852 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



November 9, 1912. 



peculiarity, and the costly hybrids shovdd 

 be left to the specialists. There are 

 more than sufficient for the purpose indi- 



position in the district. It would be useful, 

 as well as interesting, to know what has 

 been already done in this matter in the 



Hall has been asked to lecture on " Apple 

 Culture," at 2.15, in the Town Hall, Ken^ 

 dal, on the 16th. inst., in order to arouse 



more than sunicienf for tho nnmn^^^i indi- oeen aireaav <ione in uiis xuatLci m li.v. — , — ^^-v, , — 



cated withoTtTem/ It wov'rS^^^ l-itod Kingdom,, and also to^ learn the interest m the congress and show. 



well were cultivators to give more atten- J'^^'^ ^^f?nd^-e" si all 



+;^., „„„ .i„„,i.^_u:..„. tage gardens and allotments, and -^e si. all 



be very pleased to hear from those or our 



tion to the many dendrobiums, odont 

 glossums. oncidiums. and the summer- 



a 



many friends who are in a position to give 



owering cattleyas and l^lias, all of which ^ny information of the matter, 

 are at once beautiful and inexpensive, for . 

 they would derive much pleasure from 



y does it a p p ea r de- 



them. 



specia 



sirable that tlu^ 



beaut 



biums wliii li tlu^ hybridists have placeil at 

 their disposal should be more largely grown^ 

 for their value is great from the dtHH>rative 

 point of view, and the exquisite beauty of 

 their flowers may be fully enjoyed witliout 

 the necessity of l>eing subjected to a tropi- 

 cal heat, which is certainly not pleasant. 

 Wo have no wish to exalt the orchids at 

 the expense of other meritorious classes 

 of plants, but with a full knowledge of what 



has been accomplished by the strenuous en- 

 deavour of the hybridist, and the great 

 extension of their culture, it has not been 



leos 

 ti 



e 



those 



to the 



acknowledge the indebtedness 



^ and to siigge^st that to many 

 gardens their introduction w^ould give an 

 added charm. The magnificent exhibition 

 at the Horticultural Hall w^ll have had the 

 effect of focussing attention on the nume- ^listaiK-e that its colour effect alone is seen ; 



rous, highly interesting, and immensely at- ^'''\ ^^'''^ true flower-lover can permit 



a closer approach is a marvel passing com- 

 prehension. 



Paeony.flowered Dahlia. — Mr. 



C. E. Pearson writes as follows w^ith refer- 

 tmce to p^oony-flowered dahlias : " C. T. 



D. '' appears to have stirred up trouble by 

 his outspoken remarks on these wretched 

 abortions, but I think ev(M y word he wrote 

 was true and to the point. Air. Cobb says 

 w^e must suit a w^ider range of taste than 

 was formerly the case, but is it not rather a 

 want of taste that our unfortunate growers 

 have to cater for ? Many of those who 

 grow and exhibit these coloured rags for 

 commercial reasons abhor them in their 

 own souls, but must provide what the public 

 asks for. Admiration for crude colour is a 

 primitive instinct, but appreciation of 



form " is a much higher and rarer endow- 

 ment, as may l>e seen every year by compar- 

 ing the crowd in the Academy picture gal- 

 leries with the solitude of the sculpture 

 rooms. In horticulture, the limited appre- 

 ciation of the numerous lovely forms of our 



• 



British ferns tells the same tale. The 

 pseony-flowered dahlia makes a fine splash 

 of colour, and raav be endured at such a 



act 



point of no small importance, seeing that 



they bloom at a time when the flowers are Dahlia Useful. About ten days 



very lew in tne open, and t 

 of the structures in which 

 usually much appreciated. 



M 



of the 



Kew Bulletin," we 



of the 2nd inst. 



On the authority 



recorded 



the 



in our issue 

 death of Dr. M. C. Cooke, and gave a brief 

 sketch of his life and work. We now find 

 that the announcement of the death of this 

 distinguished f ungologist was premature, 

 and we are pleased to learn from Dr. Cooke 

 that he is in the enjoyment of good health. 



Garden Club 



At the recent con- 



since we received some\\'hat of a surprise in 

 the form of a box of blooms of Dahlia Fse- 

 ful. from Mr. J. T. West, of Brentwood, 

 for at Kew the frost had cut dahlias down 

 to the ground some days previously. This 

 variety l>elongs to the decorative section, 

 and received the first-class certificate of the 

 National Dahlia Society, and the Royal 

 Horticultural Society's Award of Merit at 

 the meeting of the Joint Committee of the 

 two societies that wa,3 held at Westminster 

 at the end of September. The variety is 

 remarkable for its short-jointed growth, 

 and for its long and erect flower stems. 

 The blooms are aibout four inches in din- 



nce 



liation with the ^ ^^^^ ros^pink hue. and 



Royal Horticultural Society, the question 

 was raised with regard to the advisability 

 of forming garden clubs for the purpose of 

 assisting allotment holders in purchasing 

 tools, manure, seeds, etc., under the most 

 favourable conditions. As stated by Mr. 

 Jay, of St. Barnabas, Sutton, a club has 

 been formed in connection with the local 

 society with which he is associated for the 

 purpose of affording allotment holders 

 and occupiers of cottage gardens facilities 

 for saving, during the periods in which em- 

 ployment is brisk^ the money necessary for 

 the purchase of the manure, seeds, etc., 

 necessary in the cultivation of their allot- 

 ments and gardens, which have usually to 

 be obtained at a dull season. Sir Daniel 

 Morris, w^ho presided, briefly referred to 

 what had been done in the West Indies in 

 this direction during his administration of 

 the Agricultural Department of these de- 

 pendencies. In subsequently discussing the 

 question of garden clubs with iis^ Sir Daniel 

 Morris expressed the opinion that, con- 

 duotod on proper lines, such clubs would 

 prov*^ most helpful to those whose earninirs 

 ai-e soniowliat variable, and who are not 

 well aequaint<v:l with the best methods of 

 procivlnre in obtaining sei^ls, etc., pro- 

 vide<l they nre conducttnl on proper lines. 

 From his <'xperieiu-e, it is essential to suc- 

 cess that the tn-,i.siirer sh-'\ld be of some 



oduced 



Northern Fruit Cong^ress, 1913. 



be held in co-op 



Congr 



Kendal, October 15 and 16, 1913. are being 

 proceeded with, and already considerable 

 progress has l>een made. A^ large and re- 

 presentative meeting was recently held at 

 Kendal to form an Executive Committee 

 to carry out the arrangements for the show 

 and congress, when the aoting-secretary, 

 Mi-s. F. W. Crewdson, reported subscrip- 

 tions and guarantees (including £30 guaran- 

 teed at the meeting) to the amouiit of 

 £ '.^^Ix^ ^ challenge cup from the High 

 Sheriff, ^^ . D. Crewdson, Esq. ; this in addi- 

 tion to the Straker and Voss Cups alreadv 

 m hand. It was also reported that Lord 

 Henry Bentinck has promised to open the 

 Congress. The Royal Horticultural So- 

 ciety have promised to send delegates and 

 award medals. The Department of Agri- 

 culture of the Board of Agriculture i.s ar 

 ransuig to put up an exhi1)it of potatoes 

 and diseases of potntoes. Papers on the 

 followmg subjects will be included in the 

 programme : Land Tenurf 

 growing," ^- Diseases of Potatoes " 

 Organisation of the Damson Industrv';' 



^^T^^^^'^'-v to SiKTessfiil Fniit- 



Tiie Hev. J. Bernard 



and Fruit- 



growing 



(local). 



Saltaire Rose Society.— We are 



pleased to learn that this enterprising so- 

 ciety continues in a nourishing condition. 

 A few evenings since the society held its 

 annual dinner at the Victoria Hotel, Brad- 

 ford, and, in responding to the toast of 

 his health, the President (Mr. H. Sut- 

 cliffe Smith) said that the society had made 

 rapid progress of late years, both as re- 

 gards its members and exhibitions. He 

 stated that in 1910 the entries and exhi- 

 bitors at the show numbered 575 and 109 ; 

 in 1912 they reached 781 and 143, the 

 nvimber of entries being a record in the 

 history of the society. Owning to the dull 

 w^eather which had attended the last 

 show, however, the gate receipts had shown 

 a decrease, having fallen to £294, as com- 

 pared with £369 in 1911, but the society 

 was in a sound financial position, and it 

 now had a total of no fewer than 723 sub- 

 scribers. Next vear, said Mr. Smith, it 

 was intended to hold the show about Julv 

 8, and it had been arranged that in con- 

 junction w4th it the show of the North of 

 England Horticultural Society should 

 again be held. 



An Additional Public Park for 



Maxwell town, Dumfries. 



Next 



Noith of England Horticultural Societv at P^se. 



year the Parish Council of Troqueer, which 

 parish includes the Burgh of Maxwelltown, 

 Dumfries, enters upon the possession of a 

 park of about twenty acres. The park lies 

 close to the river Nith, and was bequeathed 

 to trustees to be handed over to the Parish 

 Council by the late Mr. J. Gibson Starke^ 

 of Troqueerholm, of which estate it forms 

 a part. The testator also left £100 as the 

 neucleus of a fund for laying out the park, 

 and the rents of the land, which are occu- 

 pied under lease by an agricultural tenant, 

 are being accumulated for the same pur- 

 pose. Some difficulty arose on the ques- 

 tion of power to administer, the parish not 

 being a Landward, but a combined Bur- 

 ghal and Landward one, and therefore 

 haidng no power to rate the burgh for the 

 maintenance of a park. The Local GoA^ern- 

 ment Board has given its opinion that the 

 Council can administer the trust; and in 

 the meantime the Council, of which Mr. S. 

 Arnott, J.P.J one of our contributors, is 

 chairman, will endeavour to do so, although 

 some of the members have been in favour 

 of the Council leasing it to the Town Coun- 

 cil, which has power to rate for the pur- 



National Chrysanthemum So- 

 ciety-— The arrangements for the Special 



Show and Conference to be held at Essex 

 Hall, Essex Street, Strand, London, W.C., 

 on Wednesday, November 20, 1912, are bs 

 follows : The show will be open to the mem- 

 bers and the public at one p.m. The novel- 

 ties submitted to the Floral Committee 

 will be on view in the Lower Hall 

 at four p.m. The committee will meet^^ 

 three p.m., and all exhibits for this meeting 

 must be staged by 2.30 p.m. as usual. The 

 conference will be held in the Lower Hall, 

 and will commence at seven p.m. Dr. E. J- 

 Russell will deliver a lecture on " Soil Steri- 

 lisation (illustrated by lantern slides), to 

 be followed by a full discussion. The pre- 

 sident of the societv, Sir Albert Rolbt, 

 D.C.L., LL.D., will take the chair. The 

 annual dinner will be held at the Holborn 

 Restaurant, W.C., on AVednesday, Novem- 

 ber 27, 1912, at 6.15 p.m. for 6.45 p.m- 

 Sir Albert Rollit, D.C.L., LL.I)., president 

 of the society, will preside and the chal- 

 lenge trophy, the Holmes 



memorial cups 

 and medals will be presented to the winners 

 during the evening. 



