348 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
October  15,  1903 
A  Compliment  to  Cross  Breeders. 
The  “  Evening  Standard  ”  says :  “  The  high  prices  paid  for 
special  seedlings  lately  have  been  a  matter  of  profund  surprise 
to  those  who  are  ignorant  of  the  perfection  to  which  the  science 
of  Potato  culture  has  been  raised.  There  would  appear  to  be 
nothing  to  justify  the  payment  of  28s.  per  pound,  without  some 
knowledge  of  the  infinite  patience  and  labour  which  go  to  the 
making  of  the  costly  blends  which  are  so  eagerly  sought  after. 
The  process  is  tedious  in  the  extreme,  and  the  percentage  of 
successful  results  very  small.  New  specimens  are  being  con¬ 
stantly  developed,  the  process  sometimes  occupying  years.  To 
combine  the  rjualities  of  flavour,  size,  and  productiveness  requires 
a  nicety  of  judgment  which  can  only  be  acquired  by  years  of 
painstaking  study.  To  many  the  cultivation  of  the  humble  root 
is  a.s  fascinating  a  pursuit  as  that  of  the  Rose  grower  or  the 
chicken  fancier.  It  is  by  the  work  of  these  enthusiasts  that  the 
national  crop.s  are  preserved  from  deterioration,  and  the  ravages 
of  disease  and  blight  resisted.” 
Japan  Plums. 
Prunus  Simoni  and  the  Kelsey  have  given  moderate  satisfac¬ 
tion  in  California,  but  the  American- Japan  Plum,  grown  by 
Burbank,  and  bearing  his  name,  leaves  them  all  in  the  shade. 
It  is  a  cross  between  Simoni  and  some  hardy  American  sort. 
The  size  is  phenomenal.  No  fruit  in  the  New  Orleans  market 
makes  a  better  showing  than  the  Burbank  Plum.  It  is  the  size 
of  an  average  size  Peach,  with  yellow  flesh  and  small  seed.  The 
skin  is  smooth  and  free  from  blemishes.  It  is  reported  hardy  as 
far  north  as  New  Jersey.  Japan  Plums  all  have  a  tendency  to 
form  broad,  spreading  trees.  This  can  be  obviated  by  pruning 
soon  after  the  bearing  season  is  over.  Wide  spreading  limbs 
frequently  break  under  heavy  crops.  Plums  are  stone  fruits, 
and  all  such  are  heavy.  Kelsey  is  smaller  than  Burbank,  and  of 
a  greenish-yellow  colour,  to  the  uninitiated  appearing  to  be  un¬ 
ripe.  In  flavour  it  is  excellent.  It  is  one  of  the  fruits  fre¬ 
quently  saved  by  smudging,  as  it  blooms  and  sets  fruit  quite 
early  in  the  frosty  spring.  The  Japan  Plums  are  n-onderfully 
free  from  black  knot,  and  from  the  attacks  of  the  curculio.  The 
trees  are  thrifty  growers. 
An  Amateur’s  Begonias. 
I  enclose  a  photograph  of  a  group  of  Begonias,  grown  by 
Mr.  C.  E.  Harvey,  Rose  Villa,  Acocks  Green,  Birminghani, 
an  enthusiastic  amateur,  gardener,  who  cultivates  well  ah  things 
he  can  accommodate  in  his  greenhouses.  His  emplojmient  re¬ 
quires  him  to  leave  home,  at  seven  o’clock  each  working  day, 
and  he  returns  at  about  seven  in  the  evenine,  except  Saturday, 
which  is  a  short  day.  He  does  all  the  work  himself  in  regard 
to  potting,  watering,  and  propagating;  and  his  greenhouses 
always  contain  something  intere.sting,  and  often  exceedingly 
beautiful.  Many  of  the  Begonias  are  very  fine  specimen  plants, 
meu.suring  about  30in  high,  and  nearly  as  much  through.  The 
best  double  flowers  measure  fi^in  to  Gi^in  in  diameter,  including 
the  following  varietie.s- — Annie  Peeters,  Beauty  of  Belgrove, 
Bouquet  Lumineux,  Duke  of  Fife,  Duke  of  Teck,  Golden  Ball, 
Paul  Verlaine,  Picotee,  Souvenir  de  Pierre  Netting,  Lady 
Dorrington,  Royal  Sovereign,  and  Sir  Trevor  Lawrence.  The 
largest  single  flowers  measure  Tin  in  diameter,  the  favourite 
varieties  being  Duchess  of  Leinster  and  La  Candeur. — James 
Udale.  [A  pleasant  note,  and  a  happy  one.  We  wish  Mr. 
Harvey  still  greater  success,  and  hope  to  hear  of  him  again. 
The  photograph,  unfortunately,  would  not  have  reproduced 
successfully. — Ed.] 
House  and  Church  Decorators. 
An  excellent  and  suggestive  lecture  (reports  the  “  Yorkshire 
Post  ”)  was  given  on  Saturday  night  to  the  members  of  the 
Leeds  Paxton  Society  by  Mr.  J.  Turton,  of  The  Gardens,  Becca 
Hall,  on  decorations  for  houses  and  churches.  Mr.  Turton,  who 
is  well  known  as  a  successful  floriculturist,  has  had  great  ex¬ 
perience  in  this  kind  of  work,  and  his  hints  w'ere  of  a  tho¬ 
roughly  practical  nature.  The  defect  of  most  of  the  floral 
decorations  that  one  sees  is  that  they  are  too  stiff  and  formal, 
and  Mr.  Turton  pleaded  for  greater  breadth  and  freedom  of 
arrangement.  With  regard  to  materials,  he  called  attention  to 
the  excellent  effects  obtainable  by  the  use  of  good  tall  Palms, 
Draesenas,  and  Bamboos,  and  evergreen  shrubs,  such  as  Hollies, 
Yew,  Box,  Cupressus,  and  Tree  Ivy.  Berries  from  the  wild 
Rose,  in  conjunction  with  Virginia  cork,  are  useful  for  hiding 
pots,  &c.,  and  screens  well  draped  with  flowers  and  foliage  look 
well.  Tin  troughs  containing  sand  and  water,  and  filled  in 
with  choice  flowers  look  nice,  and  arches  made  of  strong  wire 
form  useful  foundations.  Warm,  rich  colour  can  be  obtained 
by  the  use  of  the  berries  of  wdld  fruits.  In  church  decoration 
he  esiDecially  counselled  his  hearers  to  avoid  repetition  of  effects. 
Mr.  Turton  also  gave  some  very  practcal  hints  respecting  the 
decoration  of  tables,  rooms,  &c. 
The  Result  of  Disafforestation. 
The  tourist  who  travels  in  Greece,  says  a  wu’iter  in  the 
'  “  Revue  des  Eaux  et  Forets,”  is  astonished  at  the  dusty 
country  w'hich,  formerly  so  rich,  has  become  so  poor.  The  divine 
Hellas  never  had  a  rich  and  fertile  soil,  but  it  was  not  a  desert. 
We  should  say  to-day  that  the  Sahara  is  approaching,  and  that 
death  reigns  there.  However,  the  Greeks  will  tell  you  that  it 
was  not  always  thus.  The  crafty  Venetians  were  the  cause  of  it. 
Having  need  of  wood  for  the  construction  of  merchant  vessels, 
they  persuaded  the  Greek  peasants  to  cut  down  and  sell  the 
trees.  “  Cut  down  the  trees,”  they  said,  “  which  are  the  haunt 
of  sparrow's  which  devour  your  crops.  Cut  down  the'  trees,  and 
you  will  be  twice  as  rich  by  the  gold  which  w  e  give  you  for  the 
timber  and  by  getting  finer  harvests.”  The  wood  cutters  felled 
the  Oaks,  the  Olives,  and  the  Laurels.  Then  the  Turks  passed 
through  the  countrj'.  Fires  completed  the  work  which  the  axe 
had  begun.  The  sacred  woods  of  Greece  were  converted  into 
ships  and  smoke.  The  wood  cutters,  more  than  the  Turks,  had 
done  irreparable  mischief.  Ender  a  hot  sun,  the  shallow  soil 
cracked  and  became  exhausted.  The  win/i  carried  away  as  dust 
the  ancient  soil  of  Greece.  The  forests  wdiich  formerly  attracted 
the  clouds  and  caused  the  rain  to  fall  were  nO'  longer  there ; 
rain  came  no  more.  The  springs  dried  up.  An  arid  desert  was 
created,  and  it  will  now  be  the  w'ork  of  centuries  to  resuscitate 
the  country  of  Zeus,  father  of  rain,  and  of  Plato,  father  of  ideas. 
The  writer  then  goes  on  to  explain  that  the  same  cutting  down 
of  the  forests  is  going  on  in  Corsica,  and  that  the  results  wdll  be 
the  same  as  they  have  been  in  Greece. 
Osteomeles  anthyllidifolia. 
This  plant  is  not  regarded  as  quite  hardy,  says  the  “  Gar¬ 
dening  World,”  but  there  is  a  fine  specimen  of  it  against  a 
south  wall  in  the  Royal  Gardens,  Kew,  w'here  it  has  stood  for 
some  winters  uninjured.  The  narrow,  pinnate  leaves  are  of  a 
rich  dark  green,  and  cover  the  wall  in  a  manner  quite  different 
from  most  shrubs  usually  employed  for  that  purpose.  The 
flow'CTS  are  succeeded  by  berries  resembling  those  of  a  Haw¬ 
thorn  or  Cotoneaster,  but  having  longer  stalks,  so  that  they 
are  more  or  less  pendent  from  the  short  leafy  spurs.  The 
species  is  a  native  of  India,  China,  and  the  Pacific  Islands.  The 
native  habitats  do  not  augur  much  for  the  hardiness  of  the 
plant,  and  that  may  account  for  its  being  included  in  the 
“  Handlist  of  Tender  Dicotyledons,”  but,  judging  from  its  past 
behaviour,  I  should  think,  says  the  writer,  it  is  hardier  than  it 
gets  credit  for.  The  evergreen  leaves  are  the  strongest  argu¬ 
ment  against  this  idea  of  hardiness,  but  provided  it  is  planted 
against  a  wall  in  a  .sheltered  position  it  may  yet  prove  worthy 
of  more  extended  cultivation  on  walls  in  prominent  places  near 
the  doors  of  dwelling  houses  on  account  of  its  beautiful  foliage 
and  red  berries.  At  least  one  other  species  is  in  cultivation, 
but  eight  of  them  are  known  to  science.  Curiously  enough, 
only  one  of  them  is  native  to  the  Old  World,  namely,  that 
under  notice,  the  rest  being  natives  of  the  Andes  of  South 
America.  The  plant  described  in  this  note  is  the  only  one- 
having  pinnate  foliage,  so  that  it  may  be  taken  for  granted  it 
is  the  best  and  mo.st  handsome  for  garden  purposes.  Some  of 
them  are  trees,  the  rest  being  branching  shimbs,  of  which 
O.  anthyllidifolia  is  the  most  graceful. 
