352 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



Mat 4, 1912. 



qisefulness would not be wanting :n utility. 

 Doubtless hybridisation in orchids will be 

 ^Iven a prominent position among the sub- 

 jects selected, for while there is no longer 

 a necessity for discussing matters of an 

 elementary character relating thereto, the 

 -enormous numbers of hybrids that have 

 been raised and introduced to cultivation 

 should furnish ample material for a free 

 interchange of opinion among these who 

 have had some experience in th s interostiug 

 jihase of orchid culture that should prove 

 useful, and may" have a far-reaching et^^ect 

 upon future efforts in the creation cf new 

 forms. The splendid results that have been 

 •obtained in the raising of hybrid biarso- 

 cattleyaSj cattleyas, cypripediums^ clcndro- 

 i)iums, Ifelio-cattleyas, odontiodas, odonto- 

 ^glossums, and some others represent an im- 

 mense amount of accumulated knowledge, 

 which, placed at the disposal of those who 

 iue now commencing orchid hybridisation, 

 would be of much value to them and also 

 be useful to tlie advance<l workers in sug- 

 _gest:ng the great ad\antage they may 

 derive from proceeding cn lines they have 

 aiot yet followed. However that may be, 

 the proposal to hold a conference si-ows 

 that there is much vitality in the cult of 

 the orchid, and justifies the expectation 

 that it will assist in still further extending 

 the cultivation of the flower in Us mnny 

 forms in British gardens, and thereby 

 greatly enhance the attractions of plant 

 houses, more especially at the season of the 

 year when flowers in the Open are few in 

 number, if not non-existent. 



r. F. G. Drew, whose portrait we 

 have the pleasui'e of giving herewith, occu- 

 pies a position in horticultural circles of 

 no small importance, and it must be im- 

 mensely gratifying to his many friends, and, 

 indeed, to all who appreciate ability and 

 l^erseverance, to have imquestionable evi- 

 dence that he discharges the duties of 

 his office with credit to himself, and 

 advantage to all concerned. Mr. Drew 

 :s the chief of the horticultural depart- 

 ment of the TniA-ersity College, Reading, 

 now one of the leading centres at which 

 practical and scientific gardening is taught, 

 and has provetl a worthy succcvssor to the 

 late Mr. Charles Foster, who was in charge 

 of it several years. Mr. Drew is also the 

 chairman of the Reading (dardeners' Asso- 

 ciation, a point of some importance as show- 

 ing that the members thereof appreciate 

 the value of the educational work in Avhich 

 he is actively engaged, and his other good 

 •qualities. It is not without interest, as 

 a proof of what can be accomplished by 

 well-directed effort, that previous to enter- 

 ing on his present charge Mr. Drew had 

 not done any teaching, or had the oppor- 

 tunity of attending the meetings of gar- 

 deners' associations. But he had received 

 a thorough training in the practice of gar- 

 dening in private gardens and nurseries 

 under some of the leading exponents of the 

 gardening art, and he had concurrently 

 therewith devoted some share of his at- 

 tention to the scientific aspects of plant 

 culture and garden management. Judging 

 from the results, he may l)e assumed to 

 have an inquiring turn of mind, and have 

 solved many of the difficulties associated 

 with educational work while wholly en- 

 gaged in practical work. There is no occa- 

 sion to enter at length into the details 

 of Mr. Drew's career previous to his ap- 

 pointment to the position he now holds in 

 connection with the University College, 

 Reading, which is doing splendid work in 

 all branches of education that come within 

 the scope of its activities. He was five 

 yenrs in charge of the "Wych Cross Gar- 

 <U'ns, when they were in the making, and 



as the^e represent some of Mr. Mawson's 

 best work, the experience hr,s, we have 

 no doubt, proved most helpful in obtaining 

 a full acquaintance with landscape gar- 

 dening and garden making generally. Mr. 

 Drew was suocessively foreman at Buxted 

 Park and Longford Castle, under Mr. 

 Prinsep and Mr. Hazelton respectively, and 

 previously he spent several years w^ork- 

 ing among orchids, being first of all in the 

 hybridising department of one of the prin- 

 cipal nurseries, in which special attention 

 is given to these plants. We have had the 

 pleasure of visiting the gardens of the 

 ['niversity College on several occasions, and 

 have been much impressed with the ex- 

 cellence of the educational work that is 

 being done within fheir boimdaries, and in 

 the interests of horticulture, and of all con- 

 cerned, we trust it may long continue on 

 the present lines. 



Spring: Flowers at Hampton 



Courts— As stated in these pages a few 

 weeks since, the spring flowers in the gar- 

 dens of Hampton Court are this season 

 producing a series of displays of great 

 beauty, and are attracting immense num- 

 bers of visitors. On the 26th ult. Queen 

 Mary, accompanied by two of the Royal 

 Princes, visited the Hampton Court gar- 

 dens for the purpose of seeing the spring 

 flowers, and was conducted round them 

 by Mr. Marlow, the superintendent. 



Great Autumn Exhibition at 



.. — The Societe Royale d'Horticul- 

 ture de Bruges are arranging an Interna- 

 tiona! Horticultural Exhibition, to be held 

 from the 11th to the 18th of August at the 

 old market place, and in the adjoining 

 Gov^ernment buildings and Bellry of 

 Bruges. The Government and town are as- 

 sisting very largely to assure the success of 

 the enterprise. The Royal Horticultural 

 Society of Bruges is the oldest in the world, 

 having been founded February o, 1651, 

 since which time it has without intermis- 

 sion, followed and aided by its work and ex- 

 hibitions the evolution of horticulture until 

 the present day. In August the famous 

 market place in Bruges will be transformed 

 into a flower garden, surrounded by giant 

 bay trees, for which Bruges is so famed, 

 and in the adjacent buildings below the 

 Belfry, immortalised by Longfellow, exhi- 

 bitors will find spacious halls, where they 

 will be able to group their collections of 

 orchids and palms, new and rare plants, 

 etc., to the best advantage. The ever-in- 

 creasing number of visitors which arrive 

 yearly in August to see The Venice of the 

 North,'' with its museums and art galleries 

 and quaint P^lemish architecture, will find 

 another attraction in this horticultural 



hibition. Programmes will be supplied, 

 and inquiries answered by Mr. Ch. Stein- 

 metz, Secretary, Bruges, Belgium. 



Another Weather Record.^ 



Records of all kinds possess some amount 

 of interest, but they are not always de- 

 sirable^ and it may be safely assumed that 

 gardeners, and, indeed, all who are en- 

 gaged in cultural methods, have h ;d for 



the present sufficient weather records. We 

 had, last year^ a record summer, both as 



regards heat and drought. During the 

 past winter we had a record rainfall, 

 February was remarkable for its mi!dne^:s, 

 March for its rainfall, and during the past 

 month the fall of rain was so light that it 

 may be regar<led as one of the driest Aprils 

 on record. There was but little lain 

 throughout the month, and in this respect 

 it ranks next to April, 1893, a year remark- 

 able for the spring drought that was so 

 disastrous in its effects upon both garden 

 and farm crops. As in the year last- 

 named, there has been to large an excess 

 in the amount of bright sunshine that it 



has been considerably above the average. 

 Throughout the month there has not 

 been a day in avhich bright sunshine has 

 not been recorded in London. The bright 

 sunshine has been accompanied, during the 

 greater part of the month, by cold, Jr-^uig 

 winds, and a low night temperature, v bich 

 have been anything but favourable to 

 tender vegetation. Tliere have also been 

 several severe frosts, that have done much 

 damage to cherries, pears, plums, and other 

 hardy fruits, but the extent of the damage 

 caniiot well be measured at the time of 

 writing. 



Title of Gardening: Journal. 



On April 26, in the High Court of Justice, 

 before Mr. Justice Neville, Messrs. AV. H. 

 and L. Collingridge (proprietors of "Ama- 

 teur Gardening ") obtained a perpetual in- 

 junction against the Cable Printing and 

 Publishing Company, Lim., and another, 

 restraining the defendants from printing, 

 publishing, selling, or disposing of, and 

 from offering or exposing for sale, any news- 

 paper with the name of The Amateur 

 Gardener's Weekly," or by any other name 

 so similar to ''Amateur Gardening'' as to 

 induce the public to believe that the de- 

 fendants' paper is that of Messrs. W. H. 

 and L. Collingridge, published under the 

 aforesaid title. The defendants were 

 ordered to pay costs. 



A Gardener's Golden Wed- 

 ding;. — A few days since Mr, and Mrs. 

 Thomas Hughes^ of Llandforda Gardens, 

 Oswestry, celebrated their golden wedding, 

 when they entertained their friends, re- 

 ceived many congratulations, and were the 

 recipients of numerous presents. Mr. 

 Hughes has been head gardener at Lland- 

 forda Hall 39 years, having been appointed 

 by the late Sir Watkin Williams Wynn 

 in 1874. For the greater part of the time 

 Mr. Longueville has been the owner of 

 this fine seat, and it is evident that Mr. 

 Hughes' services are valued, for he was 

 presented with purses of gold from his em- 

 ployer and several members of the family. 

 Mrs. Hughes was presented with a hand- 

 some brooch bv Miss Longueville. The 



4- 

 t 



garden employees also made a presenta- 

 tion to Mr. arid Mrs. Hughes, who happily 

 enjoy the best of health, and have our 

 heartiest congratulations. 



Croydon Spring Show.— The 



Croydon Gardeners' Society will hold a 

 spring flower show in Horniman Hall, North 

 End, C r oy d o n , o n Wed n es day, ^ f a y 8 , 

 from 3 to 10 p.m. This exhibition 

 is of great interest, because its object is 

 to encourage a love of horticulture in all 

 sorts and conditions of people, and to at- 

 ain that end the members of the society 

 contribute of their best without fee or 

 reward of any kind, and the public is ad- 

 mitted to the display free of charge. The 

 committee, however, always welcome ex- 

 hibits from traders and others who may not 

 be membei^s, but are willing to help in the 

 production of a really first-class display. 



Orchid Exhibition and Confer- 

 ence. — As already announced in these 

 pages, an exhibition of orchids will be held 

 under the auspices of the Roval Horticul- 

 tural Society, at their hall in Vmcent 

 Square, Westminster, on November 5 and 

 (j. One of the objects of this exhibition 

 will be to demonstrate the increasing in^* 

 portance of orchids as autumn and wmtei- 

 flowering plants. It has al.^o been arranged 

 to have, in conjunction widi the exhibition, 

 a conference on orchids. This will tase 

 place on the second of the two days m 

 the lecture room, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.^i^ 



and from 2 to 4 



p.m. Papers on tlie cul- 

 tivation cross-fertilisation, and hybridisa- 

 tion of orchids will be read- 



