22C) 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



March 16, 1912. 



moisture, and while growing as they are 

 rather close together, and staked out, they 

 act as. a kind of umbrella, and probably very 

 little of the rain actually reaches the roots. 

 This, in my opinion, is more often than not 

 the cause of single blooms and bad centres. 



Dust and soot, et>pecially if your garden is 

 near a railway, will c^oon ruin your light- 

 coloured bloonis if they are not protected by 

 some means. I use shades, of transparent 

 water-proof paper, fixed on wire frames, and 

 as they fold up flat when not in use they 

 take up very little room in the winter. 



That dahlias can be grown succesetuUy for 

 exhibition in the suburban garden is shown 

 by the number of competitors who enter at 

 the National Dahlia Society's shows, and 

 they are very often prize-winners, it is 

 once apparent that they have nothing 

 fear from those more fortunately situated. 



DISCUSSION 



Mr. Davidson, in answer to one member, 

 said he did not 'use any other than natural 

 manures, in liquid form, after the flowers 

 were set. 



Mr. Lee asked how much pruning should 

 be given in a town garden, and the lecturer 

 said it must be severe for exhibition blooms, 

 and lie considered the plants should be not 

 less than 2^ft. to 3ft. apart, more if possible. 

 Mr. S. Mortimer said 4ft. apart was the usual 

 distance to plant for exhibition flowers. 



DECORATIVE, P^ONY-FLOWERED, 

 AND COLLARETT^E DAHLIAS. 



Tliis was the subject dealt with ably by 

 Mr. J. B. Riding, and we hoi>e to publish 

 his paper in full in an early issue. 



After describing the various groups men- 

 tioned above, and speaking highly of their 

 usefulness, a brisk discussion followed, 



Mr. Joseph Cheal opened the discussion, 

 and said he confessed to some conservatism 

 with regard to pseony-flowered and collarette 

 dahlias, but he ciuite understood that both 

 groups were fine for garden decoration, espe- 

 cially at a little distance from the eye or 

 house. Disbudding should not l>e practised, 

 this would mean weak stems and huge 

 flowers. Of the collarette varieties he liked 

 the rounded forms best. It would l3e a good 

 thing if old dahlia lovers would cast aside all 

 prejudices and predelictions and remember 

 that there is a place for all and every section 

 of dahlias, and that each finds some admirers 

 and each has distinct uses. 



Mr. J. T. AVest said he could not find much 

 decorative value in the giant decorative sorts. 

 He had done some work among pseony- 

 flowered dahlias, and humorously told of his 

 original experience with the earliest Dutch- 

 raised sorts, from which he obtained some 

 verv fair seedlings, including Liberty. Dis- 

 budding should not be practised in this sec- 

 tion, as it would spell ruin to the section. 

 He said he only obtained two good varieties 

 out of l,2fK) seedlings, and he found that it 

 was easier to raise good cactus varieties than 

 good pseony-flowered varieties. Dahlias for 

 garden decoration should, he considered, only 

 be judged when shown without wires or 



dressing 



Mr. Stephen Jones said the giant, like 

 Gustave Douzon, was one of the finest decora- 

 tive dahlias if it was looked after a little, 

 and if a man would not look after his plants 

 he should be content to grow groundsel. 

 The collarette dahlias were of great decora- 

 tive value also if given moderate attention. 



Mr. Wyatt said that the more sections of 

 dahlias there were the more people would be 

 pleased; therefore it was folly to condemn 

 any section. TTiere was, he considered, room 

 for considerable improvement in the colour- 

 ing of pseony-flowered dahlias. 



Mr. Emberson said all his flowers of Bertha 

 von Suttner and South Pole pseony varieties 

 came double in 1911, and he wondered 

 whether anyone else had a similar experience. 

 Mr. AVest said the dry season had a good 

 deal to do with the doubling. Mr. C. H. 

 Curtis s^oke of the high value of large de- 

 corative and pseony-flowered dahlias, when 

 cut, for large floral effects in halls and 

 churches, etc. 



as 

 at 

 to 



CONCLUSION, 



Mr. J. Wyatt very pleasantly proposed a 

 vote of thanks to Messrs, Davidson and Rid- 

 ing for reading such useful and up-to-date 

 papers ; this was seconded by Mr, J. T. West, 

 who thought the conference would be the 

 means of increasing the amateur membership 

 of the society. The vote was heartily ac- 

 corded, and a similarly hearty vote to the 

 president concluded the proceedings rather 

 before 8.30, so that those from some distance 

 could get home at a reasonable hour. 



ish Horticultural 



tion. 



TTie monthly meeting of this association 

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

 Square, Edinburgh, on the 5th inst. Mr. 

 Massie, the president, was in the chair, and 

 there was an attendance of 100 members. 



Dr. John H. Wilson, lecturer on agricul- 

 ture in St. Andrew's University, gave an 

 address on " Fruit-growing in Australia." 

 The lecturer was a member of the Agricul- 

 tural Commission which was invited by the 

 Commonwealth Government to report on the 

 rural economy of Australia. Using slides 

 made from photographs taken on the way. 

 Dr. Wilson showed that fruit-growing was 

 carried on vigorously in all the States of the 

 Commonwealth. In the higher ground of 

 southern Queensland the apple, peach, etc., 

 were successfully grown, while in warmer re- 

 gions the banana and pineapple were de- 

 servedly in favour. The orange succeeded 

 Avell in ail the States with the exception of 

 Tasmania. Probably the orange was the 

 most profitable fruit crop in New South 

 Wales, although apples, pears, and stone 

 fruits were also extensively grown. In Vic- 

 toria the irrigated areas were largely under 

 fruit, but orcharding was likewise a very im- 

 portant industry in regions dependent on 

 surface water collected in dams. Special re- 

 ference was made to examples of the latter 

 svstem at Doncaster, near Melbourne, where 

 lemons, apples, pears, apricots, plums, and 

 cherries were grown with marked success. 



In Tasmania the apple occupied more than 

 two-thirds of the orchard areas. The produc- 

 tion of that fruit was being rapidly increased 

 there, more especially on the banks of the 

 iamar, in the northern part of the island. 

 Following the example set by Victoria at 

 Mildura, on the Murray, the South Austra- 

 iian Government was reclaiming large por- 

 tions of land for fruit-growing further down 

 the river, the water lieing raised by powerful 

 pumps and distributed in concrete ciiannels. 

 in Western Australia, in the elevated country 

 lying between Perth and Albany, apple-grow- 

 ing was being greatly extended, the sou and 

 climate being very suitable for the industry. 

 The rapid advance of apple-growing in Tas- 

 mania and Western Australia is mainly due 

 to the good prospects which the London mar- 

 ket offered for the fresh fruit, which arrived 

 at a time when supplies from home and else- 

 where were exhausted. 



Exclusive of vineyards, the area under 

 fruits in the Commonwealth was one hundred 

 and eighty-five thousand acres. Dr. Wilson 

 pointed out that the growers everywhere *c- 

 ceived much help from experts employed by 

 the respective States. In this connection he 

 mentioned that recently the Commonwealth 

 Government had instructed the noted vege- 

 table pathologist of Victoria, Mr. D. McAlpine, 

 to devote his whole time for four years to the 

 problem of checking the ailment of the apple 

 called bitter pit.*' The cost of the investi- 

 gation during that time would not be less 

 than i;8,000. Great attention was paid to the 

 testing of suitable varieties in experimental 

 orchanls. These were often connected wit.ii 

 the State farms or the agricultural colleges. 

 Systematic instruction in orchard work was 

 given in the colleges and other institutions. 

 In certain States provision for cold storage 

 was made by Government. 



On the motion of Mr. Comfort, Dr. Wilsoa 

 was accorded a very hearty vote of thanks 

 for his interesting address. 



The exhibits were : Apples, Dr. Robertson 

 and William Robinson, from Mr. Charles 

 Webster, Gordon Castle Gardens, Fochabers • 



newperpetual-floweringcarnations, includiu^ 

 White AVonder, Una AVall ace , Lady Xortii- 

 clift'e, British Triumph, Regina, Scarlet 

 Glow, and the latest American introduction 

 Gloriosa, from Messrs. Todd and Co., Edin- 

 burgh; cyclamens from Mr. John Black, In. 

 verard Gardens, Edinburgh; collection of 

 tulips from Mr. James Bruce ^ Springfield 

 Nursery, Davidsons Mains; decorative clirv- 

 santhenium J, G. Day, from Mr, Alex. Por- 

 ter, Davidson's Mains ; Dawe's Champion 

 Early rhubarb (forced and unforced^ from 

 Mr. James Scarlett, Sweethope, Mussel- 

 burgh. 



The apples Dr. Robertson and AA'illiam 

 Robinson, exhibited by Mr. AVebster, received 

 each a Certificate of Merit; Mr. Black was 

 awarded a cultural certificate for his cycla- 

 •mens, and the exhibit of carnations bj 

 Messrs. Todd and Co, was very highly com- 

 mended. 



Mr. AA^illiam Cuthbertson, J. P., will deliver 

 a lecture at the meeting on April 2 entitled 

 " Sweet Peas up to Date," with lantern illus- 

 trations in natural colours. 



United Horticultural Benefit 

 and Provident Society. 



Tlie annual meeting of this society was 

 held at the Royal Horticultural Hall, AA'est- 

 minster, on Monday evening, March 11. Mr. 

 C. H. Curtis presided, and the attendance of 

 members was an unusually large one for such 

 an occasion. 



Quite early in the proceedings the Cliair- 

 man moved a resolution conveying to Lei> 

 pold de Rothschild, Esq., the society's patron, 

 the heartiest congratulations of the officers 

 and members upon his providential escape 

 from death by assassination a week previ- 

 ously; this, needless to say, was carried 

 unanimouslv, 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE FOR 1911. 



Tlie following is the substance of the re- 

 port presented : 



Tlie net benefit membership is 1,358, un- 

 fortunately less by eight than it was a year 

 ago; and instead of having enrolled seventy 

 new members as in the year 1910, only fifty 

 have been added. Doubtless the exceptional 

 circumstances in which all friendly societies 

 were placed last year, owing to the legisla- 

 tion of the Government, account for tins, 

 and the committee is in no way alarmed or 

 despondent, but hopes that the old progres- 

 sive condition will have been regained, when 

 the members and potential members have 

 become accustomed to the new conditions 

 that have arisen as the result of the passing 

 into law of the National Insurance Act. 

 Forty-five members have lapsed, twenty-fave 

 from the higher scale and twenty-one irom 

 the lower ; twenty members have gone 

 abroad, six have died, and two have passed 

 the age of seventy years, . 



Among the deceased members, the 

 tee has to name, with sorrow, G. Attriu, • 

 J. Brown, Charles Foster, and G. Thompson. 

 Mr. James George, who was one of the ton 

 ders of this societv, and for many 7^^^^^^^ 

 of its trustees, died in March last year, wneu 

 the previous annual report was in the pr^- 

 The total amount paid out to the ^'O'^'^H 

 of deceased members was £248 12s. Y\].e\T 

 regard to the lapsed members, thougn tu .^^ 

 numbers are considerable, the percentag - 

 certainly not higher than in any similar - 

 ciety. ^These lapsed members, l^^^^T^V.^ 

 not forfeit their deposit balance; in<i^ 

 one member, who lapsed thirty-eight y 

 ago, applied for, and promptly receivea, 

 amount of 13s. id. owing to him. i^^^fit 

 The total amount of sick pay ^? - ^[3^.. 

 members during the year was -.^i; 

 being £53 8s. 6d. less than in ^^^^ ,P^^V^^ 

 year, and over ,£63 less than m 1^^- ^j^^ 

 chronic sick pay amounted to ^10^ prtuiit' 

 nearlv one-fifth of the total sick-pay 



Seven hundred and eighty-eight ^f^'^^yfl. 

 are paying on the higher scale, and V^^^^^^^. 

 dred and seventy-two on the lower. 

 eight members have taken advantage 01 

 xviii., par. 3, which enables those ^no 

 reached the age of sixty to withdraw i .^^ 

 the amount credited to their account a^.^,^ 

 terest in the previous vear." By ^ncn 



