April  21,  1901. 
JOUBNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
.341 
Cassell’s  Popular  Gardening-. 
A  second  part  of  the  re-issue  of  “  Cassell’s  Popular  Gar¬ 
dening,”  price  7d.  net,  has  reached  us.  The  work  is  being 
entirely  re-written,  and  is  fully  illustrated. 
Weather  at  Hamilton,  N.B. 
At  last,  after  a  retarded  spell  of  exceptionally  uncongenial 
spring  weather,  a  change  has  come  upon  the  district.  Of  course 
everyone  interested  in  the  produce  of  the  soil  is  now  as  busy 
as  can  be,  and  with  a  few  days  of  such  admirable  conditions, 
nmch  shall  be  overtaken  that  has  been  seriously  belated. — C. 
Spring-  Exhibition  at  Croydon. 
In  every  part  of  the  South  and  Midlands  of  England  (we  do 
not  hear  of  many  new  Scottish  shows)  spring  flower  shows  are 
increasing,  and  Ipswich,  Croydon,  Feltham,  Truro,  Plymouth, 
Birmingham,  have  now  established  exhibitions  of  Daffodils  and 
other  hardy  plants.  The  Croydon  and  District  Horticultural 
Mutual  Improvement  Society  held  their  show  yesterday  in  the 
Art  Galleries,  and,  favoured  with  good  weather,  it  was  very 
successful. 
Antifrost  Solution. 
As  an  excellent  remedy  against  the  freezing  of  shop  windows 
the  Pharmaceutische  Zeitung  recommends  the  application  of  a 
mixture  consisting  of  fifty-five  grams  of  glycerine  dissolved  in 
one  litre  of  62  per  cent,  alcohol,  containing,  to  improve  the 
odour,  some  oil  of  amber.  As  soon  as  the  mixture  clarifies  it  is 
rubbed  over  the  inner  surface  of  the  glass.  This  treatment,  it 
is  claimed,  not  only  prevents  the  formation  of  frost,  but  also 
stops  sweating. 
Scottish  Emig-rants  to  Canada. 
The  “  rmsh  to  Canada”  has  again  begun,  and  the  first 
steamship  of  the  season  has  sailed  on  the  16th  from  Glasgow 
with  no  less  than  700  emigrants,  mostly  of  the  agricultural 
class,  among  w-hich  I  could  here  and  there  see  representatives 
from  the  gardening  profession.  I  was  very  much  impressed  by 
noting  the  fine,  strapping  young  fellows  thus  drained  away  from 
our  shores — indeed,  the  very  pick  of  our  manhood.  However, 
it  seems  there  is  no  remedy  for  this,  and  not  likely  to  be  forth¬ 
coming  in  the  near  future.  Men  certainly  must  offer  them¬ 
selves  in  the  better  market,  and  strike  out  for  the  means  which 
assures  the  greater  amount  of  wealth  and  independence, 
irrespective  of  patriotism  and  other  hard-to-be-severed  ties.  But 
patria  cnra,  carior  libertas- — D.  C. 
Hyacinths  and  Spring-  Flowers  in  London.. 
Wherever  one  travels  in  the  West  End  of  London,  gorgeous 
arrays  of  flowers  greet  the  eyes,  and  their  fragrance  scents  the 
air  for  long  distances.  Particularly  is  this  true  of  the  square 
by  the  west  side  of  the  Houses  of  Parliament,  and  at  Spring 
Gardens,  where  the  London  County  Council  offices  are.  It  is 
unnecessary  to  add  that  Hyde  Park,  Regent’s  Park,  and  all  the 
parks  and  open  spaces  are  alike  in  displaying  beautiful  legions  of 
floral  colour,  while  overhead  the  leaves  of  the  trees  in  the 
freshest,  tenderest,  and  brightest  of  greenery,  provide  all  that 
is  needed  to  make  the  pleasures  and  beauties  of  the  parks  un¬ 
challengeable.  The  Hyacinths  this  year  are  particularly  strong 
and  handsome,  and  were  supplied,  we  believe,  by  Messrs.  .lames 
Carter  and  Co.,  of  Holborn.  “  Wes^  Enders  ”  are,  indeed,  a 
favoured  people. 
Market  Prices  of  Fruit  and  Vegetables.  ' 
Flowers  are  cheap  and  plentiful.  A  fine  lot  of  hothouse 
Strawberries  have  arrived,  and  are  selling  at  Is.  and  Is.  3d. 
the  “  punnett,”  or  small  basket.  Lettuce  is  to  be  had  in  fairly 
large  quantities  at  lid.  and  2d.  per  head.  Cucumbers  bring 
.5d.  to  8d.  each.  Watercress  is  Id.  a  hunch,  and  Asparagus 
Is.  6d.  to  2s.  a  bunch.  Good  supplies  of  Australian  and  Tas¬ 
manian  Apples  continue  to  arrive,  the  best  selling  at  8d.  per  lb., 
other  kinds  at  6d.  Oranges  are  at  present  coming  direct  to  tue 
Tyne.  Retail  jirices  remain  unaltered,  but  wholesale  figures 
have  risen  Is.  to  Is.  6d.  per  box.  Rhubarb  grown  in  the  open- 
is  selling  at  Id.  the  bunch,  forced  kinds  at  lid.  New  Potatoes 
are  a  little  cheaper,  being  now  6d.  i>er  Ih.  Potatoes  of  very 
good  quality  from  the  Canary  Islands  can  be  had  at  3d.  per  lb., 
which  is  the  price  asked  for  those  grown  at  Alderney.  Sprino; 
Cabbages  are  just  coming  in  from  Evesham,  and  fetch  2d.  and 
3d.  each. 
The  late  Mr.  H.  Herbst  and  Gandening  Charities. 
We  learn  from  Messrs.  Geo.  Nicholson  and  "W.  Lotting 
Hemsley,  executors  under  the  will  of  the  late  Mr.  Herbst, 
that  the  deceased  bequeathed  £100  each  to  the  Royal  Gardeners’ 
Benevolent  Institution  and  the  Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan  Fund. 
Motor  Cars  and  StFawberry  Culture. 
Cultivators  of  Strawberries  in  wayside  gardens  have  a 
complaint  of  their  own  against  the  motor  car.  It  raises  such  a 
cloud  of  dust  that  the  cultivation  of  the  Strawberry  near  roads 
traversed  by  the  motor  car  is  said  to  be  impossible.  The  dust 
settles  on  the  young  Strawberries,  and  the  dew  settles  on  tne 
dust,  and  there  is  an  end  of  the  Strawberry  as  a  marketable 
fruit.  At  present  the  fruit  prospects  of  the  year  on  the  whole 
have  never  been  surpassed.  The  cold  weather  of  March  has 
effectually  prevented  any  premature  growth,  and  if  we  have  not 
a  continuance  of  night  frosts  the  fruit  harvest  of  this  year 
should  be  an  exceptionally  good  one.  That  of  last  year  was  an 
exceiDtionally  bad  one.  ' 
The  Fpuit  Growing  Industry. 
The  Departmental  Committee  appointed  by  the  Earl  of 
Onslow-  to  inquire  into  and  report  on  the  fruit  industry  of  Great 
Britain  held  three  sittings  this  w-eek.  There  w-ere  present :  Mr. 
A.  S.  T.  Griffith-Boscawen,  M.P.  (chairman).  Colonel  Long, 
M.P.,  Mr.  C.  W.  Radciiffe-Cooke,  Mr.  Hodge,  Mr.  Monro,  Mr.' 
Vinson,  Dr.  Somerville,  Mr.  P.  Spencer  Pickering,  F.R.S.,  the 
Rev.  W.  Wilks,  and  Mr.  Ernest  Garnsey  (secretary).  Evidence 
w-as  given  by  Mr.  George  Hughes,  Mr.  E.  T.  Field,  and  Mr. 
J.  H.  AVakeman-Best,  AAmrcestershire  grow’ers ;  Mr.  W.  Welch¬ 
man  and  Mr.  Collins  Clayton,  representatives  of  the  AATsbech 
district;  and  Mr.  Kruse,  a  grower  from  Truro;  and  Mr.  G. 
Kersw-ell  and  Mr.  J.  Trevathan,  Devon  growers,  and  Mr.  P. 
Spencer  Pickering,  M.A.,  E.R.S.,  technical  expert. 
Farewell!  Chiswick. 
A  cosy  garden,  quiet,  sheltered,  monastic  in  its  general 
aspect ;  a  place  of  sunshine,  with  cool  bow’ers,  some  magnificent 
and  shady  trees ;  a  place  with  tall  Box-edgings,  w  ith  a  council 
house  smothered  in  Ivy,  w'hose  w-indows  faced  a  shaven  level 
lawn  that  stretched  outwai-d  to  that  wonderfully  historic  struc- 
tui  e  the  Great  Vinery,  in  the  distance ;  a  place  of  quaint  old- 
fashioned  plant  houses,  with  borders,  and  beds,  and  paths,  and 
brakes  of  fertile  fruit  trees  all  about — this  and  a  great  deal  more 
was  “Chisw-ick,”  the  one  and  only  Chiswick;  the  Chisw'ick  that 
gardeners  know,  and  whose  jiame  and  fame  must  endure  for 
aye.  But  the  scene  is  changed,  and  the  Chisw'ick  of  our  senti¬ 
ment  has  ended  her  historical  record.  AVith  the  sale  of  the 
plants,  shrubs,  and  trees  about  a  month  ago,  almost  the  last 
event  had  come  to  pass,  but  the  finale  and  exeunt  w-ill  be  per¬ 
formed  when  the  present  sufjerintendent  closes  the  small  iron 
gates  for  the  last  time  on  Saturday  evening  of  this  w-eek.  And 
he  shall  say,  and  we  all  shall  say,  ‘‘Chiswick!  Farewell!  ” 
Liverpool’s  Apple  Trade. 
The  “Journal  of  Commerce”  some  time  ago  noted  a  pro¬ 
posal  to  send  Canadian  Apples  not  to  the  Liveroool  market 
alone,  w-hich  at  present  monopolises  the  trade,  but  to  Man¬ 
chester,  Birmingham,  Bristol,  and  other  populous  centres.  The 
object  w-as  to  save  Imndon  and  provincial  buyers  the  expense 
and  trouble  of  a  journey  to  the  Inverpool  fruit  market,  which 
is  held  thrice  a  w-eek ;  it  w-as  also  considered  that  buyers  on  the 
spot  would  be  willing  to  pay  better  prices  for  the  fruit  than 
after  they  had  paid  their  fares  to  and  from  Liverpool.  The 
idea  found  such  favour  among  Caiiadian  farmers  that  some  of 
them  acted  on  it,  and  sent  their  Apples  to  Manchester  and 
Birmingham  instead  of  to  Liverpool ;  bnt  the  results  have  l)een, 
it  is  stated  disastrous,  for  buyers  there  w-ere  so  few  that  the  bulk 
of  the  fruit  remained  unsold,  and  the  prices  were  much  less  than 
at  Liverpool  ;  consequently  the  plan  has  been  abandoned,  and 
Liverpool  will  continue  to  be  the  great  market  for  Canadian 
fruit.  It  is  declared  to  be  the  best  fruit  market  in  the  country, 
being  attended  by  some  600  buyers  at  the  sales,  which  are  held 
thrice  a  w-eek,  and  duiing  the  Apple  season  just  ended  over  a 
million  and  a  half  barrels  of  American  and  Canadian  Apples 
were  sold  at  Liverpool  at  better  prices  than  can  be  realised 
elsewhere. 
