GARDEN NOTES

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1628, 13 May 1903, Page 63

GARDEN NOTES

- HORTICULTURE AT ST. LOUIS.

Horticulture will receive due prominence at.next year’s exhibition, to be held at St. Louis. U.S.A. There will be a splendid conservatory for the reception of exotic and other decorative, ornamental and useful plants, including those of the greatest size. This will constitute a portion of the home of horticulture which is to cost about JZ 41,500. The frontage is arranged for 80(1 feet, and the depth wil 1 be 40(1 feet. The aim is to make in this palace of fmt. foliage and fiowei s a complete display of the gardening world. The exhibit is open to appliances and methods oi pomology, viticulture, floriculture and arboriculture. and in addition to tools of every description for gardeners and nurserymen, this includes green houses, aquar.ums, garden architecture, models, pictures and literature "dealing with the subject. As to the ■vine, it is such an important branch of horticulture that the idea is to make viticulture a separata group. For historical and decorative purposes the schedule includes casts and models of fruits in wax and plaster. Arrangements have been made for a display of ornamental standard trees and shrubs plants for the park or garden, herbaceous plants, such as Dahl ia.s, Chrysanthemums, mosses, and baskets of flowers. Further, it is part of the plan to show the working results of forced culture, including specimens from as many different countries as possible, of forced vegetables and fruit, varieties of plants cultivated for ornamental purposes, plants for houses of moderate and extreme temperatures. Seeds and plants for gardens and nurseries are included i.e.. collections 1 of vegetable seeds and young trees, whether seedlings or grafted. Another group in the department will be devoted to ornamental trees and shrubs fruit trees, the vine and small fruits, while, with the idea-of presenting the full scone of the profession of gardening, methods of propagation, planting, training and pruning a,s in use for any member O' fthe species will form a part.

CANADA AND APPLES. % cThe way in which Canada is forgingahead in placing her produce on the markets of the world has caused the French consular agent at L'verpool to make comparisons between the quantities o.f apples and pears suplied to Great Britain by Canada and France respectively, and apparently the figures are causing a certain amount of misgiving in the French breast. Owing largely to the use of refrigerating apparatus on the big vessels, the Canadian goods now arrive in splendid condition. . Complaints formerly wore common, about the bad condition of the fruit on arrival at English ports, but thanks to> the Canadian Fruit Marks Act. they are not likely to be revived. ' This Act prohibits the exportation of any fruit under the description of first quality if 90 per cent, of it does not conform in .size, colour, and savour to a certain specified standard. In cases of infraction of this law the departure of the cargo may not be stopped, but the Minister of Agriculture reserves the right of instituting proceedings against the delinquents. A rigorous process of inspection is carried out by the Dominion agents, not only at the port of shipment, but also on tire arrival of. the fruit at Liverpool. During the passage the greatest precautions are taken, under the direction of experienced men, to ensure an even temperature, and with success, for the thermometer placed in the cold chamber rarely registers a variation of more than 2dieg. F.

FLOWER CULTURE, London papers to hand by the last mail report the delivery of large quantities of flowers from France, and considering that there was a good supply of E'uglish cut flowers they realised very fair prices. Tavo thousand baskets reached Charing Cross on the 9th February, the largest consignment ever known. The. demand for cut flowers foir table and room decoration lias increased bv leaps’ and bounds in London and the iarge English tOAvns. English growers can to a great extent meet this demand during the summer and autumn, but during the often too sunless Avinter and bitter early spring they can but partially do so. At the present time there are nearly 9000 floAver farmers in the department of the Alpes Maritime®. and the capital invested is estimated at upAvards of £2,000,000. During the busy season from 2000 to 2600 baskets a day are despatched, Aveighing from about 100 to 130 tons. Paris alone receives 25,000,000 Rose blooms yearly from the Riviera, and from 70,000,000 to 80,000.000 Carnations. Violets are not so easily reckoned a bunch of the large, highly scented Pa.rma. violets containing feAA r er individual blooms than one of tlie smaller A r arietieiS. But if Ave take only 25 as an average number in each market bun cli, it -would give the total of 2.000.000.000 blooms e\ery season;

The retiring rresidrmt of the Canadian Horticultural Association owes it as his belief that as many as 12.000 persons are employed in the florists’ business in the Dominion of Canada. ‘