3GS 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
April  2?,  1904. 
The  Apple  Bud-mite. 
Allow  me  to  record  my  best  thanks  to  the  Editor  of  the 
Journal  of  Iloiticultuir  for  the  information  given  conceiming 
the  Apple  shoot  I  recently  forwarded  to  Mitre  Court  Chambei's ; 
and  for  the  readiness  with  which  it  was  submitted  to  scientific 
reseai'ch.  I  am  also  greatly  indebted  to  Mr.  G.  Abbey  for  the 
thoroughness  he  has  displayed  in  investigating  and  illustrating 
the  shoots,  and  the  insects  found  in  the  diseased  tissues  and 
buds.  iMi\  Abbey  is  undoubtedly  doing  splendid  woik  in  con¬ 
nection  with  such  matters,  and  deserves  the  gratitude  of  all 
inteiested  in  horticultnral  pursuits.  I,  too,  sincerely  hope 
that  this  attack  of  “Apple  hud  mite”  is  quite  exceptional,  and 
will  he  conhned  to  the  tree  under  notice,  tor  I  fully  realise  that 
a  general  attack  on  the  trees  of  our  orchards  would  he  even 
more  i  iiinous  than  the  Black  Currant  mite  has  proved.  All  the 
shoots  on  the  affected  tree  have  been  removed  and  burned, 
and  eveiy  encouragement  will  he  given  to  secui'e  clean  growth. 
Should  another  attack  ho  noticed,  the  tree  will  he  destroved. — 
H.  D.  _ 
Gardeners  and  their  Duties. 
I  hasten  to  comfort  “R.  C.  S.”  (page  342)  by  assuring  him 
that  1  have  had  little  trouble  from  gaixleners,  young  or  old; 
certainly  with  not  more  than  six  men  during  fourteen  years’ 
work.  This  extreme  case  was  cited  to  comfort  other  men, 
who  might  meet  such  treatment.  I  woidd  apologise  at  once 
were  the  fanlt  with  me.  The  gardener  already  mentioned  dis¬ 
tinctly  .stated  to  a  member  of  the  class  that  his  objection  to  me 
was  not  personal  at  all.  He  had  treated  my  a.ssi.stant  in  the 
same  way  the  previous  year,  yet  my  as.sistant  was  a  favourite  and 
good  teacher,  who  left  much  good  work  behind  in  the  village. 
I  heartily  agree  with  “  R.  C.  S.”  about  diplomacy.  I  try  it, 
and  find  it  valuable.  IMy  father  was  taught  (and  he  taught  me) 
that  “  a  little  oil,  Joe,  keeps  rusty  hinges  from  breaking.” 
Thus,  sir,  there  were  no  “  particulars  ”  about  my  visit.  I 
thought  of  writing  a  “  humble  ”  letter  to  the  good  man  (he  was 
a  good  gardener),  after  the  first  week,  but  people  said:  “Oh, 
don’t  trouble  about  him;  we  know  how  it  is.”  I  thoroughly 
agree  with  all  that  “  R.  C.  S.”  wrote,  and  thank  him;  I  will 
try  to  profit  by  it. — X. 
Birmingliam  Councillors  as  Gardening  Experts. 
The  following  is  fi'om  the  “  Birmingham  Evening  Dis¬ 
patch  ”  : —  AYho  is  the  city  councillor — or  is  it  an  alderman? — 
who  knows  not  the  difference  between  a  Laburnum  and  an 
Acacia?  Councillor  M  illiam  Davis,  himself  a  member  of  the 
Baths  and  Parks  Committee,  is  responsible  foi'  the  assertion 
that  thei’e  is  actually  one  member  of  that  committee  who  has 
confessed  to  ignorance  on  the  subject.  Now  Councilloi'  Davis 
is  a  gardening  enthusiast,  and  president  of  the  Birmingham  and 
District  Amateur  Gardeners’  A.ssociation,  and  he  is  probably 
surprised  to  find  that  there  is  anybody  so  ignorant  of  the 
elements  of  botany — or  .shall  we  call  it  woodcraft  ?  The 
point  is,  what  amount  of  knowledge  of  trees  and  plants 
.should  be  possessed  by  a  city  father  to  qualify  him  for  a  seat  on 
the  Baths  and  Parks  Committee?  As  one  civic  legislator  pointed 
out,  expert  knowledge  is  not  really  needed  when  a  committee 
is  guided  by  a  competent  gardener  in  all  that  appertains  to  the 
proper  upkeep  of  the  city  parks.  Fancy  the  committeemen 
having  to  pass  an  elementary  examination  in  the  science  of 
botany!  But  the  question  opens  up  the  possibilities  .sugge.sted 
in  a  point  which  has  often  been  urged  by  the  City  Association- 
that  the  council  committees  .should  be  so  constituted  as  to  in¬ 
clude  as  far  as  possible  members  with  expert  knowledge  on 
various  subjects.  An  accountant  was  obviously  qualified  for  a 
place  on  the  Finance  Committee,  a  doctor  for  a  seat  on  the 
Health  Committee,  a  builder  or  contractor  for  election  on  the 
Public  Works  Committee  or  the  Housing  Committee,  and  so 
forth.  In  the  same  way,  it  is  sugge.sted,  the  amateur  gardeners 
of  the  council  should  be  elected  on  to  the  Parks  Committee,  for 
they  might  be  supposed  to  know  sometbing  of  the  business  in 
hand.  But  this  particular  committee  have  most  to  do  with 
musical  arrangements  and  summer-night  band-concerts  than 
any  other  body  on  the  council,  and  it  might  equally  be  argued 
that  the  amateur  musicians  of  the  council  .should  share  with  the 
amateur  gardeners  and  the  amateur  swimmers  the  privileges  of 
controlling  the  baths  and  parks  of  Birmingham.  The  question 
raised  by  the  I.aburnum  and  Acacia  has  many  sides! 
Potatoes  and  the  Potato  Boom. 
I  must  certainly  compliment  “  T.  A.  .”  on  the  impio^d 
style  of  his  latest  contribution  to  this  subject,  page  342.  His 
primary  onslauglit  appears  to  have  been  more  warmly  repelled 
than  he  anticipated  ;  but  if  he  is  fond  of  dealing  blows  at  others 
he  must  be  prepared  to  receive  some  in  return.  I  am  not  at  all 
surprised  at  the  fresh  injunction  “  T.  A.  W.”  advances  about 
“  Northern  Star,”  as  I  have  heard  as  many  conflicting  opinions 
about  that  varietv  as  I  have  of  the  merits  of  popular  politicians ; 
but  I  have  also  seen  enough  to  justify  my  high  opinion  of  the 
Star.  “  T.  A.  W.”  next  includes  me  among  “those  clever 
people”  wiio  run  away  with  the  idea  that  the  Star  is  the  first 
of  a  new  disease-resisting  strain ;  and  then  I  am  given  a  wonder¬ 
ful  piece  of  information,  viz.,  that  Magnum  Bonum  had  a  great 
reputation.  Well,  I  am  certainly  not  clever  enough  to  have 
ti-rown  Potatoes  for  forty  years  without  having  grown  over  and 
over  ao-ain  that  generous  variety.  It  certainly  was  at  one  time 
a  fairly  tough  disease-resister ;  but  ive  have  had  far  too  few  new 
varieties  with  similar  characteristics  during  recent  years,  hence 
the  value  of  the  strains  which  are  being  boomed  to-day. 
“  T.  A.  M'.”  has  certainly  not  .strengthened  his  position  by 
his  additional  remarks  about  Sutton’s  Discovery,  for  if  a  vaiiety 
produces  both  kidnevs  and  rounds  freely  on  the  same  root,  it  is 
decidedlv  petty  criticism  to  say  that  anyone  is  'vrong  for 
callino-  it  a  round,  especially  having  regard  to  the  fact  that  the 
classification  of  Potatoes  is  admitted  on  all  sides  to  be  in  a  hope¬ 
less  muddle.  Surely  it  is  not  necessaiy  for  i.  A  \\.  to 
advise  me  to  go  deeply  into  the  subject  of  the  boom,  for  I  have 
spent  a  good  deal  of  thought  and  time  in  the  considoration  of 
such  matters,  and  my  opportunities  in  this  respect  make  it  quite 
unnecessary  for  me  to  rely  upon  a  “  Potato  farmer  s  opinion. 
Neither  am  I  ignorant  of  the  trade,  or  what  some  of  the  tiade 
papers  sav  upon  the  matter,  but  I  know  enough  of  trade  to 
understand  the  subtle  meaning  of  the  somewhat  hackneyed 
term,  “  A  case  of  sour  grapes.”  .i  •  „ 
The  unscrupulous  traders  who  are  ready  to  push  anything 
soon  find  their  level,  but  those  who  get  a  good  thing  and  then 
push  it  for  all  they  are  worth  prosper  amazingly ;  but  even 
thev  are  sometimes  mi,staken.  And  so  it  will  ever  be  ;  entei  piise 
ami  risk  o-o  hand  in  hand,  and  neither  nations  nor  induiduals 
c?n  forle  ahead  without  the  foriner.-HoRTicuLTURAi. 
iNSTIirCTOR.  _ , 
The  Gardeners’  Royal  Benevolent  Institution. 
Readers  of  the  Journal  are  doubtless  already  aware 
that  Mr  Harry  J.  Veitch,  for  the  last  hfteen  years  tieasuiei  of 
the  Gardeners’  Royal  Benevolent  Institntion,  will,  ^  ^ 
reel  nest  of  the  committee,  occupy  the  chan  at  the  1  estival 
Dinner  in  aid  of  the  funds,  at  the  Hotel  Metropole  on  June  2S 
ne^r  No  one  probably  has  done  so  much  for  the  heiieM  of 
necessitous  gardeners  and  the  widows  of  such  as  has  Mi .  \  eitch, 
who  h!,^s  givmi  unstintingly  both  of  his  time  ^^^^Tthe  pa  -eiS 
trnnd  cause  and  the  nndersigned  inembeis  of  the  paient 
committee  feel  that  the  present  is  an  excellent  opportiinity  foi 
o(  G,e.t  Britain  and  Ireland,  as  wel  aa  o  a! 
i  , tested  in  gardening,  to  sltorv  tlieir  appiec.ation  ot  nhat 
Mr  Veitch  has  done  and  is  doing,  by  assisting  to  make  this  a 
;fkrd  year  .n  tl.e  linancial .  annals  of  the  Inst.tnt.on,  V  .11 
‘■''lll)''’lni)Mmris°s.?pVortk  207  ponsipners-121  n.en  at 
lelei,^  i.e‘';l.S£;o 
Vidovs  applyii  ^  ,nr>Tf  from  hardeners,  for  whose  bene- 
without  more  generous  f  t  fiom  anmnm  , 
fit,  and  that  of  then  ^  <jeaf  ear  to  the  appeals  that 
for  the  committee  to  do  every  guinea  subscribed 
come  before  them  ^tes  a  e  given  foi  eve  y  g 
ehSitV:)kln^^^  f  rvill  .,ec,„e  his 
election-in  case 
The  secretary  of  the  I^^^tituHo  1  ^ 
Victoria  Street,  Westminster,  "riiave.  Most 
and  any  further  to  the  very  favourable  con- 
heartily  commending  oni  *°n^\.eceive  support.  We  are. 
sideration  of  all  re^ler^  and  hop  g  t  AVilliam  Crump, 
vours  faithfully.  «.  Barnes,  Petei  Blau ,  John 
W.  Dennimr.  Jas.  ,h>ouglas  AD.  ^ 
Jennimrs,  J.  AVythes  (all  of  whom  are 
Owen  Thomas,  Bailey  W adds  Geo.  INjtnes  la 
nf  the  parent  committeep 
