July  9,  1903. 
JOURNAL  CF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
31 
Cambridge  Botanic  Garden  Report. 
The  Botanic  Garden  Syndicate  (Cambridge)  send  us  a  copy  of 
the  annual  report  to  the  Senate,  which  shows  progress,  and  a 
successful  year’s  w’ork. 
Eucalyptus  in  Flower. 
At  Courlands,  Lostwithiel,  Devon,  are  two  Eucalyptus  trees 
now  in  full  bloom,  this  being  the  sixth  year  they  have  flowered. 
One  of  these  trees  is  considered  the  largest  in  Cornwall,  and  one 
of  the  largest  of  its  kind  in  England. 
Huge  Fruit  Arrivals. 
During  the  present  season  about  one  and  a  half  million  cases 
of  Oranges  were  shipped  to  London  and  Liverpool,  chiefly  from 
Valencia  and  Murcia.  This  is  the  largest  output  known  to  the 
trade.  Those  that  are  obtainable  are  making  from  20s.  to  30s. 
a  case  of  420  fruits.  These  are  phenomenal  values.  The  ship¬ 
ments  of  Apples  from  Tasmania  and  Australia  have  been  consider¬ 
ably  larger  than  ever. 
The  Midland  Carnation  and  Picotee  Society’s  Show. 
We  had  a  committee  meeting  of  the  above  society  on  July  2 
to  fix  the  date  of  the  forthcoming  exhibition,  and  owing  to  the 
lateness  of  the  sea,son  it  was  decided  to  hold  the  exhibition  as 
usual  at  the  Edgbaston  Botanical  Gardens,  Birmingham,  on 
Tliursday  and  Friday,  August  6  and  7.  If  you  would  kindly  men¬ 
tion  this  in  your  next  issue  we  should  feel  very  much  obliged. — 
Mebbert  Smith,  87,  Drayton  Road,  King’s  Heath,  Birmingham. 
June  Weather  at  Belvoir  Castle. 
The  prevailing  direction  of  the  wind  was  north,  total  ten 
days.  The  total  rainfall  was  2.08in,  this  fell  on  nine  days,  and 
is  0.04in  below  the  average  for  the  month ;  the  greatest  daily  fall 
was  0.63in  on  the  14th.  Barometer  (coi’rected  and  reduced) : 
highest  reading,  30.457in  on  the  4th  at  9  a.m. ;  lowest  reading, 
29.630in  on  the  15th  at  9  p.m.  Thermometers  :  Highest  in  the 
shade,  81deg  on  the  27th;  lowest,  34deg  on  the  4th;  mean  of 
daily  maxima,  62.86deg ;  mean  of  daily  minima,  45.83deg;  mean 
temperature  of  the  month,  54.34deg ;  lowest  on  the  grass,  30deg 
on  the  4th;  highest  in  the  sun,  129deg  on  26th,  27th,  and  28th; 
mean  temperature  of  the  earth  at  3ft,  ,53.43deg.  Total  sun¬ 
shine,  167  hours  30min,  which  is  13  hours  oOmin  below  the  average 
for  the  month ;  there  were  four  sunless  days.  The  mean 
temperatures  are  all  much  below  the  average  for  the  month. 
— W.  H.  Divers. 
Ipswich  Gardeners’  Outing. 
The  annual  outing  of  this  society  took  jilace  in  glorious 
weather  on  Saturday,  the  27th,  when  some  seventy  or  eighty 
members  of  the  craft  visited  Ackworth  Park,  East  Bergliolt,  the 
residence  of  A.  Harwood,  Esq.  The  house  is  situated  on  high 
ground  overlooking  the  valley  of  the  Stour,  which  is  noted  for 
its  beautiful  scenery,  always  associated  with  the  name  of  Con¬ 
stable,  the  great  landscape  artist.  A  broad  expanse  of  lawn 
reaches  up  to  the  house  and  gradually  slopes  away  down  to  the 
Rose  garden,  furnished  with  lovely  arches  of  climbing  Roses,  and 
beds  of  all  the  best  H.P.’s,  H.T.’s,  and  Teas.  Beyond  the 
rosery  a  well-stocked  herbaceous  border  forms  an  item  of 
interest  to  lovers  of  this  class  of  plants.  The  conservatory 
attached  to  the  mansion  was  bright  with  Gloxinias,  Begonias, 
Streptocarpus,  Streptosolen  Jamesoni,  tlcc.,  all  arranged  with 
excellent  taste.  A  new’  range  of  houses  in  the  kitchen  garden 
contained  a  vinery  in  which  excellent  examples  of  Black  Ham¬ 
burgh  and  Foster’s  Seedling  Grapes  had  nearly  finished  colour¬ 
ing  ;  a  small  house  wnth  Peach  trees  in  pots  bearing  good  crops,  a 
stove,  and  a  greenhouse,  the  latter  containing  a  promising  lot  of 
Begonias.  In  the  kitchen  garden  cleanliness  and  good  culture 
were  much  in  evidence;  Strawberries  were  a  good  crop,  other 
fruit  crops  very  short,  the  general  rule  throughout  Suffolk  this 
,sea.son.  The  head  gardener,  Mr.  Hicks,  deserves  great  credit  for 
the  excellent  order  in  which  the  various  departments  of  the  estab- 
lisliment  are  kept. — E.  C. 
Gardening  Appointment. 
Mr.  F.  Jackson,  as  head  gardener  to  J.  Spencer  Phillips, 
Esq.,  of  The  Mount,  Shrew'sbury. 
The  1903  Sweet  Pea  Show. 
Evicted  from  the  site  of  their  former  yearly  displays,  the 
National  Sweet  Pea  Society  will  hold  their  third  grand  exhibi¬ 
tion  at  London’s  popular  resort,  Earl’s  Court,  on  the  loth  and 
16th  inst.  On  both  days  the  spacious  Prince’s  Hall  at  the 
Warwick  Road  entrance,  picturesquely  arrayed  with  varieties  of 
the  Sweet  Pea.  from  all  parts  of  the  kingdom,  will  be  open  entirely 
free  to  visitors  to  the  International  Fire  Exhibition.  In  addi¬ 
tion  to  the  numerous  prizes  offered  in  the  recognised  classes,  the 
National  Sweet  Pea  Society’  silver  medal  will  be  given  for  the 
finest  novelty  of  the  year. 
Failure  of  Fruit  Crops. 
The  failure  of  the  fruit  crops  in  the  Driffield  (Yorks)  district 
is  general,  excepting  some  of  the  “soft”  fruits,  such  as  Straw¬ 
berries  and  Gooseberries.  The  former  give  promise  of  a  con¬ 
siderable  yield  ;  they  have  developed  slowly  because  of  a  lack  of 
sunshine  and  the  necessary  w’armth,  which  has  now  been  imparted 
to  the  soil,  and  the  crop  is  growing  splendidly.  Of  Gooseberries 
the  supply  wnll  be  shorter  than  usual,  and  the  price  is  keeping 
high,  the  berries  being  sold  at  22d.  and  3d.  per  pound  retail. 
Black  and  Red  Currants  and  Raspberries  have  done  badly ;  but 
worst  of  all  are  the  standard  fruit  trees,  which  are  almost  a 
dead  failure.  Such  a  state  of  things  has  not  been  experienced 
for  thirty  years.  Trees  wdiich  bore  thirty  stones  of  Apples  last 
season,  and  had  never  been  known  to  fail,  are  this  year  without 
fruit,  notwithstanding  the  early  promise  of  a  more  than  average 
yield,  the  trees,  as  a  rule,  being  full  of  lovely  blossom.  The 
same  observation  is  applicable  to  Damsons,  Plums,  Pears,  and 
Cherries. 
Temple  House  Gardens,  Great  Marlow,  Bucks. 
The  rainfall  here  for  June,  1903,  was  6.59iu.  Rain  fell  on 
ten  days  during  the  month.  The  heaviest  fall  in  twenty-four 
hours  w’as  1.73in,  which  beats  my  record.  The  floods  did  much 
damage  here,  a  portion  of  the  park  and  gardens  having  been 
entirely  under  w'ater,  and  men  worked  day  and  night  pumping 
W’ateV  out  of  the  stokeholes.  Most  of  the  allotment  produce  has 
been  severely  damaged,  and  the  Potato  crop  ruined.  Several 
Conifers  and  deciduous  trees  that  were  planted  on  boggy  soil  are 
entirely  uprooted,  and  lying  on  the  ground.  The  maximum  tem¬ 
perature  for  June,  1903,  was  74deg  on  the  26th,  and  the  minimum 
38deg  on  the  21st.  The  maximum  for  1902  was  79deg  on  the 
29th  and  30th,  and  minimum  36dcg  on  the  9th.  The  rainfall  for 
June,  1902,  was  3.42in. — G.  G. 
Strawberry  Cultivation. 
The  bed  of  specially  prepared  Strawberry  plants  in  the 
Western  Gardens,  shown  by  Mr.  J.  F.  Williamson,  of  Summer 
Hill,  Mallow,  Ireland,  who  makes  a  speciality  cf  them,  is  now- 
in  grand  condition,  and  should  ,be  seen  by  visitors  to  the  Coik 
Exhibition.  The  varieties  shown  are  Royal  Sovereign,  Leader, 
Laxton’s  Fillbasket  (an  extraordinary  cropper),  Trafalgar,  Latest 
of  All,  and  Louis  Gauthier.  His  plants  are  grown  from  the 
earliest  runners,  and  undergo  special  cultivaticn  whereby  the 
crowns  become  fully  matured  and  ripened,  and  the  roots  grow 
out  naturally  from  the  very  beginning.  The  value  of  Straw¬ 
berry  plants  should  be  judged  by  the  robustness  and  plumpness 
of  their  crowns  rather  than  by  the  luxuriant  but  unmatured  leaf 
growth,  which  so  frequently  results  in  barrpnness  the  follow-ing 
sea.son.  As  a  rule,  yearling  plants  thus  raised  can  be  relied 
upon  to  give  as  large  a  crop  as  ordinary  runners  do  when  they 
are  two  or  even  three  years  old.  Latest  of  All  is  proved  here 
to  be  the  most  prolific  variety  in  cultivation,  a  single  plant 
having  produced  the  extraordinary  crop  of  eighty-one  berries, 
weighing  21oz,  as  a  yearling,  and  132  berries,  weighing  29oz, 
the  following  season.  The  variety  Louis  Gauthier,  though  not 
of  such  an  attractive  appearance,  being  an  albino,  as  some  of 
the  other  varieties,  attains  a  very  large  size,  and  the  flavour  is 
exceptionally  fine.  This  variety  is  specially  recommended,  as 
it  bears  very  heavy  crops,  and  if  given  plenty  of  room,  and  the 
spring  bloom  be  removed,  it  throws  out  a  quantity  of  runners, 
and  if  these  be  pegged  into  the  ground  the  probability  is  that 
many  of  tliom,  together  with  the  parent  plant,  will  bear  a  fair 
crop  late  in  the  autumn. 
