256 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ October 2, 1866. 



ably fine fruit. Mr. Stewart waters his Fig trees copiously witL 

 soapsuds from the laundry, and attributes his great crops to 

 this practice. Mr. Stewart condemns the old practice of stop- 

 ping the shoots of Figs to within three eyes. He has aban- 

 doned it, and suffers his shoots to make full growth, cutting 

 out the old wood as soon as it has ceased to fruit in order to 

 make room for the new. The trees are covered with thatch 

 during the winter, to protect them from the effects of frost. 



Raspberries are largely and very successfully grown. As soon 

 as the fruit is gathered from the canes they are removed, to 

 give liberty and ventilation to the young wood. To the adop- 

 tion of this practice Mr. Stewart attributes his very heavy crops 

 of fruit. 



A large quantity of the now-celebrated Nuneham Park Onion 

 was growing in the kitchen garden by the side of the White 

 Spanish. The former was considerably larger than the latter, 

 though treated in exactly the same way. Mr. Stewart says 

 that he obtains a much greater weight of the Nuneham Park than 

 he does of the White Spanish from a given piece of ground, 

 and the Nuneham Park keeps a month longer than the latier. 



Everywhere were signs of a skilful and intelligent super- 

 vision on the part of Mr. Stewart ; and I have to thank him 

 for the great courtesy and kindness shown to me on the occa- 

 sion of my visit. — R. Dean, Ealing. 



MAIDSTONE GARDENERS' IMPROVEMENT 

 ASSOCIATION. 



If we inquire into the history of many of the most important 

 undertakings of the present day, we shall find they owe then- 

 existence less to the enterprise of any single individual than to 

 the united action of a number. 



Horticultural and agricultural societies are of this description, 

 and being scattered widely over the kingdom, become centres 

 of districts, useful as being the means of encouraging their 

 science ; but there are also institutions of another grade which 

 assume a less pretentious position to the public. Farming and 

 gardening clubs, as they may be called, are equally useful, and 

 deserving the support of all interested in such matters. Perhaps 

 it iswrong to apply the term "club" to an association whose only 

 objects are obtaining and imparting knowledge; but in many 

 cases agriculturists have adopted it, and though, I believe, gar- 

 deners have not generally done so, the objects aimed at are 

 identical in both cases. It matters not to whom the priority of 

 establishing such institutions is due, much good has. resulted 

 from them, and the best practice of each neighbourhood has been 

 made known in a manner well qualified to insure its general 

 adoption. The greater numbers of the agriculturists, and the 

 facilities which they possess of meeting in larger bodies, hare 

 given them an advantage over gardeners in the formation of 

 societies ; but in districts where the latter are sufficiently 

 numerous to form societies for the promotion of knowledge, 

 great efforts have been made within the last few years. Even 

 in neighbourhoods not by any means favoured by the prox- 

 imity to each other of first-class gardens, examples are to be 

 found of success beyond that which even the most sanguine 

 could have anticipated, and it may be of service to other 

 rising institutions of a like kind, to give the history of one as 

 furnished by one of its leading members. 



The town of Maidstone, though situated in the midst of a 

 district where the extent of ground under spade cultivation 

 almost equals that under the plough, is, nevertheless, not sur- 

 rounded by any great number of what are usually called good 

 gardens, or, in other words, not many where any great extent 

 of glass exists. Nevertheless, it was thought by those who 

 were so placed, that some mode of interchanging ideas in a 

 social and agreeable manner might conduce to the general 

 good. Some active individuals, therefore, determined to make i 

 the attempt, and in the end of the summer of 1863, a suitable ' 

 meeting-place having been obtained, a meeting was held and a 

 Society formed, to be called the " Maidstone Gardeners' Mutual 

 Improvement Association." Rules were proposed, and the pur- 

 poses of the Society made known ; the expenses not being likely 

 to be heavy, the terms were easy, and the Society started at 

 once with about seventy members, and the number rose in a 

 short time to upwards of a hundred. A general meeting is held 

 once a-month, and an ordinary one in the interval, the hours 

 being between 7 and 10 p.m. Of the subjects proposed for dis- 

 cussion at each general meetiug, notice must be given at the 

 preceding general meeting, and some limit is put on the time 

 to be occupied by the party bringing it forward. 



The young Society quickly attracted considerable attention, 

 the subjects generally under consideration were popular, and 

 in some cases pretty well handled, and honorary members 

 attached their names. The Society was emboldened to attempt 

 a show in the March following its commencement, or, in fact, 

 before it was six months old. The Corn Exchange, a room 

 some 100 feet long, by half that width, was engaged, and a 

 managing and decorative Committee set to work to ornament 

 it in a suitable manner. Wreaths, festoons, and pendents 

 arranged with skill and taste, gave the large and spacious 

 room an altered and highly decorated appearance, while for the 

 tables beneath, the noblemen and gentry of the district sent 

 their choicest plants, which, with the introduction of sculpture 

 from a neighbouring artist, were so blended and united as to 

 make up an harmonious whole, differing widely from the ordi- 

 nary competitive shows of horticultural societies. Some private 

 mark indicated each one's plants, while printed cards dis- 

 tributed pretty freely denoted from whom particular specimens 

 came. The brilliant display of Azaleas, forced bulbs, Cinerarias, 

 and other plauts, occupied two long tables, an alley 12 feet wide 

 running up between them, and they were also divided in the 

 centre by a cross aisle of like width. A temple of evergreens 

 occupied the centre where these aisles intersected, that being 

 also the centre of the room. It has been explained that the 

 ceiling and walls of the building were hung with evergreen 

 festoon work, of which many hundred yards were used, yet 

 nothing approaching to heaviness was to be complained of, 

 elegance and neatness being aimed at. Besides the plants, 

 collections of fruits and vegetables were exhibited on stands 

 along the outer walls, as well as objects of natural history, 

 dried specimens of plants and flowers, flowers and foliage 

 skeletonised, and sundry other curiosities, sent for the oc- 

 casion by gentlemen favourable to the Society. In an ad- 

 joining room a medical gentleman of the town, and other 

 assistants, displayed the wonders of the microscope, several 

 valuable instruments being lent for the occasion. This Exhi- 

 bition, it may be added, was free to the members of the Asso- 

 ciation and their friends to a limited extent ; but the terms of 

 admission were low enough to the public. It was kept open 

 during the evening, was much crowded by visitors, all of 

 whom were highly pleased, and was the means of adding £40, 

 or more, to the funds of the Society. The Exhibition was 

 repeated in the spring of 1865, and again in that of the present 

 year, varied in both instances in the mode of decorating the 

 room, and other features, but in each case numbers of visitors 

 had to be denied admission, as there was not room for them, 

 and upwards of £60 was taken at the door. It need hardly be 

 remarked that music and some other attractions were secured, 

 and the families of rank and fashion in the neighbourhood 

 visited the Show during the day. Such results, however, could 

 not be accomplished without exertion, an energetic Committee 

 and other officers, and the hearty co-operation of the general 

 body of members. The whole of the duties, including that of 

 attending at the door and receiving the admission tickets, had 

 to be performed by members, while the tedious and laborious 

 task of decorating the room was in a like manner made one of 

 love, yet on all occasions faith was kept with the public- by all 

 being ready at the appointed horn-. 



Now, the above Exhibitions, gratifying as they were, and 

 testifying as they did to what could be accomplished by com- 

 bined' efforts, were perhaps not the most important part of the 

 y's duties. The monthly or often fortnightly meetings 

 of the' members to discuss professional subjects elicited much 

 useful information ; and many of those who took part in them 

 brought specimens of fruits, flowers, or vegetables to illustrate 

 their views. As much care as possible was also taken to give 

 the most diffident an opportunity of expressing their views if 

 they felt so disposed. Some important subjects occupied a 

 whole evening, while on other occasions two or three different 

 matters were discussed, care being taken to allow two or three 

 minutes' relaxation between the subjects for social intercourse, 

 but at other times good order and attention to what was going 

 on was maintained. Numbers of those who enrolled them- 

 selves as members were not gardeners in the ordinary sense 

 in which the term is applied, but tradesmen, amateurs, and 

 others who took an interest in gardening, and who admitted 

 they derived much useful information from what was going on. 

 The monthly meetings were generally attended by from fifty 

 to seventy members during the winter, but in summer, owing 

 to other duties, the attendance was not so numerous ; still on 

 most occasions there was a respectable number present. 



The success which had hitherto crowned the Society's enter- 



