4S 



JOURNAL OF HOKTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GAKDENER. 



[ January 19, 1S7I. 



o! the Committee awards, the Kev. M. J. Bertelev directed attention 

 to some of the most remarliabla subjects exhibited. "With regard to 

 Ficns lanceolata, he considerediit would bs extremely valuable if it 

 proved aa hardy as Ficus elastica, so would be the yellow-berried 

 Aucuba if its berries retained that colour when, older. The beautiful 

 branched spihe of Odontoglossnm Bluntii also deserved particular 

 notice, more especially as he believed it was the first time a branched 

 raceme of it had been shown. He considered he ought to mention 

 that the Easter Beurre Pears from Apthorpe Gardens were the pro- 

 duce of grafts he had brought from Lille, inserted in a Potato, in 

 1S3S ; that winter, some would remember, was excessively severe, and 

 it was many weeks before the grafts could be worked, and yet they 

 had grown, and the tree was now in the most flourishing condition. 

 The peculiarity of the Navel Orange, from Bahia, producing seeds 

 only at the apes, and not in the pulp as with other Oranges, was then 

 referred to as having a parallel case in the Portemanteau Gourd. Of 

 Ada aurantiaca it was stated that a Frenchman, lately looking out for 

 subjects for ornamental pottery, was enraptured with it, considering it 

 one of the most beautiful of all plants for the purpose. Mr. Berkeley 

 said he would mention, as an ornamental species, the Sonchus shown 

 by Mr. "Wilson Saunders but principally because there were other 

 plants from the Canaries to which he wished to call attention, par* 

 ticularly the many shrabby species of Echiuni, which it would be ex- 

 tremely desirable to re-introduce for greenhouse decoration. 



Mr. Berkeley then drew attention to the fruit of Stangeria paradoxa, 

 the first, he believed, that had ever been perfected in this country, 

 though male cones had been. This singnlar plant was allied to the 

 Cycads, but was so like a Fem that it had been at first described as a 

 species of Lomaria. The " Botanical Magazine '' of 1359 contained a 

 good figure of the male plant (t. 5121), and it was there remarked, 

 " This very remarkable plant, which in its habit and foliage resembles 

 no other of the ^Natural Order to which it belongs, was first in 1835 

 imperfectly noticed by Eunze as a South African Fern (Lomaria), and 

 was sent by Dr. Stanger from Xatal to N. B. "Ward, Esq., and by him 

 given to the Chelsea Botanic Gardens long after — viz., in 1S51. It 

 was first described by Mr. Moore, from imperfect specimens, as a 

 ' Zamia -like Fern,' or 'Fern-line Zamia,' and the opinion expressed 

 that its affinity appears to be rather with Cycades than Ferns, which ' 

 has since proved to be quite correct. In ISo-l specimens with cones 

 were exhibited to the Linnsan Society by Mr. Stevens (Proc. Linn, j 

 See. V. 2. p. 340), and since then both male and female cones have been J 

 produced at Kew, but unfortunately not in the same year. Of these, ! 

 a pair of female cones, formed in April, 1S5S, produced perfect ovules, [ 

 and withered away ; and in the same month of the present year ! 

 another plant produced the male cone figured in our plate." j 



Frequent complaints, Mr. Berkeley said, had been made by persons j 

 who had sown Aucuba seeds that they could not get them to germi- 

 nate ; he believed that this was owing to want of patience, for the ( 

 seeds lay in the ground several months before germinating. Dr. I 

 Thomson had found them come up very well at Kew when sufficient ■. 

 time was allowed. The same remark applied to the Scarlet-berried ' 

 Elder (Sambucus racemosa), to the beauty of which when in fruit in 

 Aberdeenshire he had at a former meeting called attention, and he 

 had since procured a mass of seed for distribution among the Fellows 

 of the Society. If seeds slow of germination were sown in autumn 

 they would mostly germinate in spring, but if sowing were deferred till 

 spring they would often not germinate till the following spring. He 

 would therefore recommend all persons to have the pots in which seed 

 was sown properly labelled, and not to throw the seed away rashly. 

 Mr. Robinson's collection, already noticed, was next referred to as 

 being of an interesting character, especially the preserved fruit; and 

 in connection with the Pop Com used in puddings, Mr. Berkeley said 

 the small compact varieties were the best for the purpose. He then 

 produced some heads sent by C. TV. Strickland, Esq., grown fourteen 

 miles north of York, theii* perfect state of ripeness being in his (Mr. 

 Berkeley's) opinion a great triumph for so northern a latitude. 



Mr. Marshall said all must have noticed the frequent complaints 

 which had been made of the similarity of our exhibitions, the same- 

 ness of the exhibitors and the subjects, and he would submit a proposi- 

 tion which he thought would tend to efi'ect an alteration in this state of 

 things. It was, however, only a proposition, and no doubt would 

 admit of considerable modification and improvement, and in what 

 points he would be glad to learn. It was this— that those who might 

 be desirous of competing should send in their names to the Secretary 

 of the Royal Horticultural Society, accompanied with an -entrance-fee 

 of £5, and at the same time name the twenty stove or greenhouse 

 plants which they would prefer to grow, and out of which they were 

 to exhibit ten in May or June, 1873. These were to be bought on a 

 given day, in 6-inch pots, of any nurserymen who might be agreed 

 upon by vote among the subscribers ; the plants to be marked by 

 means of a piece of tape, tied and sealed round the stem or lower 

 branches, for the purpose of recognition, and be inspected once a-year, 

 or more frequently if considered necessai-y, by some one appointed by 

 the Council. The Society to give a challenge cup, valne .-£50, which if 

 "won three times by any one person was to be his property. The 

 entry fees to he divided into first, second, and third prizes, according to 

 their amount and number. This scheme Mr. Marshall thought would 

 remove what had been so often complained of — that young exhibitors 

 had no chance against those who had been longer in the field, inas- 

 much as all would start at one time and show at one time. 



The Chairman remarked as no one had come forward to claim Mr- 

 Bateman's prizes for cut Cattleyas, they would be oS'ered again at the 

 nest Committee meeting, which would be held on February 15th; 

 also that the Annual General Meeting would take place on Feb- 

 ruary 14th. 



At the meeting of Council this day, it was decided to recom- 

 mend Messrs. J. Bateman, F.E.S., John Eelk, and E. J. Lowe, 

 F.E.S., to the Fellows for election at the next annual meeting, 

 in place of Messrs. Andrew Murray and Sigismund Eucker, 

 and Dr. Thomas Thomson, F.E.S., who retire. Mr. John 

 CluLton is recommended as Treasurer, and lieut.-Col. Scott, 

 E.E., as Secretary. Messrs. Wilson Saunders, John Glutton, 

 and Sigismund Encker are nominated for the Expense Com- 

 mittee. 



PORTRAIT OF MR. RIVERS. 



In addition to those already announced, subscriptions have- 

 been received from the following : — 



£. s. d. 



Neame, J. E., Esq., Cambridge Terrace, Hastings 10 



Pearse, Miss, Launceston 10 



Tillery, Mr. W., The Gardens, Welbeck Abbey . 10 6 



FORCING SEA-KALE, ASPARAGUS, AND 



RHUBARB. 



A DISH of compact busby Sea-l-ale from 4 to 6 inches in 

 length is very diSerent from that from heads which average- 

 from 8 to 10 inches long. "We have several times been non- 

 plussed at seeing in some of our largest places small houses 

 filled with Asparagus before Christmas and onwards, and hun- 

 dreds and hundreds of heads of Sea-kale coming in at once in 

 a warm dark place. We felt ourselves at a loss as to how 

 this could be done. We have locked at the large gardens and 

 the large space devoted to Asparagus and Sea-kale, but knowing, 

 something of the little space a large piece of such plants can 

 be squeezed into in a forcing house or pit, the wonder with us 

 was where the plants were to come from year after year. We 

 knew a clever cook who would not be satisfied with strong 

 white Sea-kale some 5 inches in length, but would merely nip 

 out the central part, about 14 inch in length, and who wanted^ 

 therefore, an immense quantity for a dish. Why, the whole 

 of our little kitchen garden, if all Sea-kale, would hardly have 

 kept up a good succession from November to May at that rate.- 

 In seeing these large beds under forcing treatment, seeing also 

 a good stock of such vegetables in summer, the wonder to us 

 was — knowing that Asparagus plants taken up and forced are 

 of no use afterwards — where these forcing plants could come 

 from ; but we are not at all surprised at some such cases now 

 when we find that all the earliest successions are, as respects 

 the plants used, bought every season. Under such circum- 

 stances Asparagus and Sea-kale may be had every day in 

 winter, even if the garden is not very large. Such a daily 

 gathering would be impossible where only a small space can bo 

 devoted to such vegetables, and dependance must rest on home- 

 raised plants in the open air. We have thought it right to 

 mention this so prominently, because many who, seeing what 

 others have, are dissatisfied with the amount of Asparagus they 

 have in winter, would be still more dissatisfied if they were 

 not well supplied with shoots from the open air in spring. 

 The gentleman who purchases freely in this respect, and has 

 but a small kitchen garden, must have a greater and more 

 regular supply than a proprietor in similar circumstances who 

 depends entiiely on plants of home growth. AU this, simple 

 though it be, is often apt to be overlooked. 



Unless the ground is very suitable, deep, rich, and rather 

 light, it is not often that Asparagus is worth taking up to force 

 until it is four or five years old from the seed, and then the 

 plants are of no further use. This taking-up plan and giving 

 the help of a hotbed or a pit is, perhaps, the best for the first 

 or earliest crop in winter ; but it is always expensive, owing to 

 the loss of the plants. For successions, it would be more 

 economical to grow plants in beds, that could be forced by hot 

 water or dung linings, forcing these beds every alternate year. 

 The most of us with limited room take up a piece every year, and 

 at first are satisfied with occasiona], instead of daily gatherings. 



For the later spring Sea-kale some similar plan to that re- 

 ferred to as respects Asparagus in pits may be adopted, and 

 thus the same plants may pretty well be forced every year. 

 For early supply we think it in every way the most econo- 

 mical to take up a lot of roots at the end of October, and place 

 them for succesaiona in a warm dark place — say in a tempe- 



