i879-] DRUMLANRIG GARDENERS' ASSOCIATION. 531 



doubtless caused by its being grown under glass : it will probably be all that 

 could be desired in the open air as a bedding-plant. 



Among the other exhibits were collections of cut blooms of herbaceous plants 

 from Messrs Dickson & Co., including several species of Yucca, Colchicum 

 autumnale, purple and white, Statice Fortunei, a showy and distinct-looking 

 plant with loose panicles of yellow flowers, Lobelia syphilitica, a pretty North- 

 American blue -flowered species, Anemone japonica with large red flowers 

 and its variety alba with flowers pure white, several of the autumn Asters, 

 Tritomas, &c, &c. Mr Robertson Munro had a large array of a similar char- 

 acter, in which were the single-flowered Dahlias glabrata and crocata, Stenactis 

 speciosa, with showy purple flowers, Rudbeckias of various sorts, Mimulus ear- 

 dinalis, &c, &c. Blooms of a red Pompon Dahlia grown at Piershill were also 

 shown by Mr Munro, who stated that the plant from which they were gathered 

 had been growing in the open border for twelve years without being once 

 lifted, that several varieties had been planted at the same time, but that all 

 the light-coloured and large-flowered sorts had died out, leaving only the plant 

 which had borne these flowers. 



The Chairman alluded in feeling terms to the death of Mr John Caie, gar- 

 dener, Inverary Castle, one of the most enthusiastic members of the Association. 



The usual votes of thanks terminated the proceedings. 



-*^^^ — 



THE TELEPHONE IN HORTICULTURE. 



Messes Dicksons & Co. , Nurserymen and Seedsmen, Edinburgh, have estab- 

 lished telephonic communication between their seed warehouse in Waterloo 

 Place and their Pilrig Park Nursery, Pilrig Street — a distance of fully a mile. 

 The instrument they have adopted is Crossley's Patent Transmitter, which is 

 one of the best for using in towns, where the noise from the street traffic 

 renders the ordinary telephone of little practical value. It must prove highly 

 advantageous to Messrs Dicksons & Co., bringing as it does the two branches 

 of their business into instant communication. So far as we know, this old 

 established firm is the first in the trade that has taken advantage of this recent 

 invention. 



DRUMLANRIG GARDENERS' MUTUAL IMPROVEMENT 

 ASSOCIATION. 



The last session of this Association was one of the most successful in its his- 

 tory. The attendance was so good, and the discussions so enthusiastically 

 entered into, that the fear of our ever falling into a " mere mechanical routine," 

 has been scattered to the winds. We are now under full sail in the eighth session, 

 and if the splendid breeze with which we started will only continue to fill our 

 canvas, we shall be able to present a very favourable account of our voyage 

 next year. The following is a list of the subjects on which papers were read : 

 Hardy-fruit culture; the Sweet Violet; the Grape Vine; Nature; the Cape 

 Heath ; the Banana ; the Asparagus ; the Chrysanthemum ; the Classical Plant- 

 ing of Trees ; Stove-Plants ; Benefit Societies ; Water ; the Cypripedium ; In- 

 equality of Rank and Condition ; Reading ; the Gathering and Storing of Fruit ; 

 the Creation ; the Fuchsia; Propagation and After-treatment of Bedding-plants ; 

 Civilisation; Forcing Vegetables ; The Conservatory; Savings Banks; Fore- 

 men and Workmen ; Value ; the Hardy Heath ; Storing Ice ; Formation of 

 Vine-borders ; Are the Joys of Labour sweeter than the Gifts of Fortune ? Calen- 

 dar for May ; the Art of Thinking; Carnivorous Plants ; Soils, their Manage- 

 ment and Improvement ; Hedges ; Spring Bedding. Secretary. 



