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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
January  7,  1904. 
Potato  Spiiit  y.  Petrol. 
Mr.  H.  Duiikin^  instructor  in  horticulture  to  the  Warwick¬ 
shire  County  Council,  writing  in  support  of  the  National  Potato 
'  Society,  drew  attention  to  the  probable  use  of  Potato  spirit  in 
place  of  petrol  for  motor  vehiclc.s  in  the  near  future.  The  petrol 
is  said  to  be  less  dependable  than  Potato  spirit ;  but,  of  course, 
the  duantity  of  the  latter  is  too  small  to  make  it  a  commercial 
commodity  at  present. 
From  Producer  to  Consumer. 
The  Great  We.stGrn  Railway  Company  is  preparing  a  pamphlet 
for  public  circulation  and  distribution,  containing  the  names  of 
farmers  and  others  residing  in  districts  served  by  its  system, 
from  whom  dairy,  farm,  and  market  garden  produce  can  be 
obtained  direct  by  the  consumer.  All  that  it  is  necessary  for 
anyone  to  do  in  order  to  get  his  name  included  in  the  list  is  to 
apply  at  the  nearest  Great  Western  station  for  a  form  which  will 
be  provided  for  the  inii'ijose. 
“The  Heather.” 
At  a  recent  meeting  of  the  New  ^  ork  Florists’  Club,  Mr. 
Alexander  Wallace,  editor  of  “The  Florists’  Exchange,”  read 
some  selections  from  his  new  book  on  “  The  Heather.”  He 
dwelt  most  particularly  on  the  distribution  of  the  plant,  its 
discovery  in  America  by  Jackson  Dawson  in  1861,  and  the  dis¬ 
cussion  among  botanists  that  ensued  relative  thereto.  He  also 
told  of  some  of  the  uses  to  which  the  Heather  is  put  by  the 
Scottish  people,  and  of  the  great  affection  in  which  the  plant  is 
held  by  Scotsmen,  characterising  it  as  “  the  flower  that  had 
made  Scotland  famous,”  for,  although  Caledonia  was  renowned 
for  her  great  men,  whisky,  and  other  products,  modern  authors 
preferred  to  designate  their  books  treating  on  Scotland  by  .such 
titles  as  the  Land  of  Heather,  proving  the  magnetic  charm  of  the 
humble  shrub.  He  also  quoted  from  a  recent  article  in  a 
London  gardening  paper  showing  that  white  Heather  is  now  a 
favourite  “  buttonhole  ”  of  royalty  and  gentry'  in  Great  Britain, 
and  added  that  the  Scotti.sh-American  millionaire,  Andrew 
Carnegie,  recently  had  taken  up  the  fad,  he  having  returned 
from  his  native  country  with  a  spray  of  white  Heather  in  his 
buttonhole.  The  selections  were  much  enjoyed  by  the  members 
present,  Mr.  l-Vallace  being  frequently  applauded,  and  at  the  end 
awarded  a  rising  vote  of  thanks. 
Exeter  Gardeners’  Society  and  the  late  Secretary 
At  a  convivial  gathering  of  members  of  the  Devon  and  Exeter 
Gardeners’  Association,  at  the  Castle  Hotel,  Mr.  Andrew  Hope, 
who  recently  resigned  the  secretaryship  of  the  Association  after 
twelve  years  of  honorary  work,  was  presented  with  a  gold  double 
watch  chain,  with  gold-mounted  seal  attached,  in  recognition 
of  his  services.  The  chair  was  taken  by  Mr.  W.  Mackay,  hon. 
treasurer  of  the  A.ssociation,  who  acted  as  hon.  secretary  to  the 
Testimonial  Committee.  Mr.,  Mackay  eulogised  the  services  of 
Mr.  Hope,  and  remarked  that  the  A.ssociation,  like  .some  em¬ 
ployers  cf  labour,  did  not  feel  they  had  so  good  a  servant  until 
they  had  lost  him.  Then  it  occurred  to  them,  in  the  words  of 
the  poet,  “It  is  very  hard  that  wit  and  learning  should  have  no 
reward,’  and  so  they  decided  on  making  a  presentation  to  Mr. 
Hope,  in  token  of  the  regard  and  esteem  in  which  he  was  held 
by  the  Association.  Mr.  Hope,  in  acknowledgment,  remarked 
that  the  members  of  the  Association  had  met  together  now  for 
twelve  years  for  the  common  good,  and  he  felt  very  keenly  the 
many  kindnesses  he  had  received  from  those  connected  with  it. 
The  work  of  the  secretaryship  had  been  to  him  a  great  pleasure. 
The  Association  began  in  a  modc.st  way,  but  the  first  year  was 
a  success,  and  the  second  a  greater  one.  As  years  went  on  it 
bec.ame  an  institution  of  which  they  were  al]  proud;  and,  without 
being  at  all  boastful,  he  thought  he  might  say  that  it  ci’eated  a 
certain  amount  of  interest  among  those  who  had  a  taste  for 
gardening  in  the  neighbourheed  of  J'ixeter  and  of  the  county  of 
Devon. 
Emigrants’  Information. 
The  January  circulars  of  the.  Emigrants’  Information  Office 
and  the  annual  editions  of  the  pennj'  handbooks  show  the  present 
prospects  of  emigration.  Tiie  notice  boards  are  now  exhibited, 
and  the  circulars  may  be  obtained  free  of  charge  at  more  than 
1,000  iniblic  libraries,  I'rban  District  Councils,  and  institutions 
throughout  the  country,  or  from  the  Emigrants’  Information 
Office,  31,  Broadway,  Westminster,  S,¥/. 
Watson's  Nurseries,  Clontarf. 
The  new  entrance  to  Watson’s  Nurseries  at  Clontarf,  Dublin, 
which  has  been  in  preparation  for  some  months,  is  now  open, 
affording  a  convenient  entry  on  tram  line  to  the  now  largest 
nur.sery  in  Dublin,  recent  additions  having  brought  the  grounds 
adjoining  railway  and  at  Hollybrook  (close  by)  to  thirteen  acres 
in  extent.  A  good  entry  to  these  nurseries  is  an  acquisition 
which  cannot  fail  to  be  appreciated  by  the  firm’s  numerous 
customers. 
Racial  Variation  in  Plants. 
The  Violets  of  Philadelphia  afford  to  Mr.  W.  Stone  the  text 
for  an  article  on  racial  variation  in  animals  and  plants,  which 
appears  in  the  October  issue  of  f,be  “  Pi'oceedings  ”  of  the  Phila¬ 
delphia  Academy.  In  the  course  of  this  article  the  author  directs 
attention  to  the  growing  practice  among  American  zoologists  of 
discarding  the  use  of  trinomials,  and  classing  as  a  species  every 
distinct  animal  form,  no  matter  how  slightly  differentiated.  This 
usage,  it  is  urged,  receives  support  from  the  methods  of  botanical 
classification.  Where  is  all  this  splitting  going  to  end.®  is  the 
question  which  naturally  arises  in  the  minds  of  old-fashioned 
zoologists. 
A  Judge  Samples  Potatoes. 
Judge  Bradbury,  at  the  W^igan  County  Court,  heard  an 
action  in  which  John  Graham,  farmer,  of  Dalton,  near  Wigan, 
claimed  £15  15.s.  from  Thomas  Myers,  a  Potato  merchant,  of 
Parbold,  near  Southport,  for  4^  tons  of  Potatoes  sold  and  de¬ 
livered.  The  case  for  the  plaintiff  was  that  whilst  travelling  in 
a  train  to  Wigan  the  defendant  entered  into  a  contract  for  the 
supply  of  Potatoes,  and  that  after  they  had  been  delivered  he 
repudiated  the  contract,  and  alleged  that  the  Potatoes  were  not 
marketable  and  not  of  the  description  given  at  the  sale.  His 
Honour  having  inspected  a  sampleload  of  the  Potatoes  found 
that  the  defendant  was  bound  by  the  contract,  and  there  would 
be  judgment  for  the  plaintiff  for  the  whole  amount  claimed, 
with  costs. 
Chrysanthemum  History  Notes. 
At  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Paignton  (Devon)  Gardeners’ 
Association,  Mr.  G.  .Hall  read  an  intere.sting  paper  on  “Chrys¬ 
anthemums.”  He  remarked  that  it  was  a  flower  he  was  very 
fond  of,  coming  at  a  time  when  other  flowers  were  getting  scarce, 
and  there  was  not  another  flower  that  could  be  credited  with 
being  a  better  di.splay.  It  was  surprising  to  see  the  advance 
made,  seeing  that  when  first  introduced  to  this  country  they 
were  no  larger  than  a  Daisy.  The  Chrysanthemum,  the  national 
flower  of  China  and  Japan,  was  first  introduced  into  England 
about  the  year  1764.  In  1789  a  French  merchant  imported  three 
large  flowering  varieties  from  China,  the  only  one  that  survived 
finding  its  way  to  England  and  being  the  first  large  flowering 
Chrysanthemum  known.  Mr.  Curtis  in  1796"  described  it  as  a 
plant  of  strong  growth.  From  1798  to  1836  other  varieties  were 
introduced,  which  included  the  principal  colours ;  in  1802  the 
quilled  pink,  in  1824  the  Anemone  flowering  variety,  and  in  1826 
there  w'ere  forty-eight  varieties  growing  in  the  Horticultural 
Gardens,  Chiswick.  The  pompon  varieties  originated  from  two 
small  varieties,  known  as  Chusan  Daisy,  which  were  introduced 
by  Mr.  Fortune  from  China  in  1846.  In  comparing  the  Chry.s- 
anthemum  of  1903  with  those  of  the  earliest  introduction  it 
served  to  give  an  idea  of  what  florists  had  had  to  contend  with. 
From  1865  to  1903  the  progress  of  the  Chrysanthemum  had  been 
rapid  and  decisive,  both  in  hybridisation  and  cultivation,  so  that 
many  of  the  newest  varieties  were  marvels  of  symmetry  and 
beauty.  He  confined  his  remarks  on  culture  to  the  Japanese 
section,  and  growing  from  one  to  three  or  four  blooms  on  each 
plant.  The  first  thing  to  do  after  the  old  plants  were  cut  was 
to  thin  out  some  of  the  cuttings,  where  too  thick,  and  place  the 
old  stools  in  a  cool  house  or  frame  as  near  the  glass  as  possible. 
Mr.  Hall  then  dealt  exhaustively  with  propagation,  first  and 
second  lootting,  and  final  potting,  advocating  March  or  April  for 
second  and  early  in  June  fpr  final  potting. 
