MaMli 9, 1871. J 



JOUBNAL OF HOBTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAKDENEE. 



177 



supported by the newly-made roots that very few will fail to set 

 their fruit. 



Compare the above method with that generally adopted — 

 namely, putting the plants into the house at the time of start- 

 ing without any of this preparation, and if I mistake not the 

 plants will run to foliage with surprisingly long leaf-stalks, 

 even though they may be close to the glass, and the blossom, 

 instead of being thrown up well above the foliage, will be al- 

 most hidden by it, and the first and finest flowers which should 

 produce the finest fruit will turn black in the centre, and die, 

 in my opinion through insufficient root action. I am more 

 disposed to believe that such is the cause, from the plants 

 setting their fruit almost to a flower after root action has fairly 

 commenced ; but the damage is done, as the later-produced 

 iruit is always the smallest, many not being fit to place on the 

 table. Professional gardeners have long ago learned the lesson, 

 and while some of them have profited by it, many of them do 

 aot attach that importance to it which its merits deserve. I 

 also wish it to ba understood, that I do not think imperfect 

 root action is the only cause of Strawberry flowers going blind, 

 but it is a very common one, and should be guarded against by 

 every possible means. — Thos. Eecokd, Hatfield. 



FRENCH HORTICULTURISTS' RELIEF FUND. 



My dear friend Eeynolds Hole has called me in his charming 

 " Book about Eoses " a French consul, as I have had a good 

 deal to say from year to year as to the new Eoses sent over 

 irom them to us. I now lay claim to being so in another and 

 more important sense. For many years it has been my hap- 

 piness to be much among the nurserymen in the neighbour- 

 hood of Paris, and I have spent many pleasant and profitable 

 iiours with them. It was no wonder, then, when I heard of the 

 siege of Paris being undertaken my thoughts should naturally 

 recur to those whom I felt must be some of the earliest 

 ■sufl'arers from the cruel devastation which has fallen on thu 

 aeighbourhood of the fair city ; and when, from time to time, I 

 heard of the destruction that had taken place — when, especially, 

 ihe letter of M. Andre appeared in a contemporary, that I could 

 no longer sit an idle though not an unconcerned reader of those 

 great sufferings, I consequently wrote and suggested that an 

 appeal should be made in their behalf. I am thankful to say 

 that this has been most warmly taken up. The Council of the 

 Kayal Horticultural Society baa seconded the movement, and 

 everything, as will be seen by the advertisement in another 

 •aolumn, has been put into a fair train. 



I have received letters from Paris, speaking in most grateful 

 ■terms of this movement, and X now desire to make my appeal 

 to all lovers of gardens to aid in this good work. I know you 

 have all, my good and kind readers, done your part already. I 

 know but little of the whole race of gardeners, professional and 

 amateur, if they have not been already contributors to some 

 of the many agencies at work for the relief of French distress ; 

 I do not want to divert, God knows, one single rill of that 

 mighty stream of charity which is ever flowing in our dear 

 country, but I want to tap another spring, believing it will in 

 no way drain the others. Imagine what it would be for your 

 own gardens to be torn and trampled by the troops of invading 

 armies ; your greenhouses and frames pulled to pieces to make 

 firewood of ; your well-trained trees cut up to make gabions ; 

 your dwelling-houses ransacked, and then tell me. Can you re- 

 iUse to help those who have thus suffered ? No, I am sure you 

 ■cannot, and so I rely on your kind co-operation. Let none be 

 deterred because they can only give a trifle, for every little 

 makes a mickle, and the few postage stamps will be as accept- 

 able from those who can give a little only as the well-filled 

 cheque from those who are wealthy. The cause is a good one ; 

 give for that reason. If you want another, remember that it 

 will be only another proof of the sympathy of England, which 

 will be thoroughly appreciated by our French friends; and 

 may I say that if ever I have been enabled to give any informa- 

 tion that has been either agreeable or profitable, I may ask 

 in return that yon will favour this movement ? As I am ready 

 to receive subscriptions I had better, perhaps, net use my usual 

 mom deplume of " D., Deal," but sign myself — H, Hontwood 

 DoMBBAiN, Westioell Vicarage, Ashford, Kent. 



the public, was a full one, and the liveliest interest in the suc- 

 cess of the undertaking was exhibited by those present. Mr. 

 G. F. Wilson, F.R.S , was in the chair ; and there were present 

 Mr. Charles Lee, Mr. H. Veitch, Mr. Catbusb, Mr. Ball, Mr. 

 Liiing, Mr. Williams, Mr. Turner, Mr. Standish,Mi-. Eobinson, 

 Mr. Beale, Mr. Eyles, Mr. Eichards, Dr. Masters, and Dr. Hogg. 

 M. Wauthier, of Paris, was present, representing the Societe 

 Ceutrale d'HorticuUure. 



The Eav. H. H. Dombrain, the Honorary Secretary, read 

 several letters he had received from Paris relating the great 

 suffering our fellow horticulturists had undergone, and the 

 total destruction of property which many of them had sustained 

 by the late war. He also stated that he had been in commu- 

 nication with the Lord Mayor with the view of participating 

 in the Mansion House fund, and that his application had met 

 with a favourable reception ; but the meeting were strongly of 

 opinion that before any aid could be expected from that fund 

 the horticulturists themselves should make a special effort to 

 alleviate the sufferings of those in whose interest their sym- 

 pathies had been excited. 



Several subscriptions, varying in amount from Is. to fifty 

 guiness, were announced as having been received, and these, 

 together with those contributed by the meeting, amounted to 

 no less than £261 14s. The following deputation was appointed 

 to wait on the Lord Mayor at the Mansion House — Mr. Wilson 

 Saunders, Mr. Marshall, Mr. G. F. Wilson, Dr. Hogg, Dr. 

 Masters, and Mr. Harry Veitch. 



We have already stated how cordially we approve of this 

 movement, and we trust that all our readers, however limited 

 their means, will to the best of their ability unite in trying to 

 alleviate the distress ol those industrious and innocent sufferers, 

 many of whom are known to us as personal friends. 



A large number of circulars has been printed tor distribution, 

 and the members of the nursery and seed trades in the pro- 

 vinces are earnestly invited to lend their co-operation by cir- 

 culating them in their several districts. Any quantities that 

 may be required can be had on application to the Secretary, 

 Kev. H. H. Dombrain, Westwell Vicarage, Ashlord, Kent. 



A MEETING was held on Tuesday last at the rooms of the 

 Eoyal Horticultural Society, South Kensington, in furtherance 

 of the object of raising a fund to relieve the French horticul- 

 turists who have suffered from the ravages of the war. The 

 meeting, considering the short time the matter has been before 



DOUBLE-FLOWERED PELARGONIUMS. 

 Me. C. M. McCkow, in page 63, asks for the results attendant 

 on plunging the above in borders, and I have much pleasure 

 in communicating my experience. During the last two summers, 

 I have tried the plants in borders with and without pots, and 

 much prefer them in the latter. Last autumn I took up twenty 

 plants from borders, placed them in pots just large enough to 

 admit of the roots being crammed in, and set them in the 

 same house as my autumn-struck plants, and although I lost 

 upwards of a thousand good Pelargoniums through frost, only 

 two of my old plants perished, and I could now take nearly one 

 hundred good cuttings. I may add that the bloom of the plants 

 not kept in pots was much finer than that of the others, and 

 the plants did not require water in the summer, as they rooted 

 very deeply.— J. Wallis. 



PRESENTATION OF A TESTIMONIAL 



TO MB. KOBSON, GARDENEK TO "^ISOOUKT HOLMESDALE, M.P. 



The Editors and the many readers of The Journal op Hok- 

 TicuLTURE will be gratified by knowing, that their old and 

 much-esteemed friend, Mr. Eobson, late President of the Maid- 

 stone Gardeners' Mutual Improvement Association, was pre- 

 sented with a handsome and valuable testimonial by the mem- 

 bers of the above Society and their friends, on Wednesday, 

 March Ist, at the Eose and Crown Inn, Maidstone. 



Mr. Frost, the well-known nurseryman (the President for this 

 year), took the chair. Mr. Davis, the founder, and father, as he 

 is commonly called, of this prosperous Institution, occupied 

 the vice-chair. The members in all, including honorary and 

 ordinary, amount to over four hundred. A great number 

 were present on this occasion, many of them from a long dis- 

 tance. The Chairman in modest but appropriate terms ipoke 

 of Mr. Eobson's well-known high qualities both as a gardener 

 and private gentleman, setting forth in no exaggerated measure 

 the desirability of commemorating in some slight way the 

 valuable services of Mr. Eobson, not only to the Maidstone 

 Gardeners' Society, but to all gardening and gardeners. 



The testimonial was then handed to Mr. Eobson by tho 

 Chairman. It consisted of an elegant gold watch with a suit- 

 able inscription, a massive gold chain, a purse of sovereigrS, 

 and a book beautifully embellished with the names of the enb- 



