February 13, 1873. 1 



JOUENAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



139 



awarded forty-oue certificates to Pelargoniums, tweuty-eight to 

 Phloxes, twenty-one to Pentstemous, and twenty-six to Fuchsias. 

 Beports on these collections are published in the last numbers 

 of the Society's Journal. 



During the past year a large collection of Peaches, Nectarines, 

 Apricots, and Cherries has been ijrocured and planted against 

 the new boundary walls for the purpose of comparison and de- 

 termination of the varieties. These have all been trained in the 

 form of single oblique cordons, so as to economise space and to 

 secure as great a number as possible against the walls. 



Owing to the late spring frosts, which caused such havoc 

 among the fruit crops in the country generally, all out-door 

 fruits, with the exception of Strawberries, were unusually 

 .scarce in the Garden. 



The large orchard house continues very attractive. The trees 

 •during the past season were laden with fine highly-developed 

 fruit, and were a subject of study to many of the Fellows of the 

 ^society. 



The Vines in the large conservatory exhibited last year indi- 

 ■cations of laugour, through defective root action. This is 

 'doubtless attributable to the borders having become exhausted ; 

 ■these having been renewed, a more vigorous growth and greater 

 jjroduction of fruit may be expected next season. 



A new plantation of Strawberries has been lately completed. 



The trial during the next season, for which preparations are 

 .being made, will embrace all the varieties of Potatoes which it 

 /is possible to collect. 



(jreat pains have been taken to get together a collection of 

 euch interesting hardy herbaceous plants as may be worthy of 

 general cultivation. It is not within the province of the Society 

 to attempt anything like a botanical collection ; but within cer- 

 tain limits the Board are anxious to do something towards re- 

 storing a general taste for beautiful forms other than those gor- 

 .geous masses of colour which have become so prevalent, and 

 which at one time, except for the concomitant attraction of 

 -Perns, bade fair to exclude from gardens everything except a 

 few favoured bedding plants, which were repeated uuiversally, 

 with scarcely any variation. 



It is desired during the coming season to get together more 

 especially a collection of all the cultivated Asters which can be 

 met with, with a view to a revision of the nomenclature, which 

 .appears to be in a very confused state. Any contributions from 

 Fellows for this object will be thankfully received by the Gar- 

 ■<lener-in-Chief. 



The re-establishment of the system of meteorological obser- 

 vations has not been effected without difficulty. The fine set 

 ■of new instruments purchased by the Society from Messrs. 

 Negretti & Zambra were personally conveyed to the Kew Obser- 

 •vatory by Prof. Thiselton Dyer. Having been satisfactorily 

 ■tested, they have been fixed in their proper positions at Chis- 

 wick, and the observations have been regularly taken with them 

 ■since the beginning of July. The thermometer-stand, however, 

 which was made at considerable expense at the recommendation 

 •of Mr. Glaisher, does not prove wholly satisfactory, and it may 

 •ultimately prove necessary to abandon it for some other arrange- 

 ment. 



It will be seen from the following figures that the rainfall at 

 Ohiswick of the last six months of 1872 was equal to about two- 

 .thirds of the average rainfall of the whole year (23.5 in.) ; — 



Number of Average 



Days ou which Kainfall 



^ liaiu fell iu Baicfall of 



1872. 1H72. 44 Tears. 



July 14 .... 1.94 .... 2.32 



August 13 .... 1.H8 .... 2,41 



September 11 1.19 2.50 



October 24 4.fi5 2.63 



November 22 .... 3.2.5 2.10 



December 22 8.91 1.53 



106 .... 16.83 .... 13.49 



In the period 1826-1869 the whole rainfall of the driest year 

 <185,8) was 1.5.8 inch ; in 1861 the whole rainfaU was only 16.9 inch. 

 , Prof. Thiselton Dyer has commenced some eveuing lectures 

 on the Scientific Principles of Horticulture to the persons em- 

 ployed in the Garden. These lectures are stiU in com-se of 

 delivery. 



It is hoped during the present year to make some progress 

 "with the formation of a herbarium of correctly-named speci- 

 mens of cultivated herbaceous plants. This will be exceedingly 

 Tiseful for purposes of reference, especially for naming the 

 living collection. 



A very important collection of the seeds of Cotton plants 

 supplied by Major Trevor Clarke was raised at Chiswick for the 

 International Exbibitiou, of which it proved to be one of the 

 most interesting and attractive features during a great portion 

 of the period the Exhibition was open to the public. 



Experiments are about to be made on the practical manurial 

 ■value of the various products of M.ajor-General Scott's system 

 of sewage precipitation. 



The conservatory at South Kensington has bee-u maintained 



in an exceedingly gay condition throughout the season by means 

 of 14,200 ornamental plants cultivated at Chiswick for that pur- 

 pose ; while the exterior gardens at South Kensington have 

 been embellished by 52,000 bedding plants from the same source. 



During the year about 9000 flowering plants ; 16,000 cuttings 

 of flowering plants ; 12U0 packets of cuttings of Apples, Pears, 

 Plums, Cherries, Vines, and Figs ; 3000 Strawberry plants ; 

 60,000 packets of flower seeds ; and 60,000 piackets of vegetable 

 seeds, have been distributed amongst the Fellows by ballot or 

 otherwise. Large collections of cuttings of fruit trees have 

 been sent to Australia, Canada, Natal, New Zealand, and India. 



Presentations of plants, seeds, &c., have been received from, 

 amongst others ; — The Royal Gardens, Kew, Dr. Denny, Major 

 Clarke, Messrs. Veitch & Sons, W. Bull, Knight, F. & A. Smith, 

 Downie, Laird, & Laing, T. Laxton, Van Houtte, E. Parker, 

 H. Cannell, W. Paul, E. G. Henderson & Son, George, Gibson, 

 Quilter, Moore, Barron, etc. 



The presentations of Peas for trial were made by Messrs. 

 Minier, Nash, it Nash; James Carter & Co.; Sutton A: Sons; 

 Veitch & Sons ; Hurst it Son ; Gibbs <.t Co. ; "Wrench & Son ; 

 Howcroft (t Watkine ; T. Laston ; Dean ; Williams ; Cutbush ; 

 James Clarke; Barr & Sugden ; James Dickson it Sons ; F. and 

 A. Dickson it Son ; Finney, Nutting, it Son ; Hooper it Co. ; &c. 

 M. J. BehIvELet. I T. Moore. 



E. HoGO. W. T. Thiselton Dub. 



Statbhent of AocorxTB from January Isi to December Slet, 1872, 

 Kjeceipts. 



£ t. d. £ s. d. 



To Balance 155 15 



Life Compositions 1018 10 



Admission Fees 529 4 



Annual Subscriptions 7942 8 



Garden Produce and Charges 520 5 8 



Daily Admissions and Promenades 1258 1 10 



Kent of space in Arcades 297 7 



Exhibitions and Fetes 1173 16 5 



Miscellaneous 113 6 8 



Interest on Davis Bequest B9 8 1 



Prollt on Provincial Sho^ Accounts (Ba- 

 lances) 1865 14 6 



Library Account 4 5 5 



14,782 7 7 



Balanco 376 19 9 



Total 15,815 2 4 



EXPEMDITITRB. 

 By ChisTrick Garden Expemet : — 



£ s. d. £ s. d. 



Rent, Bates, and Taxes 281 9 1 



Labour 1141 17 1 



Implements, Manure, Coke, itc 228 14 7 



Kepalrs 112 17 6 



Trees, Plants, and Shrubs 15 4 R 



Miscellaneous 56 19 6 



1887 2 2 



By Expenses of Management : — 



Salaries S32 16 8 



Horticultural Directors, Fruit and Floral 



Committee.^, &c 623 19 10 



Foreign Importations 10 



Fxamlnation of Gardeners 5 5 



Postages 87 10 1 



Distribution of Seeds, Plants, and Cuttings 149 5 11 



lieading Room 20 17 3 



Gas 38 7 9 



Journal 2 10 6 



Wages 842 10 5 



Printing, Stationery, and Almanacs 130 2 6 



Miscellaneous 41 1 2 



. 1834 7 1 



By Expenses of Exhibitions : — 



Tents 500 



Advertising and Posting 285 



Prizes and Medals 1386 13 



Bands 610 2 



Police 74 19 11 



Labour, Judges' Fees, Luncheons, and 



Sundries 517 1 7 



Expenses of Permanent Exhibition 75 12 ID 



Superintendent of Flower ShoTfs 100 



Entomological Collection 38 2 



-. 3087 11 4 



By Eensinffton Oardsn Expenses : — 



Labour 940 5 4 



Bates, Taxes, and Insurance 922 9 11 



Water 95 18 6 



Eepairs 369 18 2 



Implements, Manure, Coals, and Coke . . 215 8 7 



Gravel 



Trees, Plants, Seeds, &c 272 8 3 



Superintendent's Salary 100 



Miscellaneous 24 15 1 



Conversazione 56 



2997 3 19 



Bent to Her Majesty's Commissioners of 1851 1200 



By Interest on Debentures 1943 13 10 



By Liabilities on Current Account 18fj5 4 1 



Total 15,815 2 4 



