Capetown  in  perfect  condition,  with  two  handsome  flowers, 
these  being  handed  over  to  Prof.  MacOwen  to  dry  and  preserve. 
The  largest  Stapelia  collected  had  flowers  lOin  in  diameter. 
“  But,”  remarked  Mr.  Barr,  “  there  is  one  in  Durban  Botanic 
Gardens  said  to  have  flowers  15in  across.”  Mr.  Chalwin,  curator 
of  the  Municipal  Gardens,  Capetown,  has  about  forty  .specimens 
of  Stapelias. 
Our  informant  had  not  a  great  deal  to  say  of  the  botanic 
gardens  of  South  Africa.  That  at  Grahamstown  “  carried  off  the 
palm,”  and  Mr.  Tidmansh  is  the  curator.  At  the  Graaf  Reinet 
Garden  the  superintendent  is  Mr.  C.  J.  -Hewlett,  while  at  Port 
Elizabeth  Mr.  L.  T.  Butters  is  curator.  There  is  here  a  really 
fine  collection  of  plants,  and  every  year  the  gardens  are  being 
greatly  improved.  This  means  considerable  labour,  as  the  soil 
lias  largely  to  be  removed  and  replaced  by  better  material.  North 
End  Park  is  superintended  by  a  brother  of  Mr.  Butters,  it  being 
exceptionally  smart.  There  is  also  a  South  End  Park;  well  laid 
out,  and  a  considerable  addition  has  been  made  to  it  by  the 
inclusion  of  a  kopje  with  indigenous  scrub,  by  which  it  is  intended 
to  preserve  examples  of  the  native  flora. 
Stellenbosch  (Cape  Colony)  has  always  been  noted  for  its 
superior  Grape  culture  for  wine-making.  Mr.  John  X.  Merriman 
AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  January  7.  19C4. 
has  a  fruit  farm  there,  and  he  was  kind  enough  to  send  his  bailiff 
to  guide  Mr.  Barr  over  this  farm.  On  a  kopje  near  Mr.  Merri- 
man’s  house  there  are  quantities  of  Nerine  sarniensis.  Reverting 
to  the  wine,  the  best  red  and  white  wines  tasted  by  the  itinerant 
during  his  stay  in  South  Africa  were  those  made  by  Mrr  Merri- 
mau’s  bailiff.  The  whole  district  for  miles  round  was  noted  for 
its  wines.  The  vines  were  grown  as  bushes,  but  owing  to  the 
attacks  of  the  jiliylloxera  it  was  found  necessary  to  graft  them 
on  to  American  stocks. 
A  few  miles  out  from  Stellenbosch  Mr.  Barr  spent  a  day  or 
two  on  one  of  the  late  Mr.  Rhodes’  farms,  and  met  there  Mr. 
Pickstone.  (Incidentally  we  would  mention  that  Mr.  Pickstone 
visited  London  a  year  ago  in  order  to  make  fuller  preparations 
for  the  receiving  and  disposal  of  Cape  fruit  products  here,  and  he 
delivered  a  highly  interesting  lecture  on  fruit  culture  at  the 
Cape  before  the  Horticultural  Club.  This  lecture  was  really  a 
history  of  the  Rhodes  fruit  farms,  and  of  the  failures  and  suc¬ 
cesses  attending  the  venture.  For  these  reasons  it  is  very  valu¬ 
able,  and  it  is  printed  in  full  in  the  current  volume  of  the  Royal 
Horticultural  Society’s  Journal,  Yol.  xxviii..  Parts  1  and  2, 
October,  1903.) 
Mr.  Barr  remarked  that  Mr.  Pickstone  was  satisfied  with 
what  he  saw,  and  learnt,  and  accomplished  in  London.  The 
Rhodes  fruit  farms  are  seven  in  number,  and  variously  placed — 
one  at  Groot  Drakenstein,  four  at  Wellington,  and  one  each  at 
Tulbagh  and  Stellenbosch.  The  total  acreage  is  12,000  to  15,000, 
and  the  crops  comprise  Peaches,  Api-icots,  Plums,  Nectarines, 
Apples,  Pears,  and  Guavas,  but  the  latter  were  not  remarkable. 
This,  and  the  concluding  paragraph  which  was  accidentally 
omitted  from  our  notes  of  Mr.  Barr’s  tour  in  the  United  States 
of  America,  completes  the  descriptive  series  under  this  head. 
Our  obligations  are  due  to  the  veteran  gentleman  for  so  patiently 
receiving  us  on  a  number  of  separate  evenings,  and  for  having 
read  the  proofs  of  the  transcriptions  as  they  were  prepared. 
The  Mammoth  Caves  of  Kentucky. 
The  following  paragraphs  were  omitted  from  the  notes  dealing 
with  the  United  States; 
From  Cincinnati  Mr.  Barr  went  to  the  Mammoth  Cave  of 
Kentucky.  In  this  the  tide  rises  and  falls.  The  fish  are  blind, 
and  it  is  a  long  rambling  place  of  considerable  interest  to  the 
curious.  The  tide  chanced  to  be  out  when  ho  paid  his  visit,  no 
boating  was  needed,  but  had  it  been  in,  some  part  of  the  cave 
would  necessarily  have  needed  the  use  of  a  boat.  The  people  of 
the  United  States,  however,  think  a  great  deal  of  it,  and  make 
long  journeys  to  see  it.  It  is  a  very  fatiguing  matter  to  no  from 
one  end  to  the  other,  and  the  veteran  says  he  is  much  inclined 
to  take  Douglas  Gerald’s  view  of  the  matter.  “  Father,”  says 
young  Douglas,  “  I  have  been  down  a  coalpit.”  “  Why  did  you 
do  so,  Douglas?”  said  the  father.  “Oh,  just  to  say  I  had  been 
down  a  coalpit.”  “  Well,  now,  could  you  not  just  as  well  have 
said  so  without  going  down?” 
The  traveller  was  told  Kentucky  was  all  more  or  less  honey¬ 
combed  w'ith  .similar  caverns.  This  particular  one  is  the  posses¬ 
sion  of  a  private  individual  who  has  erected  a  hotel,  and  has 
farmed  it  out.  Kentucky  is  one  of  the  States  where  the  coloured 
man  has  his  own  railway  compartments,  and  w’hites  are  not  allow-ed 
in  them,  nor  blacks  allowed  in  amongst  the  whites.  In  the 
Eastern  and  Western  States  there  is  no  distinction  in  this  respect 
to  the  colour  of  the  skin  in  railways.  “  I  should  not  be  surprised,” 
said  Mr.  Barr,  “  if  some  such  an  arrange-ment  is  soon  adopted  in 
South  Africa,  and  when  this  comes  it  will  be  better  for  all  con¬ 
cerned,  as  the  white  man  will  not  tolerate  in  South  Africa  a  black 
in  a  first  or  second  class  carriage,  and  the  guards  are  often  put 
to  their  wit’s  end  when  a  black  presents  himself  with  a  first  or  a 
second  class  ticket.  The  third  class  is  the  black  man’s  carriage ; 
it  docs  not  matter  how  well  dressed  the  black  man  is.  As  the 
blacks  rise  in  the  scale  I  am  quite  sure  they  will  demand  carriages 
of  their  own  in  three  grades ;  and,  on  the  whole,  despite  of  Exeter 
Hall,  I  am  sure  this  will  be  better  for  all  parties.  The  educated 
black  man  has  no  wish  to  force  himself  into  the  company  of  th(‘ 
whites.  I  had  this  from  the  lips  of  two  black  clergymen  when  at 
Grahamstown,  S.A.” 
- ■  • - 
Flowers  at  Christmas. 
One  of  the  prettiest  little  shows  I  have  ever  scon  at  Christ¬ 
mas  time  is  that  at  Pitt  House,  Bembridgo,  I.W.,  the  residence 
of  W.  Durnford,  Esq.  The  centre  stage  of  a  .span-roofed  green¬ 
house  is  filled  with  dwarf  white  Chrysanthemums,  variety  L. 
Canning,  which  forms  the  groundwork ;  and  among  these  are 
arranged  plants  of  Poinsettias  trained  clown  to  show  their  head 
towards  the  doorway,  at  a  sufficient  height  to  clear  the  Chrys¬ 
anthemums.'  The  green  foliage  and  sciarlet  bracts  of  the  Poin¬ 
settias  over  the  white  ground  are  exceedingly  effective.  The 
house  is  flanked  on  cither  side  with  well-flowered  jilants  of  double 
Primulas  in  variety.  Zonal  “  Geraniums,”  with  the  early  batch 
of  Tulips  and  Freesias  just  coming  out,  all  forming  a  pretty 
winter  collection  and  doing  great  credit  to  the  gardener,  Mr.  J. 
Norris. — C.  Orchard. 
