January 14, 1669. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOBTICULTUKB AND COTTAGE GABDENER. 



29 



prcaideil, and the vice-chair was occnpiedby Mr. J. Wiso. The Secre- 

 tary, Mr. W. Sanloy, then read the report, which was as follows : — 



" Yonr Committee present the second annual report, with the 

 gratification of knowing? that the Society is in a prosperons condition. 

 The balance sheet shows that the funds of the Society have steadily 

 increased since it was first established. This year its income has been 

 nearly three times its ex7)enditnre — namely, total income, .iHl lo.s. Int. : 

 expenditure, .fJK lU. 3il. ; which is a saving for the year Ibllf* of 

 £53 Is. ^'L ; and when added to the savinj^ for the year 18G7 — 

 £51 9i'. 7(/. — makes a total placed to the credit of the Society of 

 £104 IO5. 10^/. During the year 2 members, through not paying 

 their contributions, have got out of compliance. In the same period 

 honorary and 12 onlinary members have been enrolled, now making 

 a total of Hi honorai-y and 101 ordinary members. Your Committee 

 trust tliat no efforts on its part have been wanting to make the Society 

 as woi-thy as its promoters intended it to be, and that it is able to 

 accomplish the priniai^ object of a benefit society. Those who have 

 had the privilege of attending its monthly meetings can testify to the 

 great pleasure and instruction they have derived therefrom. Ilule 31, 

 which allows members the privilege of bringing any extraordinary 

 specimens of flowers, fruits, &c., before the meetings, has been weil 

 responded to, and has been the means of iliffusing much useful 

 information. To render these meetings additionally interesting and 

 instructive, it was thought advisable to invite members to contribute 

 and read short papers or essays on subjects connected with our 

 profession. This, wo are happy to say, has realised our mostsangnine 

 expectations. The following members, who have kindly acceded to 

 our request by contributing the papers enumerated, deserve our best 

 thanks. Februai-y 4th. — IVIr. Baynes gave the opening address to a 

 very large attendance of members. March 3rd. — Mr. Featherstone 

 read a very interesting paper on ' Boilers and Heating Principles." 

 April 7th. — Mr. Dean gave an account of the International Hoi-ti- 

 coltoral Exhibition held at Ghent, with remarks on Camellias, 

 Azaleas, and other plants cultivated in Belgium. May oth. — Mr. 

 Batger road a paper on ' The Rise and Progress of Gardening.' .July 

 7th. — Mr. Wise read a paper on 'The Gardener and the Garden.' 

 September 1st.— Mr. Boston read a paper on ' The Hot Season, and 

 its Effects upon Fruit and Flowers.' October 6th.— Mr. Rushforth 

 read a paper on ' The Propagation and Growth of the Hyacinth and 

 other Bulbs.' " 



^ In the course of the evening the toast of success to the Society was 

 given by Mr. Dean, and responded to by Mr. Baines. The Chairman 

 also gave the health of the " Practical Horticulturists of Great 

 Britain." Mr. John Wills, of Ashburnham Nursery, Chelsea, replied, 

 and spoke upon the position that gardeners occupied, and the place 

 which ^ they were entitled to hold, from their intelligence, their 

 assiduity to their' duties, and their habits of sobriety. — {Yorkshire 

 Post.) _J ' ^ 



NEW BOOK. 

 Refugium Botavicum ; or Figures and Descriptions froin Living 



Specimens of Little-known or New Plants of Botanical 



Interest. Edited by W. Wilson Saundees, F.E.S., F.L.S. 



London : John Van Voorst. 



The title of this work is a quiet, good-humourod rebuke to 

 the taste of the age, which permits and admires only those 

 plants that are gaudy in colour and flaunting in foliage, while 

 gems of exquisite beauty, such as are here taken under the 

 protectiug care of Mr. Wilson Saunders, are almost entirely 

 disregarded. There was a time when plants of the same class as 

 those for which Mr. Saunders has now provided a home were the 

 admiration, not of the botanist alone, but of all lovers of plants. 

 They were commonly met with in all good gardens, and they 

 were the subjects for the pencils of the most accomplished of 

 our botanical and floral artists. In the earlier volumes of the 

 " Botanical Magazine," in the " Cabinet " of Loddiges, and 

 in the works of Sweet, these modest, unadorned beauties were 

 thought worthy of a place, and received the admiration of 

 everyone. Now-a-days they have to find a " Ilefuge ;" and it is 

 well that we have among us one who, having the taste and the 

 means, has also the liberality to provide a refuge for these 

 despised and neglected outcasts of horticulture, for it is at the 

 horticulturist's and not the botanist's door the reproach must 

 lie. 



Two parts of this beautiful work have appeared, and each 

 contains twenty-four plates of royal Svo. size, drawn on stone 

 by Fitch, whose soul as well as pencil is evident on the face of 

 them. The detailed and intelligible, even to the uninitiated, 

 English descriptions of the plants already published are by 

 Mr. J. G. Baker, of the Kew Herbarium ; and the services of 

 Dr. Keichenbach, of Hamburg, whom Mr. Saunders has also 

 secured as a coadjutor, wDl, we presume, be engaged when 

 Orchids form the subject of illustration. Mr. Saunders him- 

 self, besides being editor of the work, appends to each descrip- 

 tion a cultural paragraph, indicating the treatment that each 



plant requires, the soil in which it best succeeds, and the 

 source from which it baa been derived. 



We most sincerely thank Mr. Wilson Saunders for having 

 so disinterestedly undertaken this useful work; and we cannot 

 but believe that all true lovers of flowers, who find in them 

 other beauties and delights than those which merely please the 

 eye, will be influenced by Mr. Saunders's example, and not 

 only cultivate, but study through the means of this book, a 

 class of plants of which very few in the present day have any 

 knowledge. 



POMOLOGICAL GLEANINGS. 

 " I MAT mention," writes " ABCHAMEAnD," "that if to the 

 Rev. George Kemp our thanks are specially dite for the stimulus 

 that has been given to the oi'es-air cultivation of the Grate 

 by his very liberal offer of prizes during the past season, wa 

 have still further to thank that gentleman, who, as may be 

 seen by the schedule of the Royal Horticultural Society for 

 18C9, which is now before me, again offers the same liberal 

 prizes to be contested for. These are to be awarded by the 

 Fruit Committee at the meeting at Sauth Kensington on Octo- 

 ber 19th. The conditions stated are, ' For the best dish of 

 Grapes, consisting of six bunches of any variety grown in the 

 open air against, a wall, without any protection whatever. First 

 prize £3, second prize £2.' Let us hope for a genial season 

 and a spirited competition," 



WORK FOR THE WEEK. 



KITCHEN GAEDEN. 



Proceed with digging, trenching, &o., wherever there is 

 vacant ground. If some of the ground should require digging 

 a second time previous to cropping, so much the better ; it 

 will amply repa,y the labour. Cover Celery with dry litter to 

 protect it from frost. Attend to the keeping-up a supply of 

 Sea-kale, Bltnliarb, and Asparagus according to the demand 

 and convenience, by introducing quantities of the roots into 

 heat at intervals of about a fortnight. Also keep up a supply of 

 Dwarf Kidney Beans by making frequent sowings under favour- 

 able circumstances. These are generally grown in pots placed 

 in vineries or plant houses, but their liability to the attacks of 

 red spider renders them dangerous inmates of such structures, 

 and where it can possibly bo done, they should be planted in 

 lines in the bed of a pit devoted to their culture. 



FRUIT GARDEN. 



All fruit-tree planting not done in the autumn should be 

 proceeded with during mild intervals. Wherever the subsoil 

 is bad it should be entirely removed, and a platform of brick- 

 bats, rubble, or cinder ashes rammed hard at about 1 foot 

 below the ground level. On this place, if possible, a little 

 rough turf in a fresh state, and be sure to mix some fresh 

 maiden soil with the compost — sound and tenacious loams for 

 Apple and Pear trees, sound yet mellow loam for Peach trees, 

 Apricots, &c., and free upland soil for the Plum, Cherry, Vine, 

 and Fig. Continue naihng and training fruit trees, and lose no 

 time, when the weather permits, of advancing these matters. 

 Where such work is completed, we would advise a syringingwith 

 the laundry soapsuds, saturating every crevice in the wall. This 

 is an old plan, and a very cheap and good one. 



FLOWER GARDEN. 



During the favourable weather we are now experiencing, any 

 alterations out of doors that require to be made may be pushed 

 forward with vigour. Shrubberies may also be thinned where 

 this involves only the cutting-out of overgrown plants, or 

 lopping deciduous trees ; but where evergreens, generally, require 

 pruning, that is best done in March ; for although, when the 

 winter proves mild, such work may be safely performed at any 

 time, it is never well to depend upon this. When the hands 

 cannot be profitably employed at out-door work, prepare a 

 good stock of pegs. Dahlia stakes, tallies, brooms, &o., and 

 store them away in an orderly manner so as to be ready for 

 use when wanted. Now that there is no frost, look over beds 

 planted with bulbs, and where necessary stir the surface, so as 

 to keep the soil open and friable, and give it a fresh appear- 

 ance. Trap mice, which are often very destructive to bulbous 

 plants. Look well to Dahlias and Hollyhocks ; the latter when 

 planted skilfully produce an excellent effect, and, therefore, 

 especial attention should be paid to having a good supply of 

 them. See that half-hardy plants and tree Roses of tender 

 habit are protected. A wicker screen, and even spruce fix boughs 



