644 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE, 



August 24, 1912. 



system all that could be desired 



is one worthy of attention. 



To state a 



case in favour of reform is one thing, 

 but to show how a reform may be effected 

 is another matter, and is frequently beset 

 with difficulties not readily surmounted. 

 In this caso tlu^re dcK^s not appear to be 

 an insuperahlo difficulty in making a 

 chanso of a most beneficial character. 



half-hardy annuals, dahlias, gladioli, and 

 bearded irises. He has also planted or- 

 namental trees and shrubs extensively, and 

 the glasshouses have been erected under 

 his direction. Mr. Comfort has been a 

 member of the Scottish Horticultural As- 

 sociation for upwards of twenty years, 

 fourteen years as a member of council. 

 During this period he filled the presiden- 

 tial chair, and was three times a vice-pre- 



consignments. It is advisable that for the 

 protection of next year's crop growers 

 should at once cut out and destroy all 

 infected shoots." During the subsequent 

 discussion it was stated that the disease 

 had even made its appearance in one of 

 the plantations attached to the "Wye Agri- 

 cultural College. The majority of the 

 Council were of opinion that much more 

 drastic measures than have been hithert<j 



Twenty-five years ago the daffodil began sident. Three years since he was elected, adopted would have to be enforced. 



to obtain prominence as a garden flower, 

 and numerous varieties were being intro- 

 duced under Latin names. Happily, the 



un-lt >it :i^ility of such a method of nomen- 



mi' 



lain 



in recognition of his services, a honorary 

 life member. Mr. Haig, who died in 1884, 

 evinced the greatest interest in the gar- 

 dens, and Mrs. Haig takes a great plea- 

 sure in them. Mr. Comfort attributes 



IT W 



;is recognised by some of the lead- ^^^^j^ success he has achieved to the 



iiig t'xi>« rts, and the matter was brought encouragement he has received from his 



bi'forr tlic conference held by the Royal employers. 

 Horticultural Society, April 1, 1884. The 



Bulb 



nuttter was discussed, and at the close of 

 the discussion a resolut ion adopted to 

 tlu^ i'Wrri \\\ni garden \aiietirs ot nar- 

 cissi, ulirthrr known liyltnds or seedlings, 

 ishould be nannd or nunibered in the 



numner adoptt^l Ky tlot ists, and not in the 

 manner adopted l»y i>otanists. The reso- 

 lution was aoc(^pted by all concerned, innl 

 the varieties that liad received scientitic! 

 names wore renamed, and tin' now system 

 adopted in the ra.->r ni sulisequent varie- 

 ties. Wlnit was so sa t islactorily aceorii- 

 plished with the datlodils might surely be 

 also done wiih the British ferns. 



in 



Mr. Charles Comfort, whose por- 

 trait we have iho pleasure of giving in 

 this issue, has long owMjpied a prominent 

 pof^ition among tlu' practical horticulturists 

 of Midlothian, and is ( steemed npt less for 

 the services h«' lias rendered in the cau.st^ 



ot" hort inilt iirr tlian tor hi.s coininainling 

 a Inht V as m ^^anlvner. C onunencing lii.s 



liorticultural career as an apprejitice in 

 the gardens at Dalvev, near Forres, the seat 

 of the la t e Nornni n McLnxl, Ksq . . Mr. 

 Conitint pa^.si'd through, in the cmuse of 

 his training, the gardens of Ah<rlour, 



Banffshire; Donihristle, Fitesliire. on<' ol 



the seats (»f the Karl of Morav ; and Good- 

 rest, near He;idin<j;. He then received the 

 apix)intment of hea<l gardener at Raasay 

 House, Isle of Raasay, Inverness-shire, 

 then the property of the late George Grant 

 Mackay, Esq., and remained there five 

 years. The gardens and grounds of 

 Raasay House are extensive, and are re- 

 markable for the magnificent hedges of 

 Fuchsia Ricciirtoni, also for the single spe- 

 cimens of this fuchsia, which range up to 

 fourteen feet in height, and are as much 

 in diameter. The hydrangea, eucalyptus, 

 and some other plants with a similar con- 

 stitntion. prove quite hardy. During the 

 fnt' \ t Mrs Mr. Comfort had charge of these 

 ga rdens fie carried out several improve- 

 ments, not the least important being 

 the planting of large numbers of 

 the finest hvbrid rhododendrons. In 

 1879 Mr. Comfort was appointed head 

 gardener to the late W. H. Haig, 

 Esq., at Cameron House, Windygates, 

 Fife, where he laid ont a consider- 

 able extent of pleasure grounds, and con- 

 structed a large rockery. Mr. Haig 

 having acquired Broomfield, Davidson's 

 Mains, Mr. Comfort accompanied him 

 there at the end of his second year, where 

 he has since remained. During the 

 thirty-one years Mr. Comfort has had 

 charge of the Broomfield gardens he has 

 carried out many alterations to adapt 

 them to the requirements of his employers, 

 and, among other things, he converted the 

 old kitehen garden into a mixed garden 

 with roses of all classes, herbaceous plants, 



' Gardeners' Magrazine 



Number. — We have much pleasure 

 informing our readers that our next issue 

 (August 31) will be chiefly devoted to 

 bidbotis plants that flower during the 



The contents will include 



sprnig season 

 articles on the value of 

 bulbs, the 



spring-flowering 

 daffodils, 



newer aanoaiis, inexpensive 

 laffodils for exhibition, hyacinths in the 

 flower garden, choice bulbous flowers for 

 indoor decoration, May-flowering tulips, 

 lilies for general culture, spring-flowering 

 hulhous plants for massing, and bulbous 

 iris. The number will be profusely illus- 

 tra ted. 



Northern Counties Fruit Con- 

 gfress and Show. — On September 4 



and o a fruit congress and show will be 

 held by the North of England Horticul- 

 tural Society, at Carlisle, in conjunction 

 with the annual exhibition of the Carlisle 

 and Cumberland Horticultural Society. The 

 congrt^ss will be held in the Arcade Room, 

 adjoining the markets, and the Speaker of 

 the House of Commons will perform the 

 opening ceremony at 2 p.m. on September 



4. The following is the programme : Wed- 

 nesday, September 4, 4.30 p.m., Demon- 

 stration in the bottling of fruit, by Mr, J. 



5. Cliisholm ; o p.m., Paper on "Soils, in 

 Relation to Fruit Growing," by Mr. G. P. 

 Hriry; 7.30 p.m., Paper on "The Wash- 

 ing and Spraying of Fruit Trees as a 

 Means of Combating Insect Pests and 

 Diseases," by Professor F. V. Theobald. 

 Thursday, 3 p.m.. Demonstration in the 

 bottling of fruit, by Mr. G. P. Berry; 5 

 p.m., Paper on "Canker and other Bark 

 Diseases of Fruit Trees," by Mr. F. J. 

 Chittenden; 7.30 p.m.. Demonstration in 

 pruning fruit trees and hushes, by Mr. 

 Chisholm. Spraying demonstrations will 

 be given by various firms during the morn- 

 ings of the 4th and 5th prox. in the Victoria 

 Park, 



American Gooseberry Mildew 



in Kent. — -American gooseberry mildew 

 has spread so freely in Kent during the 

 present summer that large areas under 

 gooseberry culture that were previously 

 free have become affected with this de- 

 structive disease. A report of the exten- 

 sion of the disease was submitted to the 

 recent meeting of the Kent County Coun- 

 cil, and in this report it was stated that the 

 disease reappeared this year in its summer 

 stage on April 19, and spread so rapidly 

 that when the inspectors re}>orted on July 

 6 1,773 acres were already known to be 

 affected. The committee added': " The dis- 

 couraging feature of this year's outbreak 

 is that the disease has already appeared 

 in sixty-seven fresh plantations. In one 

 district where the disease has hitherto been 

 restricted within narrow limits 200 plan- 

 tations have been already attacked. Much 

 of the fruit has been attacked, and growers 

 have not always been successful in exclud- 

 ing the diseased berries from their market 



Floral Portraits.— The portraits of 



the King and Queen, which have been pro. 

 duced with the aid of coloured leaves and 

 flowers in the South Park, Darlington, are 

 now attracting much attention from visi- 

 tors. The beds containing the portraits 

 are circular in shape, and the portraits are 

 set in a light ground-work. We admire 

 the loyalty and the perseverance displayed 

 by Mr. J. Morrison in carrying out such 

 difficult arrangements, but we have no 

 sympathy with this particiilar style of 

 gardening. 



The Weather in the North.— 



Writing under Saturday's date, 17th inst., 

 our Aberdeen correspondent says : A jour- 

 ney into the rural parts of the north of 

 Scotland at present reveals a sad state 

 of affairs. On every side one sees the 

 effects of the unseasonable weather. In 

 place of the acres of waving corn, gradually 

 ripening to a golden hue^ there are rain- 

 saturated stretches of land, the crops on 

 which have been much laid by the wind 

 and rain that have for many weeks now 

 been mercilessly beating upon them. The 

 sowing of the crops this year took place 

 in almost ideal weather, and all went well 

 with the husbandman for a time. The 

 grain crops came away very promisingly, 

 and a month ago the farmers, accepting 

 the fact that they would have a late har- 

 vest, were nevertheless looking forward to 

 a successful issue. Then entered an August 

 the like of which has not been experienced 

 in the North for twenty years, and one 

 that all sincerely hope will not be expe- 

 rienced for a similar period at least. Wind 

 and rain became the order of the day, 

 blighting the crops and the farmers' hopes 

 at the same time. 



The King's Visit to Abbey- 



The King is visiting Abbeystead, 

 the seat of Lord Sefton, near Lancaster; 

 and, on his return from Lancaster to-day, 

 the railway station will be elaborately 

 decorated with flowering and orna- 

 mental plants. Messrs. Herd Brothers, 

 nurserymen, of Penrith, have been coin- 

 missioned to carry out the decorations, ami 

 the ornamentation of the platforms and 

 corridors will be carried' out in groups and 

 panels of specimen palms, and ferns, fine- 

 foliage, and flowering plants in great 

 varietv. 



National Dahlia Society 



With the approach of the dahlia season, 

 this society is resuming its a<;tivities, ami 

 on Tuesday next it will co-operate with 

 the Royal Horticultural Society in maknig 

 its awards to new dahlias. A joint com- 

 mittee has been formed by the combina- 

 tion of given numbers of the members «i 

 the Floral Committees of the two societies, 

 and this committee will sit at the Horti- 

 cultural Hall on Tuesday next, and pro- 

 ceed to consider the merits of novelties at 

 11.15 a.m. This committee will also sit 

 on the occasion of the two September meet- 

 ings of the Royal Horticultural Societv. 

 The annual exhibition of the society 

 be held at the Crystal Palace on Septem- 

 ber 17 and 18 ; and, a^ the dates are rather 

 later than usual, they appear to be v^en 

 suited to the incidence of the season, 

 a remarkably fine exhibition may be anti- 

 cipated. 



