B. S. Williams Memorial Fund

A committee of prominent horticulturists, in England, is soliciting funds to be employed in creating prizes for orphans of gardeners, and which shall constitute a memorial of the eminent services of the late B. S. Williams, "This committee desires to raise a fund to perpetuate the memory of the late Mr. B. S. Williams, and by investing a sufficient amount be enabled to place a certain number of orphans of gardeners on the gardeners' orphan fund as ' Williams memorial orphans,' and also to give prizes in money with ' Williams memorial certificates for excellence in the cultivation of plants." Contributions are solicited from anyone in any country who desires to perpetuate the memory of a worthy man in a noble cause. Already considerable money has been raised. Shirley Hibberd, Kew and H. J. Veitch, A. Outram and John A. Laing constitute the committee.

Bacterial Diseases In Corn

Mr. Wings statement (p. 188) reminds me of a recently published statement of a man who could see no good in ensilage, for he could "see the microbes with his naked eye" in it. Bacteria don't lay eggs and hatch out maggots. -

W. F. Massey., North Carolina.

About Bananas (See American Garden For June, Page 332)

In some parts of Cuba the fig or date banana is grown, so called locally on account of its small size. It is there regarded as the finest of varieties, as it possesses a rich aromatic flavor not contained in the dead sweet sorts known to commerce. It is seldom exported because of its dwarfed appearance, and few people aside from West Indians comprehend its superiority. A popular tea dish is prepared by simmering it in cheap but pure tart wine. Some use claret. A small lump of butter is placed in the liquid when hottest, and the fruit nearly cooked. Other bananas can also be used in this way. A Cuban lady mentions the method for cooking bananas by roasting. This should be done in hot wood ashes. They are considered a delicacy for persons whose digestion repels the raw fruit. Ordinarily they can be served with rich, sharp cheese.

Beach Plum (Prunus Maritima)

This well-known plum of the Atlantic sea-shore is well deserving of attention for the purpose of obtaining improved varieties for cultivation in the peculiar localities to which it is adapted. Especially is this true since it appears to be remarkably free from the attacks of the curculio. The plant is a compact bush, usually three to four feet high, though sometimes almost prostrate in exposed situations. The fruit is nearly globular, often an inch in diameter, though in one variety no larger than a small cherry. The color varies on different trees from crimson to purple, and the flavor, though sometimes austere, is often agreeable when fully ripe, especially if grown in exposed situations. The fruit is quite largely used in the localities where it grows, and often finds its way into the markets of New York and other Eastern cities.

A Beautiful Carnation

At the Orange show, in November, was exhibited a new double white carnation that good judges declare to be the best of its class yet brought to the light for public inspection. It is a seedling, produced in the houses of John McGowan, Orange, N. J., and named by him the Miss Lizzie McGowan. Our frontispiece shows this beautiful flower in the best style of the engraver's art. The picture represents the bloom in natural size. In texture the petals are firm and durable, and are a pure white, sweetly fragrant. The flower has the valuable characteristic of not bursting in the calyx, a trouble too often spoiling otherwise good and beautiful carnations. It is a free flowering variety, bearing numerous large blooms, measuring 2½ inches in diameter. John Thorpe calls it the "best" white carnation.