308 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
Ccto’  er  ],  1903. 
Ipswich  Gardeners’  Mutual  ImproYement  Association. 
This  society  will  coiiuiience  its  winter  session  upon  October  1, 
Avhen  Mr.  W.  Seabroke,  of  Chelmsford,  will  discourse  upon 
‘•The  Culture  of  Apples  and  Pears,  and  their  C'ommercial  Im¬ 
portance.” 
A  Notable  Gardener. 
Mr.  William  Shand,  a  well-known  authority  on  horticulture, 
died  at  Lancaster  on  Wednesday  in  his  sixty-sixth  year.  He 
was  a  native  of  Banchory,  Kincardineshire,  and  was  head  gar¬ 
dener  to  the  late  Sir  Robert  Duff,  Fetteresso  Castle,  Kincardine¬ 
shire,  and  to  the  father  of  the  present  Lord  Lonsdale,  Lowther 
Castle,  Penrith. 
Rare  and  Curious  Trees. 
Mr.  H.  J.  Elwes,  Colesborne,  Cheltenham,  writes  :  “  It  fre¬ 
quently  happens  that  rare  and  curious  trees  which  blow  down 
or  die  are  used  as  firewood,  or  sold  at  firewood  jirices,  because 
no  one  takes  any  interest  in  them.  As  the  uses  and  value  of 
the  timber  of  some  exotic  trees  is  little  known  in  this  country, 
I  am  collecting  specimens  for  experiment.  I  shall,  therefore, 
be  much  obliged  to  any  of  your  readers  who  would  be  so  good  as 
to  inform  me  of  anything  uncommon  which  they  may  come 
across,  and  shall  be  willing  to  pay  the  full  value  for  short  logs 
or  planks  of  .such  trees  as  I  want.  Samples  of  them  will  be  sent 
by  me  to  the  timber  museum  at  the  Royal  Gardens,  Kew,  or  to 
tile  Forestry  Collection  of  the  Surveyor.s’  Institution  if  desired. 
Any  particulars  or  measurements  of  unusually  large  or  rare  trees 
in  Great  Britain  or  Ireland  will  be  gratefully  acknowledged.” 
Appointments. 
Mr.  D.  Bliss,  head  gardener  at  Roundhay  Park,  Leeds,  as 
superintendent  of  the  parks  and  oiien  .spaces  at  Swansea. 
IMr.  W.  Earp  succeeds  Mr.  Geo.  Sage  as  head  gardener  to  the 
Marquis  of  Camden,  at  Jfayham  Abbey,  Lamberhnrst.  Mr. 
liarp’s  successor  is  Mr.  W.  A.  Cook  (late  of  Compton  Basset),  who 
thus  goes  to  Shirley  Hou.se,  Shirley,  near  Croydon,  the  residence 
of  Col.  Simpson.  *  John  MacLellan,  for  the  past  thirteen 
years  at  Weston  Manor,  Utley,  Yorks.,  to  J.  E.  Jviley,  Esq., 
Arden  Hall,  Accrington,  Lancashire.  M  .  J.  King,  fruit 
grower  at  South  Lodge,  Horsham,  Sussex,  and  formerly  general 
foreman  at  Warren  Hou.se,  Stanmore,  Middlesex,  as  head  gar¬ 
dener  to  Lord  Dunleath,  Ballywalter  Park,  Co.  Down.  * 
Mr.  Henry  Durnford,  late  gardener  at  Stanmore  Hall,  to  be  head 
gardener  to  R.  M.  Caulfield,  Esq.,  Broadhanger,  Peter, sfield. 
*■  *  Mr.  F.  Tapper,  gardener  to  Sir  Samuel  Scott,  Sundridge 
Park,  has  I’emoved  to  Westbury  Manor,  Brackley,  Northampton, 
still  with  Sir  Samuel  Scott. 
Horticulture  and  Character. 
In  a  recent  talk  before  the  Michigan  State  Horticultural 
Society,  N.xV.,  Hon.  Charles  W.  Garfield  entered  a  plea  for  the 
subordination  of  commercialism  in  horticulture.  He  believed 
that  the  tendency  to  measure  everything  by  the  dollar  or  by  the 
margin  of  gain  was  not  calculated  to  raise  the  ideals  of  life.  We 
make  the  following  extracts  from  Mr.  Garfield’s  address:  “In 
reviewing  the  history  of  horticulture  in  our  country  we  find  that 
the  men  whose  names  are  most  highly  respected  as  leaders  in  the 
movement  are  those  who  iDaid  the  least  attention  to  the  ques¬ 
tion  of  whether  this  fruit,  or  this  movement,  or  this  tendency, 
would  bring  more  dollars  into  the  pocket  than  another.  The 
main  thought  has  always  becni  with  these  leaders,  ‘Will  our  art, 
developed  in  this  way,  reach  a  higher  standard  of  influence  for 
the  betterment  of  mankind?’  Note  the  names  of  the  men  who 
have  built  upon  this  foundation :  Marshall  P,  Wilder,  the 
family  of  Mannings,  the  two  Downings,  Warder,  Thomas,  Lyon, 
Hexamer,  and  the  two  Sacniders  of  Washington  and  Ottawa, 
Furnas,  Babcock,  Tracy,  Burbatdv.  I  could  name  many  others, 
like  Barry,  Ellwanger,  and  Meehan,  who  have  achieved  com¬ 
mercial  succe.ss,  but  their  names  are  written  with  these  others 
because  of  their  influence  in  the  realm  which  stands  above 
commercialism.” 
The  Largest  Tree  in  Switzerland. 
The  largest  tree  in  Switzerland  is  to  be  found  in  the  Melchthal, 
perched  on  the  mountain  side,  at  a  height  of  450ft.  At  the  base 
it  measures  in  circumference  40ft.  The  circumference  of  its 
trunk  .six  feet  from  the  ground  is  26ft,  and  one  of  its  branches  is 
4ft  in  thickness.  The  diameter  at  the  top  is  84ft.  This  mighty 
giant  of  the  forest  .shows  great  signs  of  age,  but  is  in  a  perfectly 
healthy  condition. 
Weather  Notes  from  Hamilton,  N.B. 
The  somewhat  terrific  gales  which  visited  the  British  Isles  a 
week  ago  appear  to  have  been  the  climax  of  the  year’s  meteor¬ 
ology’.  Here,  at  all  events,  the  weather  has  taken  a  decided  turn 
for  the  better.  We  have,  at  present,  the  very  beSt  conditions 
that  could  be  desired,  plenty  of  sunshine  and  pleasing  breezes. 
Frosty  mornings,  however,  succeed  the  bright  sunshine.  We 
have  had  it  hard  enough  to  kill  many  flowers  and  vegetables. 
Nevertheless,  we  are  glad  to  refrain  from  grumbling,  in  case  we 
shall  be  again  visited  with  the  vengeance  of  the  rain  and  storm 
fiends. — D.  C. 
August  Weather  at  Belvoir  Castle. 
The  prevailing  direction  of  the  wind  was  S.W.,  total  thirteen 
days.  The  total  rainfall  was  5.09  in,  this  fell  on  seventeen  days, 
and  is  2.43in  above  the  average  for  the  month  ;  the  greatest  daily 
.  fall  was  2.10in  on  the  24th.  Barometer  (corrected  and  reduced) : 
highest  reading,  30.186in  on  the  6th  at  9  a.m. ;  lowest  reading, 
29.077in  on  the  15th,  at  9  a.m.  Thermometers:  Highest 
in  the  'shade  75deg  on  the  8fch,  lowest  42deg  on  the  22nd ; 
mean  of  daily  maxima  65.32deg,  mean  of  daily  minima  50.38deg,  ; 
mean  temperature  of  the  month  57.85deg;  lowest  on  the  grass 
37deg  on  the  22nd,  highest  in  the  sun  128deg  on  the  6th;  mean 
temperature  of  the  earth  at  3ft,  57.25deg.  Total  .sunshine,  145 
hours  30min,  which  is  20  hours  12min  below  the  average  for  the 
month;  there  was  one  sunle.ss  day.  The  above  mean  tempera¬ 
tures  are  all  much  below  the  avei'age  for  August,  but  are  not  so 
low  as  in  August,  1902. — W.  H.  Divers. 
Frames  and  Glass  Copings. 
The  illustration,  on  .another  page,  of  frames  and  wall-tree 
shelters,  shows  some  of  the  types  made  by  Mackenzie  and  Moncur, 
the  hothouse  builders  of  Edinburgh,  to  whom  we  are  indebted 
for  the  use  of  the  block.  Good  frames  are  always  serviceable,  and 
never  more  than  during  winter  and  spring,  when  much  of  the 
bedding  material  is  tided-over  in  them  ;  and  Lettuces  and  Violets, 
too,  are  grown  in  quantities  in  frames  and  pits.  The  chief  points 
are  that  they  should  be  drip-proof  and  have  certain  conveniences 
for  ventilation  if  they  are  .span-roofed.  The  wall  Peach-case  and 
the  glass  coping  are  well  worth  all  the  trouble  and  outlay  they 
may  co.st,  for  often  the  lack  of  them  (as  in  a  season  like  the 
present)  means  the  entire  loss  of  a  crop,  and  with  it  a  year’s 
labour.  Is  it  not,  therefore,  advisable  to  protect  the  finer  fruits 
— the  Pears,  Gages,  Apricots,  Cherries,  Peaches  and  Nectarines? 
Even  Grapes  (Royal  Muscadine  and  others)  could  be  made  suc¬ 
cessful  with  only  a  little  protection,  and  it  is  well  to  consider 
what  may  be  done  in  one’s  own  individual  case. 
Preservation  of  Old  Trees. 
The  .subjoined  hints  have  been  contributed  to  the  “Hereford 
Times  ”  : — When  an  old  tree  is  seen  to  be  losing  vigour,  and  there 
is  no  apparent  cause,  it  may  be  presumed  that  the  soil  has  become 
exhausted  and  is  unable  to  sustain  the  tree  in  vigour.  The  .soil 
ought  then  to  be  removed  from  the  roots  for  a  radius  of  15  or  20 
feet  from  the  stem,  great  care  being  taken  not  to  cut  or  damage 
the  roots;  the  soil  removed  to  be  replaced  with  fresh  soil — old 
turf  if  it  can  be  had  and  well  I’otted  farmyard  manure,  mounded 
up  round  the  stem  a  foot  or  more,  and  well  watered.  I  have 
seen  the  above  treatment  tried  with  good  results  in  every  case. 
Old  trees  which  are  hollow  (if  it  be  possible  to  get  inside  them) 
should  have  all  the  decayed  wood  scraped  off  the  inside  of  the 
stem,  and  painted  over  with  green  tar  and  pitch,  which  acts  as  an 
antiseptic  and  helps  to  stop  decay.  The  dead  and  dying  branches 
ought  to  be  removed  close  to  the  .stem  with  a  saw,  and  painted. 
Every  hole  in  the  tree  that  would  admit  of  water  lodging  should 
be  filled  with  pitch.  Where  the  tree  is  forked  and  there  is  danger 
of  the  one  part  breaking  away  from  the  other,  all  the  superfluous 
branches  should  be  removed  in  order  to  lighten  that  part  and 
le.sseii  the  tendency  of  splitting.  The  judicious  use  of  iron  band.s 
and  bolts  is  of  great  help  in  keeping  some  old  trees  together. 
