\ 



58 



THE GAl^DENERS' MAGAZINE. 



Janitart 20, 1912. 



1 xert^^d upon the insects. In. one depart- 

 ment of the ea^t of France the value of the 

 wheat destroyed in a single year was e.sti- 

 mated at 5,000,000 francs. 



For some years prior to 1H77 vast numbers 

 of red-winged hlackbirdis were poisoned m 

 the spring and autumn round the cornfields 

 of Xebraska. This was done in the belief 

 that i\w bhLckbirds were damaging the cropri, 

 v-cially the wheat. Great numbers ot 

 prairie c-hieken, quail, plover, and various 

 other insect-eating ir^pecies were destroyed at 

 the same time by eatino- the poisoned gram. 

 Then came 1877, and with it Nemesis. Tlie 

 locusts appeared in countless numbers, and 

 Nebra-ka mourned. Hardly a field of gram 



An astounding number of bird-skins are 

 collected annually for hat decorations in Rus- 

 sian Siberia. In 1B95 the ravages of two 

 species of cut-worm^ and some ten species 

 of l()cn-t> i)roduced a famine in the 

 ivo-iuii oL i:kat:'riubiug, which is in Russian 

 Siberia. The local Society of Natural 

 Sciences inquired into the cause which had 

 permitted wuch a numerous propagation of 

 insect pe^^ts. and reported that it was.due to 

 the almost complete destruction of birds, 

 mo-^i of which had l>een killed and sent 

 abroad by wagon-loads for millmery pur- 



Though I could give a hundred cases simi- 

 lar to the foregoing, I must rely on the few 

 T have cited to show that the wholesale de 

 st ruction of birds is surely followed by disas- 

 ter to man. 



(To be continued.) 



u^t 



Can anvoiu' imagine 



EXHIBITING HARDY 



FLOWERS, 



A keen supporter oi tlie- National Hardy 

 Plant Society, I feel I must make a bri<'l 

 reference- to 'it. Tliere is not the slightest 

 dinibt that this .society will become one 

 ol' the moat useful yet formed. My idea 

 is that this societj^ should have the full con- 

 fidence of all horticultural committees, and I 

 siiggt'st to the latter that they would do 

 well to >cck the society's aid in the framing 

 of {'.lasses ior hardy plants. Most lovers of 

 Xatnre will aoree with the ehairman'.s sug- 

 gestion that in the staging of hardy flowers 

 an endeavour should be- made to represent 

 the herbaceous border in as natural a manner 

 as possible. I 8Uggest that a schedule should 

 distinctly state in the conditiont^ governing 

 a ( bi-s " of thifi description, that bamboo 

 stand- >hail not be used, and also that their 

 will lead to disqualification. At York, 

 Norwich, and the Great Yorkshire Show at 

 Botherham, there were bajnboo stands from 

 five to six feet high filled with heuchera, 

 rtouble gypsophila. Chrysanthemum maxi- 

 mum, gaillardias, etc. 



anything more ridiculous than in u^ irt. >iu '! 

 stands iii an arraiifreinent intended to repre- 

 sent a herbaceous inmlcr'r Xo va.ses or 

 stands for raising tiie flowers nhould be 

 allowed, but sand or other mate-rial should 

 supplied by the -(►cieties to form a eloping 

 l)ank oji which to arrange the flowerB; or a 

 platform f't)uld be provided, but it ought not 

 1(1 exct'cd two feet high at the back, sloping 

 t(i 111;' level of the ground in the front. Any 

 utlier kind e!; vatinu should disqualify. 



With rt'ier.'uce to the rock and water gar- 

 dens, which arc such a great feature at the 

 exhibitions at Voi k and Wolverhampton, and 

 this vear tor tli- fir-t time v. ill. it is anti- 



^ I 



ci])a I t'd. \':' a ^■]'i';U h'at n j\' at Shrewsbury, 



\< nut the -lioht-.-t iloubt ])ut wdiat 

 ;\i f;ni^;-M!c!!t . at t i a' t as much . if not 

 , ai i tut iMii than a n v ot lici; exliibits in 

 WW. 1 a-k. a:e rock and uatiM. u^'- 

 ' liown in a natural man iter : M v 



r i- in ti^* n;'.;'ativ:\ 'riie cbisis icr 

 an<i v,at*'r ^•ar'^M!-^ \va-^ fi I'Nt introduced 

 at ^'ork -t'Vcral V'M ■> au-n a- a cbi^s f<vr luuvlv 

 her!)aceoi;^ plants. 'I lie pi i/e was not a laio'c 

 <!!);'. but ii lia^ brtui inrrrasr'l >!n('e. ! iiave* 

 staged in this cla>> iron) 1 1n- first year it 

 wa^ introduced foi- the tirin by wlioni I am 

 em])loyed. and tlnM-etore know something 

 about tie* matter. The tir-t v ar at York a 



well-knowTi firm introduced huge stone.s 

 built up in a most artistic manner. To com- 

 }>ete with any chanoe of suceess against such 

 arrangements made it a very expeiifsiye mat- 

 ter for a firm from a considerable distance. 

 I have done it myself continually, not be- 

 cause I am an advocate of a natural style. 

 I have used stone freely, because if you go 

 to Rome vou have to do what Eome does. 

 Owing to the large quantity of stone used in 

 the;^ groups the effect i^ far too massive 

 for the space occupied. The same quantity 

 used in double the space would present a 

 much more natural appearance as a rock 

 garden for wdiich the class is intended. Bam- 

 boos or others decorative plants can be used 

 as a background. \Yhat\-i the meaning of 

 this? Where is Nature represented when a 

 group of bamboos, rambler roses, etc., are 

 planted, on the top of a massive bank of 

 stone from four to six feet high? We all 

 know bamboos; are more or less bog plants, 

 growing in damp positionts. If 1 suggest 

 pine trees, or such that do grow naturally 

 on the top of rocks, I feel suie I idiall meet 

 with support, and thousandis of these can b& 

 seen growing naturally on the top of rocks 

 in different parts of the country. Most of 

 them self-sown and growing betw-een stons 

 where one would hardly realise there was 

 any soil. 



i feel isure the National Hardy Plant 

 Society could suggest more natural methods 

 and help to state the conditions of competi- 

 tion more clearly in the schedules, aird espe- 

 cially is clearness of expression necessary 

 where the competition in the hardy plant 

 ciasseis form an important feature. 



In conclusion, I wish to state that my ob- 

 ject in pointing out some deiects in exnibit- 

 ing hardy flowers (knowing, of course, that 

 my remarks will meet with some opposition) 

 is tosliow how the National Hardy Plant 

 Society could do much good, if only the com- 

 mittees of the various local societies would 

 act upon the advice the National Society is 

 so well able to give. J. L. Edginton. 



HORTICULTURAL SHOW ADVERTISE- 

 MENTS are iitsertol in this columu at i.x- 

 pence per line, the minimum cl^rge heing two Shii- 

 ling-s iuid Sixpence. Offioes, US and 149. Aldersgat* 

 Street, London, E.G. 



EXHIBITIONS AND 



MEETINGS. 



LADY HUTT GRAPE. 



Without entering into a discussion upon 

 the relative value of close pruning," and 

 the extension svstem , I ma v sa v , at 



G. B.s 



7? 



VIZ, 



■cutting 



system, 

 request, that 

 back the 



may 

 close 



growth to two eyes — 



pruning, 

 previous soason s 

 with the exception of 



tne leading shoot, which was left two to 

 four leet, according to the strciigth of the 

 vine untU the available space was filled 

 has been the method adopted liei e with the 

 vines of Lady Hutt grape rt-fened to on 

 page 935 of the Gardeneiis' Magazine for 

 inu. Had I -U. B/s ' plant of Lacly 

 Hutt under mv care I should not hesitate to 

 cut ;t down to Avithin two eyes of the 

 ground level, providing the eyes were not 

 damaged, wliirb UKiy possibly be the case 

 with (i. B.\s " \ iiie, and even then a young 

 gi'owtli would almost certainly spring fi'OLi 

 the liasf, which woiUd diuihliess give a 

 stronger and Ix^tter result tJuui if the ]U'c- 

 vious year's growth were left, say, two or 

 three feet long. 



Lady Hutt is not a difficult grape to cul- 

 tivate, given the conditions nientioued <m 

 page 935, and is worthy of more extended 

 c-ultivation for winter use. 



Somerleyton Gardens. F. Hansox. 



Royal Caledonian Horticul- 

 tural Society. 



The annual general meeting' of the abovs 

 society was heid in DowelFs Eooms, 18, 

 Cicorg.? Street, Edinhtirgli, on the 10th inst. 

 Mr. Mcllattie, senior vice-president, pre- 

 sided, and there were about tnirty present. 



The Secretary submitted the report by the 

 Council OIL the year's work of the soci-ety. 

 The members had reason, it stated, to con- 

 gratulate themselves on the shows, but the 

 financial result was disappointing on account 

 of want of vsupport by tne pnblic, e-pecially 

 in the case oi the autunni sliow. It was 

 hoped the heating- of the W^avoriey Market 

 Avonld have a beneficial effect, especially in 

 the case of the spring show, on the attend- 

 ance in future. The accounts showed an in- 

 crease of i>23 in the funds. 



Mr. J. Stewart Clark, of Dundas, was 

 re-elected president, and Mr. D. W. Thom- 

 son, was elected a.s a vice-president in room 

 of Mr, McHattie, who jctires by rotation. 

 Messrs. W. Galloway, Gosford; J. Phdhpj, 

 Granton Road Nursery, Edinburgh ; and K 

 Craig CoAvan, Eskhill, Inveresk, were elected 

 to the vacancies in the council. 



The question of increase of allotments m 

 p]dinburgh was rai,-:ed by a meml)er, who 

 pointed out that certain land, at pre^en 

 nursery ground, belonging to the Heriot 

 Trust, was about to be used for other pur- 

 poses, and suggested that the Councd should 

 bring the matter to the notice of the Town 

 Council. The Chairman stated that 

 favoured increase of the^e allotments m 

 Edinburgh, and that the council w^ould keep 

 the matter in view. This wa.^ all the bus;- 

 neas, and a vote of thanks to the ciiairnuu' 

 closed the meeting. 





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National 



til IMT 



A Useful Blotting: Pad.— Mc. r . 



Evans, Sous, Lescher, and Webb, Lim., 56, 

 Hanover Square, Liverpool, have i.s^ued a 

 u-cful Agents' and Factors' Blotting Pa3 

 ;nid Diary for 1912." Tables of weights and 

 measureci and a list ol the chief agricultural 

 societies are given, witli various statistics of 

 interest to agricultui i-ts. Tik^ blotter is Hat, 

 and the diary, and when not in use the 

 l>ages (>f useful informal ion fold down lik;* 

 two desk lids over the pad. The pad is of 

 aubstantial make, and will l>e found a use- 

 ful adjunct to the writing-table of an agent 

 or fanner. 



Chrysanthemum 

 Society. 



There was a well-attended meeting of the 

 Executive Committee of this society at Carr» 

 Restaurant, Strand, ^V.<^, on ^Joi^*^^^^' 

 J-Rnuarv 15, under the ehaii nuui-liip oi M^- 



Thomas Bevan. , 

 The dratt annual report was submitted ana 

 parsed for presentation to the annual meet- 

 ing, and it is in every way satisfactory, 

 also is the financial statement, which shows n 

 balance of ir47 5s. lOd., in addition to i^oO on 

 deposit, while the total (surplus of assets ovei 

 liabilities is 12s. 7d. It was arrang^f» 



that three further medals, gold, silver-gi 

 and silver, respectively, be ottered to tU' 

 International Horticultural llxhih^tion aiitlK*' 

 rities. to be awarded for tlie liest iiou-com- 

 lu'tilivr cxliibits of chrysanthemums at tlu 



^L>ieat .-,ho\v in May. 



In connection with schedule matters, 



interetsting recommendation \va.^ 

 of two guineas each be oftered in 191:] tor ' 

 be^t seedling plant of an anemone, auenu>|j| 

 pompon, and pompon chrysanthemum, 

 the usual class for affiliated societies wiH 

 altered, and will be for three vases ^-^^^j,^^; 

 Japaimse, incurved, and single ^^^hiysami^^ 

 mums. An exhilhtion is to be held at 

 Hall on Xovenil.er 20, and the Hohnes :^h^"i*^ 

 rial Cup ior incurved blooms will be 

 for com]jetition on that otia-i^xi. All_ 

 prizes offered on November 2!» aie being P 

 sented by members of the society. ^. 



The conimittee has in view the ^.^^^^^^ 

 various publications, and the beginning <^ ' 

 new era in this direction will juobably ^ 

 niene-e with a modest volume of " 'I rau-j 

 tiuih^." tlir ,M-li.'(liilv to contaiii only 

 i!Uiiiedia1<'!\ n-hilive to tlu^ soeiety'> "^'^ ' 

 tions. Several nontiiiat iou- tor Uohok . 

 Tellownhips and eorrespoiuling nieiiiber- 

 made, arrd unanimously put forward 

 the conlirnuit ion of the annual meet* 



1. 



