442 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
Xovembcr  12,  1903. 
Science  at  Wisley. 
Tlie  chairman  of  the  Scientific  Committee  of  the  Royal  Hor¬ 
ticultural  Society  invited  ,sngge.stions  as  to  what  scientific  inves¬ 
tigations  might  be  undertaken  in  the  new  garden  at  Wisley. 
Might  I  suggest  the  subject  of  the  colouring  of  Apples,  a  dis¬ 
cussion  on  which  is  apiiearing  in  the  Journal  of  Horticulture? 
Anyone  intent  upon  ab.solute  daylight  on  the  question  of 
colouring,  might  proceed  in  the  next  dry  season  to  gently 
and  rejpeatedly  spray  Apples  about  August  without  wetting  the 
ground  materially,  so  as  to  cool  it,  while  other  trees  of  like 
varieties  might  have  a  good  drenching  off  and  on,  besides 
syringing.  If  a  difference  becomes  apparent  in  the  colouring, 
the  result  might  be  conclusive  as  to  first  cause.  That  the  effect 
of  copious  artificial  waterings  in  dry  seasons  acts  .similarly  to 
rain  seems  meanwhile  a  better  means  for  drawing  the  right 
inference  than  any  other  suggestion  as  to  the  causes  of  colouring 
in  Apples.— H.  H.  R.  ^ 
Grapes  at  the  Chiswick  Show. 
I  think  it  can  scarcely  be  said  that  the  famous  exhibition  of 
fruit  at  Chiswick  made  any  very  great  impression  on  the  minds 
of  visitors  so  far  as  pertains  to  the  varied  Grape  classes. 
Whether  the  absence  of  the  anticipated  standard  was  due  to 
the  dignified  environment — the  famous  vinerj^ — or  the  unsuitable 
staging  space,  remains  unsaid.  Certainly  the  narrow'  side  stages 
were  far  from  being  unsuitable  to  display  high-class  Grapes  at 
their  best,  and  there  were  many  comments  on  the  generally  low 
standard  of  ([uality  compared  with  what  has  been  associated 
witli  the  R.H.S.  and  the  Crystal  Palace  shows  of  the  past.  The 
greatest  disappointment  naturally  centred  itself  in  the  collec¬ 
tions  of  eighteen  bunches  and  twelve  bunches  respectively.  In 
the  fir,st  named,  only  one  competitor  came  forward,  and*  those 
who  remember  so  clearly  the  triumphs  of  the  Elvaston  fruits 
this  year,  naturally  expected  great  things  in  reserve.  It  is, 
however,  only  just  to  say  that  the  merits  of  individual  exhibits 
are  only  fairly  guaged  by  competition.  “  W’alk  over  ”  exhibits 
are  ne'rer  interesting  to  anyone,  not  even  to^  the  “  winner,”  and 
it  cannot  be  accounted  less  than  melancholy  that  so  poor  an 
exhibition  should  await  inspection  by  the  patrons  of  the  Society. 
Only  one  reason  can  be  assigned  to  account  for  it,  and  that  is 
the  money  value  of  the  prizes  offered.  At  many  provincial 
exhibtions  better  prizes  are  given  for  smaller  exhibits.  Such 
prizeis  allow  of  no  margin  when  out-of-pocket  expenses  are  paid. 
Then,  again,  three  bunches  are  too  many  to  expect;  two 
bunches  in  six  varieties  would  be  ample,  and  would  make  an 
exhibition  far  superior  in  all-round  merit.  It  could  be  dis¬ 
tinctly  seen  in  the  separate  classes  that  the  third  bunch  often 
fell  below-  the  standard, of  the  other  two,  and  this  is  an  experi¬ 
ence  familiar  to  every  exhibitor.  The  class  iirovided  for  twelve 
bunches,  in  four  varieties,  found  no  entrj-  at  all.  When  one 
reflects  on  the  fine  shows  of  Grapes  seen  at  the  Crystal  Palace 
in  past  years  a  feeling  of  disappointment  is  inseparable ;  be¬ 
cause  w'hat  was  possible  then  is,  or  ought  to  be,  just  as  much 
60  now-. 
Grapes  that  gave  evidence  of  the  finest  finish  from  an  exhibi¬ 
tion  point  of  view  were  Mrs.  Pince,  Madresfield  C'ourt,  and 
Muscat  of  Alexandria.  The  fii-st  named  were  staged  in  beau¬ 
tiful  condition,  as  also  were  Madresfield  by  one  or  two  .growers. 
Muscats  were  the  more  numerous,  and  as  varied  in  their  de¬ 
velopment  of  colour.  The  third  prize  exhibit  had  the  deepest 
coloured  fruit  we  remember  to  have  seen  this  year,  and  hanging 
on  the  A  iue  with  the  acenmpanving  shade  of  the  leaves  it  must 
have  appeared  intense.  The  light' afforded  by  the  Great  Vinery 
was  not  an  ideal  one  to  present  the  colours  of  any  Grapes  at 
their  best,  but  it  did  not  hinder  the  contra.st  of  the  golden 
tints  of  the  man.v  bunche.s  on  view-.  The  exhibit  under  notice 
would  undoubtedly  have  found  more  favour  from  the  judges 
were  not  the  berries  on  the  upper  portion  of  the  bunches 
shrivelled,  through  exposure  to  .sun.  The  Muscat  class  was  the 
strongest  conte.sted  one  in  the  show,  and  brought  together 
some  exceptionally  fine  fruit.  Alicantes  were  less  meritorious 
in  bunch,  and  certainly  deficient  in  colour,  compared  with  some 
former  exhibitions  we  have  seen.  That  some  excellent  Grapes 
were  brought  together  in  the  class  need  no  emphasis;  but 
the  Alicante  is  a  Grape  familiari.sed  by  massive,  jet-black 
bunches,  so  that  one  is  exemsed  in  the  expectancy  to  find  them 
in  their  better  form  at  so  convenient  a  season  and  at  so  digni¬ 
fied  a  show.  One  exhibit  did  present  the  characteristic  jet- 
black  berry  and  the  den.se  bloom  of  Alicante,  but  many  more 
were  deficieait  in  both. 
Of  Black  Hamburghs,  some  w-ere  good,  others  very  common¬ 
place  ;  indeed,  critical  onlookers  whispered  loudly  that  some  of 
the  Grapes  would  scarcely  do  credit  to  a  local  village  show. 
Neither  Mrs.  Pearson  nor  Golden  Queen  make  attractive 
exhibition  Grapes,  the  colour  being  dull  and  the  berries  under¬ 
sized.  Still  they  possess  a  quality  superior  to  some  other 
Grapes  of  more  showy  character,  and  are  useful  in  winter. 
In  the  smaller  Muscat  vinery,  the  Grapes  comprising  a  por¬ 
tion  of  the  collections  of  mixed  fruit  (nine  dishes  and  six  dishes) 
were  seen  to  much  better  advantage,  and  from  each  of  the  three 
exhibitors-^Me.ssrs.  Goodacre,  Lock,  and  Mitchell — came  excel¬ 
lent,  if  not  the  best.  Grapes  in  the  show,  of  both  black  and 
white  varieties. — R.  A.  W. 
- - 
Apple,  Annie  Elizabeth. 
Recently  you  published  a  letter  describing  the  good  fruiting 
and  selling  qualities  of  this  variety.  Can  any  of  your  readers 
explain  why  so  handsome,  solid,  and  useful  an  Apple  is  not  in¬ 
cluded  in  the  generally  accepted  “  best  fifteen  ”  ?  I  should  be 
obliged  to  correspondents  for  information. — E.  D. 
- e#** - 
Millipedes  and  Centipedes. 
The  little  leaflet  on  the  above  insects,  reproduced  in  last 
week’s  Journal,  cannot  be  expepted  to  give  more  than  brief 
details,  but  I  mu.st  remark  that  some  of  the  centipedes  are  not 
deserving  of  the  good  character  given  to  the  family.  It  is 
true,  as  the  structure  of  the' jaws  shows,  they  are  not  herbivorous, 
and,  above  ground  or  below,  employ  themselves  in  hunting  other 
insects;  still,  fruit  has  its  attractions  for  them.  The  chief 
sinner  is  Geophilus  longicornus.  This  sinuous  .species  takes  or 
makes  an  opening  in  a  Plum  or  Apricot,  winding  its  way 
into  the  stone,  round  which  it  coils  itself.  Hence  it  happens 
that  the  eater  of  stone  fruit  frequently  bites  a  centipede  in 
two  ;  perhaps  swallows  part  unawares.  Again,  it  is  very  observ¬ 
able  that  several  species  are  luminous,  mostly  during  .spring  or 
autumn.  This  is  i^articularly  the  case  with  G.  subterraneus, 
which,  on  account  of  the  fact,  has  also  received  the  name 
of  the  Electric  centipede.  Its  light,  however,  does  not  seem 
to  bo  electrical,  but  rather  of  the  nature  of  phosphorescence. 
It  is  observable  along  the  joints  of  the  body,  and  it  is,  unlike 
the  glowworm  in  this  respect,  that  the  light  is  deposited  along 
its  path  as  it  crawls,  and  may  be  seen  two  or  three  feet  from 
the  insect,  though  it  soon  fades.  No  doubt  it  answers  some 
purpose. — Entomologist. 
The  Colouring  of  Apples. 
The  somewhat  diffuse  length  of  the  contributions  to  your 
columns  on  this  .subject,  do  not  aiipear  to  traverse  my  more 
concise,  and  yet  broader,  hypothesis  on  page  380.  The  former 
do  not  advance  beyond  the  analytical  point  of  view,  wliile  I 
reach  the  bedrock  itself  by  the  synthetical  process.  The  first 
cause  of  the  cooling  of  summer  conditions  is  usually  rain.  The 
.soil  is  cooled,  and  nitrification  (and  with  it  expansion  of  fruit)  is 
retarded.  We  all  know-  of  the  exuberant  growth  of  tropical 
vegetation,  which  is,  of  course,  the  consequence  of  the  higher 
state  of  nitrification  of  the  soil  from  the  sun’s  greater  intensity. 
The  reverse  action  follows  from  the  cooling  of  the  ground  in  our 
own  land.  The  incidence  of  cooling  of  the  air,  and  rough  winds 
springing  up,  are  phenomena  that  accompany  the  advent  of  rainy 
weather.  Nitrification  is  therefore  probably  the  most  essential 
one  in  the  problem  of  fruit  colouring.  It  may  be  tacitly  admitted 
that  the  chemical  process  set  up  by  the  sun’s  heat  acting  directly 
on  the  fruit,  independently  of  heat  developing  in  the  soil,  is 
lirobably  the  element  which  induces  colouring  (of  course,  on  the 
sunny  side  of  the  fruit),  and  takes  place  when  fruit  expansion 
is  retarded  by  cooler  conditions,  and  energy  is  liberated  to 
another  purpose.  Mr.  Willis’s  citation  on  page  417  of  foreign 
authorities  may  cover  the  ground  fairly  well  bv  their  reference 
to  the  beautiful  carmine-red  in  the  upper  cells,  the  element 
which  ensures  colouring.  The  process  referred  to  by  me, 
“the  fall  of  temperature,”  is  here  also  emphasised.  Frosty 
conditions,  of  course,  usually  only  follow  fruit  gathering  in  these 
parts.  In  relation  to  the  experiments  also  referred  to  by 
Mr.  Willis,  whether  various  manures  affect  the  colouring,  under¬ 
taken  by  Mr.  Hall,  the  range  of  such  experiments,  locally 
practised,  would  have  only  limited  application.  The  inineral 
substances  in  the  soil  would  have  more  effect  on  colouring  than 
mere  fertilisers.  The  very  various  characters  present  in  fruit 
from  different  localities  is  probably  chiefly  to  be  accounted  for 
by  minerals  of  various  kinds  in  the  soil. 
Apples  from  warmer  climes  than  ours,  referred  to  by  “  Pro¬ 
vincial,”  their  relatively  high  colouring  is,  of  course,  a  response 
