November 12, w THE GARDENERS' MA GAZINE 



74 > 



• n<; It was a comparatively easy class, yet there were only two competitors, 

 3m£ t. Lockie, gardener to A. J. Thornhill, Esq , Diddington Hall, St. 

 v ts was awarded first prize for excellent blooms, the Japanese being much 

 rior to the others, and including the following varieties particularly well 

 supe esente d : Dorothy Seward, Pride of Exmouth, Madame Carnot,_ Edith Tabor, 

 \T^ r C H. Payne, and Beauty of Teignmouth. The leading incurved were 

 ribe d'Or,' M. Bahaunt, Duchess of Fife, Prince Alfred, Miss F. Foster, Baron 

 Hrsch L° rd Wolseley, Rose Owen, and J. Agate. The second prize was 

 cured by Mr. J. Walker, gardener to J. Linton, Esq., Stirtloe, St. Neots. In the 

 s f f or twelve Japanese there were also some good blooms, especially in the first 

 C \it stand from Mr. Redman, gardener to Miss Goodjames, St. Neots, which com- 

 prised Austral'e, Eva Knowles, Madame Carnot, M. Chenon de Leche, Mrs, 

 G V. Palmer, Edith Tabor, Viviand Morel, and Simplicity. The second and 

 third places respectively were taken by Mr. T. Lockie and Mr. J. Walker, who 

 had rather smaller but good blooms. 



Mr. Redman was again the premier exhibitor with eighteen incurved and 

 Japanese blooms, followed by Mr. Stevens and Mr. J. Pack, gardener to A C. 

 Sweeting, Esq., St. Neots ; while six magoificent blooms of Phoebus won Mr. 

 Thomas, gardener to Lady Esm6 Gordon, Paxton Park, the first prize in the class 

 for one variety only. Incurved were shown in small numbers, and the only stand 

 worthy of note was that in the class for twelve blooms, which secured the first 

 prize to Mr. T. Lockie. 



Groups of chrysanthemums arranged for effect} added materially to the attrac- 

 tions of the show, both plants and blooms being satisfactory in most cases, but 

 uncommonly so in the open class, where Mr. J. Pack was placed first, followed 

 closely by Mr. Redman and Mr. Petchey. Mr. Redman had some well-trained 

 specimen chrysanthemums, which, however, would have improved if the show had 

 been a few days later. 



Mr. Maycock, gardener to Madame de Falbe, was adjudged first honours 

 for six table plants, neat, light, and well-coloured examples of crotons and 

 draoenas being prominent. The same exhibitor was also very successful in the 

 fruit classes, taking the first place with a collection of six dishes, his grapes, both 

 black and white, being admirable. Mr. Maycock also won several prizes with 

 apples and pears, Messrs. Redman, Lockie, Walker, Carter, and Thomas com- 

 peting keenly. 



Vegetables were a good feature, Mr. T. Lockie being, as usual, in excellent 

 form, the collection which gained him the first prize comprising extremely hand- 

 some Royal Windsor cucumbers, Perfection tomatos, Intermediate carrots, Lyon 

 leeks, Satisfaction potatos, and Anglo-Spanish onions ; Messrs. Stevens and 

 Carter were second and third in the order named. 



Table decorations included some tasteful effects. Baskets, stands, and vases 

 of chrysanthemums were also numerous, bright, and varied ; while a collection of 

 dahlias from Mr. Burgin, of Eynesbury, an unusual exhibit at a November show, 

 added to the attractions of a compact and excellent display. 



WEST DERBY MUTUAL IMPROVEMENT SOCIETY. 



The second lecture arranged by the Technical Instruction Committee of the 

 Liverpool City Council was delivered on the 2nd inst., at the Social Club, by 

 W.A. Herdman, Esq., D.Sc, F.R.S., Professor of Zoology in University College, 

 Liverpool, the chair being occupied by Colonel Halifax Wyatt. The course of 

 lectures deals with certain aspects of gardening, and, in addition to the one 

 already mentioned, includes five by R. J. Harvey- Gibson, M. A., F.L.S., Professor 

 of Botany, University College, on " Blight," " The Reserve Food of Plants and 

 its Digestion," " The Colours of Flowers and their Transformation," 44 Nitrogen, 

 its Source and Use to the Plant," and 44 Hybrids. 1 ' The lectures are illustrated 

 by lantern, and by experiments and microscopic or other preparations. The 

 attendance was good, including a fair number of ladies, the subject of Professor 

 Herdman's lecture being 44 Insect Pests "—their abundance and importance in the 

 world, their forms, with their variety of wings, the effect of seasons and climates, 

 the balance of nature and its disturbance — and under this heading a word of appre- 

 ciation was given for our sparrows, starlings, tits, cuckoos, &c. Habits and food 



r? C K-' S ° tre * tec * u P° n > . w * tri the value of many insects that lived on other insects, 

 lady birds being of considerable value for this reason. Wire- worm was noticed 

 for its ravages, and to counteract these shallow sowing was recommended for 



CCF ^ and P reventives were named as the best means of holding the pests 

 at bay. The lectures were illustrated by a number of lantern views, which showed 

 the action and habits of the pests, which were of material aids to the cultivator 

 u> enabling him to recognise and destroy the pests. 



ISLE OF WIGHT. 



The monthly meeting of the Isle of Wight Horticultural Improvement 

 Association was held at Newport on Saturday last, when Dr. J . Groves, B A., 

 preaded over a large attendance of members who were present to hear a lecture 

 V? Mr. F W. E. Shrivell. F.L.S., Tonbridge, Kent, on 44 Four Years' Experi- 

 ments with and without Chemical Manures. 5 ' The lecture was most interesting 

 whi 1 i DStructlve » and . was conveyed to the audience in clear and simple language, 



D G° re forc . ibl ? impressed on the minds of those present bv the use of tables, 

 acrn r l J™ table discussion ensued, after which a unanimous vote of thanks was 

 T G h\ rh Shrivdl . on the proposition of the Chairman, and seconded by Mr. 

 grown ■ i who is an ardent educationalist. Mr. A. Guy staged some well- 

 s uwn Pnmulas. At the close twenty new members were elected. 



WEST COWES. 



and^mL Jf y i evemD S last Mr - F - W - E - Shrivdl, F.L.S , gave an interesting 

 provempnT a • re before the members of the West Cowes Horticultural Im- 

 exhausrt l Ass ??ation. Mr. Benzie briefly introduced the lecturer, who dealt 

 Artificial M Wlth * e subject of "Four Years' Experiments with and without 

 Patifyiiicr h U vS A ,ustrated b y tables > &c - The Progress of this society is very 

 of horticult ■ t0 d ° a lar ? e amount of useful work in the development 



kcture a n • m the town and neighbourhood of Cowes. At the close of the 



^tcresting HH lm ° US V ° le ? f thanks was accorded Mr - Shrivell for his able and 



^ dress on the important subject of manures and manuring. 



adag 



™» specially a* - f , K 1A ^^* 1 t IS ar „ „ 



£"Kism. HollowaV S p n° eSSary to s P eak cf something which for many years has defied adverse 

 **iliar th a „ •• i_ 8 * "Is and Ointment, as sterling remedies for all complaints, are more 



•J* their pDssesskfn UUm wori ¥>. bein « in constant daily use by thousands of pcopl 

 Ilia* Medicines in r * JP OSItlve necessity. Leading medical authorities advise their use as 

 for bile sirl- K j S ? nee:i ' A s a certain cure for all skin diseases they are unequalled, 

 **lnil v n -adache. flatulencv. indigestion, and all liver and str.mach rfisordeis. it has 



th»* r — "rtiuicucy, inaigescion, auu an 



««y are worth their weight in gold.-[ADVT..l 



8 litorial communications should be addressed to the Editor of Che GARDENERS' 



Magazine, 148 and 149, Aldersgate Street, E.C. 



Scions from Old Trees.— F. A. R. f Royston : A scion taken from an old 

 tree will prove quite as satisfactory as one from a young tree, provided it is a clean, 

 healthy growth. Thanks for your letter . 



Grafting Apples. — F. J., Cork : Head back the trees to the clean, healthy 

 wood and graft next March with Newton Wonder. Do not head back more 

 closely than is necessary, for it will be better to put on additional grafts and thus 

 obtain a crop quickly. The old vine rods can be removed now, covering the 

 cuts with styptic or painter's knotting. 



Ashes of Wood and Leaves. — F. N., Bradford : Both wood ashes and 

 the ashes from burned leaves and garden refuse have a high manurial value, and 

 are especially useful for lightly forking into fruit-tree quarters. It is, however, 

 impossible to make a wrong application of such material, and if enough can be 

 spared dig them into plots that are to be presently devoted to vegetable culture. 

 First of all, however, look after the gooseberries and bush roses. 



Black Hamburgh Grapes not Colouring.— F. D., Tooting : We can 



only suggest that the Black Hamburgh grapes did not receive quite those condi- 

 tions necessary for the production of good colour and finish, viz., more air and a 

 drier atmosphere, at the time they commenced to colour. The grapes would 

 begin to colour while the Alicantes were still green, and probably the conditions 

 best suited to the latter were maintained. There appears to be no other solution 

 of the difficulty. Gros Colmar requires a loDger period to ripen and more heat 

 to finish it than either of the other varieties named, and so should not be grown 



with them. Alicante would do better with Gros Colmar than would Biack 

 Hamburgh. 



Bast or Raffia.— E. C, Croydon : Bast is the strips of the bast fibres, or 

 inner bark of the Lime Tree, and consequently was formerly known as Linden 

 Bast, the Lime f Tilia europtta) being often known as the Linden Tree. This 

 material is now seldom used for tying purposes, having been superseded by raffia. 

 Raffia, rafia, or raphia, is obtained from a Madagascar Palm ( Raphia Ruffia ) $ 

 also from Raphia tiedigtra, and is the cuticle stripped from the huge fronds of 

 these giant palms. Some of the palms in our West African dependencies yield a 

 raffia, and probably a considerable industry will arise in this direction ; at present 

 Madagascar supplies almost the whole of the raffia of commerce. The old name 

 of " bast" is in some gardens still applied to raffia by old hands. 



Propagation of Quince and fia yrobella.— J. L. P. f Norfolk: The 



quince is readily propagated, both by cuttings and layers. The lormer should be 

 made from the current year's growth, and with a heel of old wood attached ; they 

 should be taken and inserted in the open early in the autumn, where they root 

 readily. Layering should be done in early autumn, or as soon as the growths are 

 firm enough ; the following autumn the layers should be ready for removal from 

 the stock and placed in nursery rows. The Myrobella or Myrobalan ( Primus 

 cerasifera ) is best propagated from seed, which may be obtained through any 

 nurseryman dealing largely in hardy trees and shrubs for fencing and forestry. 

 The ripe fruits are placed in dry sand, on very light, dry soil in autumn, and the 

 seed cleared out during the winter for sowing in the spring. 



United Horticultural Benefit and Provident Saciety.— S. R., 



Bedford.: This is not a charity, but a benefit society. It was established in 

 1865, and the rules were drawn up on the lines of the old Wiltshire Friendly 

 Society. Two or three of the original rules have been slightly altered of late 

 years to meet the times, one important alteration being to increase the amount of 

 payment to sick members. T^ere are two scales of contributions, one being 

 6d. per week and the other 9d. per week, to the sick fund ; the lower scale mem- 

 ber receives 12s. per week (formerly 10s. 6d.) during sickness, and the higher scale 

 member receives 18s. per week in sickness (formerly 16s.) On the lower scale a 

 member pays 2s. per year, and on the higher 3s. per year to the benevolent fund, 

 and every member pays 2S. 6d. per year for management, the full contributions 

 for the year being £1 ios. 6d. and £2 4s. 6d. respectively. The amount of sick 

 pay paid out is deducted from each member's deposit account proportionately, 

 and the balance of his contributions is carried to his credit, and interest is added 

 at the rate of 3 per cent, on all amounts above £1. There is no fixed sum to be 

 paid at the death of a member, but the amount standing to his credit is paid to his 

 nominee. If a member ceases to pay his contributions for twelve months he is 

 considered to have left the society, and the amount of hi? deposit is transferred to 

 the lapsed members' account, and the interest on this money is transferred to the 

 management fund. One very important point in this society is that a lapsed 

 member does not lose the money he has paid (as in other societies), but he can 

 draw the amount on reaching the age of sixty, or should he die the sum standing 

 to his credit at the time be ceased to pay would be paid to his nominee on appli- 

 cation to the committee. When a member reaches seventy years of age he ceases 

 to nay into the sick fund, and may draw the amount standing to his credit in the 

 ledger or he may leave the capital and draw upon it as he pleases. He is also 

 eligible for an allowance from the benevolent fund should he require it, the 

 amount to be fixed by the committee. A member wao recently reached the age of 

 seventy had over £76 standing to his credit. The society is really a savings bank, 

 an insurance and benefit society combined. Trie number of members at the end 

 of the last financial year (January 10) was six hundred and eighty-two, being three 

 hundred and seventy-nine higher scale and three hundred and three lower scale 

 hers * sixty-four have joined since, and eight have died, the tutal beoehi 

 memberf at the time of the recent annual dinner being seven hundred and thirty - 

 ^ht The voluntary convalescent fund, which was started a few years ago by 

 M Sherwood, is very useful, enabling members to obtain a change of air and 

 1 e after sickness. The committee may grant assistance to members from this 

 f^d all cases to be recommended by a duly qualified medical practitioner. Mr. 

 W* Collins is the secretary, and we gladly publish his address- 8, Martiodale 



Road, Balham, S W. 



Names of Plants.— E. C, Croydon : Ltelia Perrini ; Oncidium crispum ; 

 th#> dendrobium was so much damaged that we cannot say whether it w*s D. 

 bigibbum or a small D. Pbakenopsis, most likely the former. 



