Jaly 4, 1M7. 1 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE aAKDEKEB. 



most thrifty among nil. He rejoiced to find the InRtitntion bo well 

 supported by gardeners of all claHBes throaghont the conntry, and he 

 hoped they would nse their inflneune to induce every gardener to join 

 so excellent an Xufititntion, not merely ad a provisiitu for themMelven 

 shoald they require it (as he hoped none preHont ever would), but to 

 help their losa fortunate brethren. Lot them look at the lipt of Bub- 

 ficnptions — there were good names from the Sovereign on the throne to 

 tile man who had earned his position by the sweat of his brow. It 

 was aaoal for tho Cliairman on similar occasions to enter into the 

 hiatory of the Society, hut he would inoroly say that at present a sum 

 of something like .f SOO per year was distribnted among those who had 

 fallen back on ita funtls. Consider what good, what happiness this 

 sam has caused among those who would otherwise have been destitute. 

 When he said that tlie lustitntion was well worthy of supjiort, he 

 •onld not on seeing tho beautiful display of flowers and fruit aronnd 

 him refrain from thiuking what a charm they diffused. lie took a 

 delight in horticulture, and there was no one in the room — no, not 

 ni tho country — who took a greater interest in flowers from the beanti- 

 fol Hose before him to those productions which their friend Mr. Yeitch 

 fleet out in such profusion. After adverting to the frnit from tho 

 gardens of II.R.H. the Prince of Wales at Sandringham, which formed 

 a portion of the dessert, Sir Kobert said that when at Manchester last 

 year ho was tt>ld by many a poor man that his greatest enjoyment 

 was his garden, sometimes in that crowded city only a window garden 

 in a fifth or sixth storey. Sir Kobert Peel then adverted to the great 

 improvement in the parks of tho metropolis, and especially Battersea 

 and Hyde Parks, to the advantages likely to result from the establish- 

 ment of soldiers' gardens, and finally, to tho contributions of flowers 

 ftnd plants which had been sent to decorate the room, and he concluded 

 0f proposing the toast, which was enthusiastically received. 



Sir Walter STiitLiNa, Bart., in proposing the health of the Chair- 

 own, said that it had been his singular good fortune to be acquainted 

 with tho first, the second, and the third Sir Robert Peel, and there 

 nevcrwere throe men more devoted to the good of their conntry. After 

 oalogising tho Chairman's ability as a statesman and speaker in the 

 Honso of Commons, Sir Walter Stirling thanked him for his advocacy 

 •f tho Institution, and his liberal donation ^to its funds ("20 guineas, 

 aad 10 guineas from I.ady Emily Peel). 



Tho CnAiRM.iN, in returning thanks, said that nothing gave him 

 ffreater pleasure than to be able to do anything to improve tho con- 

 dition of his fellow creatures, and if his presence at any time conld be 

 •f assistance he would be most happy to attend. He "then bogged to 

 propose the health of the Treasurer, Mr. Wrench, who had devoted 

 mnch of his time to the interests of tho Institution, and whose 

 services could not but moot with the cordial approbation of tho friends 

 •f the Institution. 



Mr. Wrexcii having relumed thanks, Mr. Cutler, the Secretary, 

 read a list of subscriptions amounting to, it was stated, upwards of 

 £500. ^ " ^ 



Tho health of tho Secretary having been drunk, the Ciiairmak prn- 

 posed the Houses of Legislature, coupled with the name of Mr. Bass, 

 M.P., who had recently presented the tt)wn of Derby with the m.tgnifi- 

 •ent gift of sev<!ral acres of laud as a recreation ground. The Chair- 

 man added, tliat he had endeavoured to induce the Duke of Argyll to 

 take the chair at the next anniversary, but he would not promise so 

 long beforehand. If, however, the Duke could not preside, no one 

 •oold do so uiore efticiently than Mr. Bass. 



Tho Chairman having to attend an important division at the House 

 of Commons, vacated the chair in favour of J. Bateman, Esq., and 

 after some other toasts the meeting separated. 



The room was decorated with a rare display of fine-foliaged plants. 

 Pekrgoniums, itc, contributed by Mr. Williams, Mr. Turner, of 

 Slough, and Mr. Frasor, and some fine fruit, already referred to, sent 

 from Sandringham ; and a liberal dessert came from five other gardens. 



NEW BOOK. 

 TMtiah Graxsra : An Introduction to the Study of the Graminca: 

 of Great Hritain and Ireland. By MABOAitET Plues. Reeve 

 and Co., London. 



WiTEN this volmno was placed on our table it so happened 

 that wo were searching for information relative to one species 

 •f Grass, and wo hail before us Sinclair's " Hortus Gramineus 

 Woburnensis," Zaccone'a " Plantes Fourragores," Curtis's 

 " British Grasso".," Parnell's " Grasses of liritain," Buckman's 

 " Meadow and Pasture Grasses," White's " Indigenous Grasses 

 ef Ireland," and Stillingfleet'a " English Grasses " — a tolerable 

 arroy of authorities ; 



" And yet the eighth appears, bearing a glass 

 Wnich shows us many more," 



for H contains quotations from others of ven,- varied merit. 

 Yet this volume by Miss Pines is not anperfluoua, for it com- 

 bines much iufurmatiou well concentrated from other sntirces, 

 and a good compiler is more useful than a bad originator. 

 Miss Plues, however, acknowledges to some extent to whom 

 she is indebted ; but we hope when a second edition is required 

 Bbe will call her authorities by their right names. The work 



is with forty-threo colonred portraits of Grasses, and more 

 than one hundred woodcnts of the species and their flowers 

 magnified. It is saitable to the end the authoress aims at — to 

 induce English ramblers to enltivate aeqaaintance with the 

 Grasses. 



■With that word— Grasses, what a narrow and erroneotw 

 association of ideas is nsually combined — the Poa annna on 

 our gravel walks— the carpeting of the lawn — the herbage of 

 our meadows and pastures, but nothing more. How mistaken 

 is this restriction most of our readers are aware; but soma 

 will be surprised to know that tho .SO feet Bamboos of India, 

 the Sugar Canes of the tropics, and the cereal plants of tho 

 world are all Grasses. 



Tho laundress's starch, onr bread-stnffs, our sngars. onr 

 spirituous liquors, and our beer ; Panama hats, Leghorn bon- 

 nets, the Esparto sacks and mats of Spain, tho stouter papers 

 of China, the straw paper of England, the Kuskus fragrant 

 anointing oil of Hindostan, and many, many other snstainers 

 and comforts of life we owe to the (irasses. When we use tha 

 collective term " bread-stnlfs " we do not merely intend Wheat. 

 Kye, Barley, and Oats, but Kice, on which about three-fourths 

 of mankind exist ; JIaize, far more extensively cultivated than 

 Wheat ; the Paspalum exile, yielding the Hungry Kice ; vorions 

 Millets, the chief food of African negroes, and of some Earo- 

 peans and Asiatics ; and manna croup, prepared from the seeds 

 of Poa fluitans. 



Nor are tho Grasses deficient in minor ntilities. Table-mats 

 are made of their flower-stems ; tho young shoots of Maize 

 are eaten as Asparagus ; " .Job's Tears " are the seeds of Coil 

 lachryma, and are worn as beads ; the awns of the Feather 

 Grass are so ornamental as to be compared to the feathers of 

 the bird of paradise ; the various species of Anindo have dust- 

 ing brooms made of their panicles, and garden screens of their 

 stems ; fishing-rods are formed of the woody stem of Arando 

 donax ; Indian fans are made of the leaves and stems of Ana- 

 therum muricatum, and the Pampas and Ribbon Grasses adorn 

 our gardens. 



" The Grasses," says Linnicus, " are the most general of 

 plants, constituting almost a sixth part of all the vegetables 

 on our globe, especially in open situations. They are the most 

 important of plants, especially as affording the chief sustenance 

 of animals who feed on vegetables. They furnish tho verdure 

 of our summers, and spread a carpet over our meadows. Their 

 leaves are not easily damaged, even by our walking over them ; 

 and though winter destroys their foliage, and the early spring 

 finds them dry and withered, they revive in a wonderful man- 

 ner from apparent death. How solicitously has the Author of 

 Nature protected these plants, by giving them such hard stems, 

 while they are perfecting their seed, that cattlo cannot readily 

 attack them in that state ! Then, on tho other hand, they are 

 so constituted that the more their herbage is cropped, or hardly 

 used, the better they thrive and extend themselves the mora 

 under ground. That they may be able to exist in almost every 

 situation, their narrow spiny leaves are purposely contrived to 

 insinuate themselves between other plants." 



Such care for their preservation is an assurance of their 

 utility, and we might fill a large space with a bare detail of 

 more than we have already noted of their aids to mankind ; 

 we might dwell upon those, the roots of which are their special 

 value, such as those sustaining our horses in hot climates, and 

 binding down the otherwise fleeting sands of our coasts, and, 

 lastly, we might enlaige on their being the chief promoters of 

 the dews which refresh the earth, and the daily suppliers ot 

 oxygen — the vital air of man and all animals. 



DRY-EARTH METHOD OF DEODORISATION 

 ON BARON ROTHSCHILD'S ESTATE. 



fKead at the Leamington Sewage Congress, by Mr. James, of Ilaltoo, 

 Tring.) 



I HAVE been requested to tell to this Congress the story of tho 

 Halton drainage, and I shall do it as shortly as possible, with 

 the firm belief that it will induce many of the noblemen and 

 gentlemen whose desire to benefit their neighbours has brought 

 them here to-day, to follow the example of Baron Rothschild — 

 an example, as it seems to me, so calculated to confer equal 

 benelits upon the cottager and the proprietor. 



The village of this country, when situate near tho mansion 

 of thu great proprietor, generally presents a most picturesque 

 appearance of neatness and comfort; but yon cannot help 

 uotieiug the email buildings dotted here and there through the 



