March 16, 1912.] 



THE GARDENERS 



CHRONICLE. 



175 



■Mr, 



parent types, e.g., Horsfieldii self- fertilised pro- 

 duces numerous poor forms of Pseudo-Narcissus. 

 King Alfred, on the contrary, produces some 

 very pretty yellow trumpet forms, as a rule more 

 or less dwarfer than their parents. Mr. Back- 

 house remarked in reference to the common be- 

 lief that single wild Daffodils may sport to 

 double forms, that seedlings resulting from the 

 first cross between the single wild form and the 

 double one would, some of them, be double, and 

 the idea might have arisen in another way as 

 well, viz., by bringing into gardens poor, and 

 practically single because poor, forms of double 

 Daffodils which, under better cultivation, would 

 become typically double. Against this, how- 

 ever, is the fact that the true double form of the 

 wild Daffodil is rare in cultivation, Van Zion 

 being the form commonly grown. 



Narcissus Calathinus x minimus — 

 Chapman showed a hybrid between these two 

 species having the unusual character, which it 

 shares with N. triandrus pulchellus, of a corona 

 paler than the perianth pieces, the difference 

 being quite evident. A Certificate of Apprecia- 

 tion was unanimously voted to Mr. Chapman 

 in recognition of his work in raising this ^hybrid. 



Malformed Narcissus. — Sir F. W. Moore 

 sent a flower of a Narcissus somewhat of the in- 

 comparabilis form, though not quite agreeing in 

 some characters, having the perianth tube split 

 halfway down between the segments, and an evi- 

 dent difference in colour between the inner and 

 outer pieces. The outer perianth pieces had no 

 corona, but the inner ones had, so that the flower 

 bore a superficial likeness to an Iris. The 

 stamens were six, three rising from the top, and 

 three from near the base of the tube. The plant 

 produced this type of flower every year. Mr. 

 Bowles remarked that he had seen a similar 

 form in Mr. Polman Mooy's garden, which was 

 also constant. In that case the plant was a bi- 

 color trumpet, and had three pale perianth seg- 

 ments, three strap-shaped strips of corona bent 

 down upon them, three petaloid anthers standing 

 upright. In this case, since the petaloid stamens 

 alternated with the three perianth pieces, the 

 outer perianth pieces were apparently wanting. 



Primula Knuthiana. — Messrs. J. Veitch 

 & Sons showed a Primula which had been identi- 

 fied at Kew as P. Knuthiana of Pax,, but which 

 was a much finer flower than that figured by Pax 

 in his monograph under that name. It had been 

 raised from seed sent home by Messrs. Veitch's 

 collector, Mr. Purdom, and was much like the 

 form of P. farinosa grown in gardens under the 

 erroneous name of P. frondosa. It was, how- 

 ever, distinct from that plant. The Committee 



expressed a wish to see further seedlings of this 

 plant. b 



Amygdalus x prcecox. — Messrs. Veitch sent 

 flowering branches of Amygdalus x prsecox, 

 raised by crossing Amygdalus persica magnifica 

 with A. Davidiana alba. The hybrid had pink 

 flowers like A. persica, but of about the size of 

 A. Davidiana, and retained the early-flowering 

 habit of Davidiana. 



Double Hyacinth.— An uncommon double 



l 0n u i H > racinth > like the varieties figured in old 

 nerbals, was sent by Mrs. Rooper. It had been 



purchased under the name of Italian Hyacinth. 



MANCHESTER AND NORTH OF 



ENGLAND ORCHID. 



February 22.— A joint meeting of this 

 society and the North of England Horticultural 



nr» I « M h 3 ld on this date - Committee 



present : Rev. J. Crombleholme (in the Chair) ; 

 Messrs. J. Bamber, C. Parker, W. Thompson, 

 Cowif rb T urt £% Z ' A - Ward, W. Bolton, J. C. 



HoTmn' i SPi*' J - Evans > W - Hatcher, W. 

 Holmes, A McRean, A. J. Keeling, D. MeLeod, 



S^ L v f e n R ev " £ Bemar <> Hall, secretary 

 DiDli a ^ ,E,H " 8 " J Medals > Certificates, and 

 piomas were awarded by both Societies. 



O W ^«atherby , for a mixed group; 



Skinner?. t0n ° f ab ° ut ^ P lant * of Itfcaste 



& *cT ,f HLiS!? ^ Messrs ' Charlesworth 



& X Arofc VWard f F eath ' and Messrs. J. 

 Odonioc^^ N : a *»* ** B^PB of choice 



Stiver Medals to W. R. Lee, Esq., Hevwood 

 (gr. Mr. Branch), for a group of Odontoglossums ; 

 K. Ashworth, Esq., Newchurch (gr. Mr. 

 Uilden), for a group of Odontoglossums; R. Le 

 Doux, Esq., West Derby (gr. Mr. Fletcher), for 

 Odontoglossums in variety; S. Gratrix, Esq., 

 WhalJey Range (gr. .Mr. Brown), for an exhibit 

 composed of Odontoglossums; A. Warburton, 

 Esq., Haslingden (gr. Mr. Dalgleish) ; Wm. 

 Ihompson, Esq., Walton Grange (gr. Mr. 

 btevens) ; M. McCartney, Esq., Bolton (gr. Mr. 

 Holmes), for a miscellaneous collection of 

 Cattleyas; W. J. Hargreaves, 4., Burnley, 

 and Rev. J. Crombleholme, Clayton-le-Moors 

 (gr. Mr. Marshall), both for groups of Cvpripe- 

 diums; Messrs. J. Cypher & Sons, Cheltenham, 

 for a general collection; Messrs. Stuart Low 

 & Co., Enfield, for a mixed group; Mr. E. V. 



Low, Haywards Heath; and the Liverpool 

 Orchid Co. 



A Bronze Medal was awarded to Col. J. 

 Rutherford, M.P., Blackburn (gr. Mr. Lupton), 

 for Odontoglossums. 



Amongst other exhibitors were J. J. Holden, 

 Esq., Southport (gr. Mr. Johnson) ; J. H. Craven, 

 Esq., Keighley (gr. Mr. Corney) ; Messrs. 

 Sander & Sons, St. Albans; Mr. J. Evans, 

 Congleton; Mr. D. McLeod; Messrs. A. J. 

 Keeling & Sons; and Mr. W. Shackleton, 

 Great Horton. 



AWARDS. 



First-class Certificates. 



Cypripedium (unnamed) (C. Thompsonii x 

 Rupert), from W. Thompson, Esq. 



Zygopetalum Mackayi M Charlesworthii," 

 and Odontioda Coohsonii (C. Noezliana x Odon- 

 toglossum ardentissimum), both from Messrs. 

 Charlesworth & Co. 



Awards of Merit. 



Odontoglossum Zulu, 0. Confidence, and 

 Odontioda Keighley ense " Ward's M variety 

 (cirrhosum x C. Noezliana), aU from Z. A. 

 Ward, Esq. Odontoglossum amabile, Ash- 

 worth's variety " Nubian," and 0. illu.Hrissi- 

 mum, both from R. Ashworth, Esq. Laiio- 

 Cattleya amabilis (speciosissima Stanley i x 

 Fascinator), and Odontoglossum Lambeauianum 

 " Holden's " variety (augustum x Rolfei), both 

 from J. J. Holden, Esq. Dendrobium Othello 

 " West Point M variety, from S. Gratrix, Esq. 

 Cypripedium Archimedes " Nigrum," from A. 

 Warburton, Esq. Brasso-Lcelia Leeanum 

 (L.-C. Hyeana splendens x B.-C. Heatoneneis), 

 and Brasso-Cattleya Pocahontas albens (C- 

 Eldorado alba x B. Digbyana), both from 

 Messrs. Cypher & Sons. Sophro-Lcelio-Cattleya 

 Marathon, variety " Salome," from Messrs. J. 

 & A. McBean, and Cypripedium Simonii, 

 variety " The Mousme (Harefield Hall x 

 Leeanum Clinkaberryanum), from Mr. Ed. V. 



Low. 



SCOTTISH HORTICULTURAL. 



March 5. — The monthly meeting of the above 

 Association was held in the Goold Hall, 5, St. 

 Andrew Square, Edinburgh, on this date. Mr. 

 Massie presided, and there was an attendance 

 of 100 members. 



Dr. John H. Wilson gave an address on 

 M Fruit Growing in Australia." The lecturer 

 was a member of the Agricultural Commission 

 invited by the Commonwealth Government to 

 report on the rural economy of Australia. 

 By means of lantern slides made from photo- 

 graphs taken during the investigation of the 

 Commission, Dr. Wilson showed that fruit-grow- 

 ing was carried on vigorously in all the States 

 of the Commonwealth. In the higher ground of 

 Southern Queensland the Apple, Peach, and 

 other fruits are grown successfully, while the 

 Banana and Pineapple are cultivated in warmer 

 districts. The Orange succeeds well in all the 

 States with the exception of Tasmania. The 

 Orange is probably the most profitable fruit crop 

 in New South Wales, although Apples, Pears, 

 and stone fruits are also extensively grown. In 

 Victoria the irrigated areas are largely under 

 fruit, but orcharding is likewise a very im- 

 portant industry in regions dependent on sur- 

 face water collected in dams. Special reference 

 was made to examples of the latter system at 

 Doncaster, near Melbourne, where Lemons, 

 Apples, Pears, Apricots, Plums, and Cherries 

 were grown with marked success. Ii> Tasmania 

 Apples occupied more than two-thirds of the 



orchard areas. The production of that fruit was 

 being rapidly increased there, more especially on 

 the banks of the Tamar in the northern part of 

 the island. Following the example set by 

 Victoria at Mildura on the Murray, the South 

 Australian Government is reclaiming large 

 portions of land for fruit-growing further down 

 the river, the water being raised by pumps and 

 distributed in concrete channels. In Western 

 Australia, in the elevated country lying between 

 Perth and Albany, Apple-growing was being 

 greatly extended, the soil and climate being very 

 suitable for the industry. The rapid advance 

 of Apple-growing in Tasmania and Western 

 Australia is mainly due to the good prospects 

 which the London market offered for the fresh 

 fruit at a time when such fruits were scarce. Ex- 

 clusive of vineyards, the area under fruits in the 

 Commonwealth is 185,000 acres. Dr. Wilson 

 pointed out that the growers everywhere received 

 much help from experts employed by the respec- 

 tive States. In this connection he mentioned 

 that recently the Commonwealth Government 

 had instructed Mr. D. McAlpine, pathologist of 

 Victoria, to devote his whole time for four years 

 to the investigation of bitter pit in Apples. The 

 cost of the investigation during that time would 

 not be less than £8,000. Great attention was 

 paid to the testing of suitable varieties in experi- 

 mental orchards. Those were often connected with 

 the State Farms or the Agricultural Collies. 

 Systematic instruction in orchard work was given 

 in the colleges and other institutions. In certain 

 States provision for cold storage was made by 

 the Government. 



The exhibits at the meeting included Apples 

 Dr. Robertson and Wm. Robertson, each of which 

 received a Certificate of Merit, shown by Mr. 

 Charles Webster, Gordon Castle Gardens, 

 Fochabers; Cyclamens from Mr. John Black, 

 Inverard Gardens, Edinburgh, for which a Cul- 

 tural Certificate was awarded ; collection of 

 Tulips from Mr. James Bruce, Springfield Nur- 

 sery, Davidson's Mains; varieties of Perpetual- 

 flowering Carnations from Messrs. Todd & Co., 

 Edinburgh; decorative Chrysanthemum, J. G. 

 Day from Mr. Alex. Porter, Davidson's Mains ; 

 and Rhubarb Davie's Champion Earlv from Mr. 

 James Scarlett, Scunthorpe, Musselburgh. 



At the meeting fixed for April 2, Mr, Wm. 

 Cuthbertson will deliver a lecture on M Sweet 

 Peas Up-to-date," illustrated by slides in natural 

 colours. 



UNITED HORTICULTURAL BENEFIT 



AND PROVIDENT. 



March 11. — The annual general meeting of 

 this society was held on Monday last, in the 

 Royal Horticultural Hall, Westminster. Mr. 

 Charles H. Curtis presided. He read the annual 

 report and balance sheet for 1911 and moved its 

 adoption. He outlined the work of the com- 

 mittee during the past year, and the posi- 

 tion of the society in regard to the National 

 Insurance Bill. The committee was fully alive 

 to the importance of the measure as affecting 

 the society, and would lose no time in placing 

 proposals before the members, directly they could 

 be formulate^. A copy of the model rules as 

 suggested by the Commissioners was only ob- 

 tained on Friday last, and the time had been 

 too short to consider the matter. A sub-com- 

 mittee had been formed to prepare a preliminary 

 set of rules and scales of benefit in accordance 

 with the rules of the society and the conditions 

 required by the State Insurance authorities, and 

 the committee would meet at an early date to 

 consider them. Mr. Burge seconded. Many 

 questions were asked by members, concerning 

 their position and that of the society, under the 

 new Act. The answers given were generally con- 

 sidered as satisfactory. 



Three of the retiring members of committee, 

 Messrs. Hill, Winter and Hawes, were re-elected, 

 and Messrs. A. E. Cresswell and D. Campbell 

 elected to fill vacancies caused by the retire- 

 ment of Messrs. R. J. Frogbrook and Woods. It 

 was stated that the trustees had purchased during 

 the past year £2,700 worth of stock, the greatest 

 sum invested in one year in the history of the 

 society. The officers were re-elected and 

 thanked for their past services. Mr. W. Collins 

 completes his 25th ^ year as secretary of the 

 society, and a special vote of appreciation of 

 his services was passed. 



Extracts from the Report. 



The net benefit membership is 1,358, fewer bv 8 than 

 it was a year ago; and instead of having enrolled 70 



