208 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ March IS, 188-J. 
should endeavour to exercise some forbearance towards those who have 
not had such exceptional teaching, nor such an inimitable teacher. From 
his concluding, I cannot say conclusive, sentence, I am again tempted to 
ask, Does he really mean to infer that the young shoots and leaves 
of the Vines referred to subsisted on the contents of the bottles only ? ” 
- Me. E. Luckhurst writes “ I had a plant of Clematis 
COCCINEA last spring which I kept in a pot throughout the year. It 
grew freely and produced several of its curious bell-like flowers, which, 
although not quite answering to its title of ‘ Scarlet Clematis,’ were yet 
sufficiently novel and attractive, with an orange interior and bright 
vermilion exterior, to render it a welcome acquisition both for pot culture 
and for an open wall. It has been described as growing 5 to 6 feet high ; 
but I have also seen it stated that it makes a stout annual growth 
directly from the crown of 10 feet, which dies down in autumn, so that 
it will be useful to mingle with other climbers at the base of lofty 
buildings, and also answer for mixed collections on walls. I have 
recently been able to devote some wall space to the trial of novelties, 
and intend now planting this Clematis there, and hope soon to know 
more about its real value as a decorative plant.” 
- The same correspondent observes that “ The valuable evergreen 
climber AzArA microphylla is now in full bloom. Its flowers are 
hardly visible unless we look closely for them, being very small, and 
produced on the lower side of the branches in clusters at the axil of every 
leaf; they are yellow, and have a decided vanilla perfume. If the 
orange-red berries come as thickly as the flowers this season they will 
afford a striking contrast to the dark green glossy foliage, and add 
considerably to its already attractive appearance. The arrangement of 
its foliage is very curious ; it comes in pairs, one leaf being more than 
twice as large as the other, the large leaves spread out on either side of 
the branches and the small ones turn backwards along it, and have such 
an elegant effect that I have frequently used the long slender sprays 
among cut flowers. For clothing a wall with perennial greenery it is a 
most useful shrub. I planted it five years ago against a lofty building 
facing the west, where it is much exposed to high winds, but it has 
grown freely, and is in a perfectly healthy flourishing condition.” 
- Presentation to Dr. Schomburgk.— In September last a 
meeting was convened of the friends and admirers of Dr. Schomburgk j 
Curator of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, for the purpose of considering 
the best means of practically recognising the valuable services rendered 
to the colony by that gentleman in the cause of botany. It was then 
decided that his portrait should be painted and permanently placed in 
some portion of the Gardens under his care. A committee was formed, 
subscriptions were obtained, and the task of producing a painting of 
Dr. Schomburgk was entrusted to Mr. L. E. Tannert, Master of the 
School of Art. The work was recently finished, and it was decided that 
a public presentation of the painting should be made to the Board of 
Governors of the Gardens, and his Excellency the Governor was requested 
to perform the formal ceremony. January 30th was fixed as the 
occasion, and on that day the Museum of Economic Botany, situated in 
the centre of the Gardens, was converted into a temporary hall. The 
painting was hung over the northern interior door, and bore the following 
inscription :—“ This portrait of Richard Schomburgk, Ph.D., &c., &c., &c,, 
is presented to this Museum by a number of his friends in appreciation 
of the zeal, energy, and skill which he has devoted to rendering the 
Botanic Gardens an ornament to the City of Adelaide, and the pride of 
the Province of South Australia.” The Committee also felt that Dr. 
Schomburgk ought to have something to personally retain as a souvenir 
of his friends, and with that object they had decided to give him an 
album address. After an appropriate address by the Governor the 
portrait was unveiled, and accepted by Dr. Wyatt as the oldest Governor 
of the Gardens. The Secretary to the Presentation Committee then read 
the following address, copied from the album :— 
To Richard Schomburgk, Dr. Phil., &c. 
Dear Sir,—At a general meeting held at the Town Hall, Adelaide, on 
Friday, the 21st day of September, 1883, it was resolved unanimously:— 
“ That your portrait be painted and placed permanently in the Museum of 
Botany as a testimonial of your long services, pre-eminent abilities, taste, 
and zeal as Director of the Botanical Gardens, and that an album containing 
a suitable address be presented to you.” In accordance with such resolution 
a portrait has this day been so placed, and we solicit your acceptance of this 
album as a token of our sincere respect and esteem, and as a recognition of 
your scientific attainments, and of the unsparing exertions you have devoted 
to rendering the Gardens an ornament to the city of Adelaide, the pride of 
South Australia, and the admiration of visitors to the colony. We desire to 
express our opinion that through your efforts and influence a taste for flori¬ 
culture and the advancement of botany has been permanently established 
and wishing you long-continued health, prosperity, and happiness. 
We are, dear Sir, 
[Signed by His Excellency the Governor and about 160 other gentlemen. 
Dr. Schomburgk, in returning thanks for the well-merited honour, 
accorded praise to all who had contributed to the success of the Gardens, 
and the interesting ceremony was brought to a close, 
- The Florida Dispatch states that the Horticultural Hall. 
at New Orleans will be GOO feet in length, having two wings of 
250 feet, 100 feet wide, and a central hall 180 feet wide for a distance of 
100 feet, surrounded by a dome covered with glass. The sides will be of 
glass, extending to the main roof, and it is intended to collect and range 
around the outer edge of the building, inside of the glass, rare collections 
of plants and shrubbery from Mexico, Central America, the islands, 
foreign countries, and the United States. A section of the building will 
be provided with hothouse apparatus for the protection of the choicest 
and most delicate plants. The double row of plants and flowers extend¬ 
ing all around the building will, therefore, cover a distance of 1500 feet. 
Through the central part of the main hall and the wings the tables for an 
international fruit display will be ranged sufficient for 20,000 plates of 
fruit from all parts of the fruit-growing world. Superintendent Earle 
has nearly completed the premium list for the Pomological Department, 
which offers awards of about 15,000 dollars. 
THE GARDENERS’ ROYAL BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION. 
In your columns of November 8th last Mr. Divers of Burghley made 
the following charge against this Institution—viz., 
“A friend of mine paid £10 10#. to this Society, thinking thereby to 
provide for a rainy day. By-and-bj r he became seventy years of age and 
unable to pursue his calling any longer. On applying to be placed on the- 
pension list he says he was told he had paid the £10 10#. as a donation, 
and consequently was not eligible for the pension.” 
On November 16th I, by the direction of the Committee, through your 
paper requested Mr. Divers to favour me with the name and address of his 
friend, and also if possible with the name of the person who gave the 
information, in order that they might investigate the matter. Mr. Divers- 
wrote to say he would make inquiry. Three months have elapsed and my 
Committee have heard nothing further on the subject. 
I have been Secretary now over forty-one years, have attended every 
meeting of the Committee, and have no recollection of any such an occur¬ 
rence. The old and constant attendants at the Committee meetings have 
been consulted, and they have no recollection of any such case being 
brought before them, and I have by the instructions of the Committee 
carefully searched through their minutes and can find no record of any 
such transaction. 
Is it not contrary to common sense that a man who had paid £10 10#. 
to the Institution should sit quietly down and put i;p with the alleged 
subterfuge ? The Committee is composed of twenty-four gentlemen care¬ 
fully selected for their probity and intelligence, would they condescend to 
such an equivocation? Why did not the subscriber in question communicate 
with them individually, making known his wrongs ? Are there not 
numerous subscribers to the Institution to whom he might have appealed ?• 
Is there not the gardening Press to whom he might have written ? They 
would have ventilated the subject. And last, but not least, why did he 
not avail himself of Rule No. 29, which provides that any dispute between 
a claimant and the Committee shall be referred to arbitration, and the 
result of the arbitration shall be final ? But no, not one of these courses 
have been adopted, and as Mr. Divers has not favoured the Committee 
with the information they were anxious to obtain, they can arrive at no 
other conclusion than that the allegations made by him are totally devoid 
of foundation. 
Before Mr. Divers again allows his pen or his imagination to run riot 
and bring such an accusation against this Institution, which is conveying 
comfort and assistance to 104 families, the Committee would ask him to 
remember the old proverb, “ Curses are like young chickens, they come 
home to roost,” and that it is within the bounds of possibility that some 
day he may be anxious to share in the benefits afforded by this Institution 
which he has been at such trouble to disparage.— Edw. R. Cutler, Sec-, 
14, Tavistock Street, Covent Garden. 
THE CURRANT-BUD MITE. 
Black Currant bushes could not be worse attacked by this mite in 
any part of the country than they are in the neighbourhood of Liverpool. 
Six years ago I discovered it upon some bushes here, and all the parts affected 
were burnt. The following pruning time they were worse than when first 
noticed, and all these infested were removed and clean young plants pur¬ 
chased. Two years after the whole, young and old, had to be uprooted and 
committed to the flames. Clean stock was again obtained and planted in 
the kitchen garden some distance away from the old plantation, and ten 
minutes’ walk from any Black Currant bush. The following autumn these 
were perfectly clean, and were lifted and planted on the ground they were 
intended to occupy. Long before last autumn they were attacked, and 
experiments are being tried to rid them of this destructive pest. At the 
present time I am of opinion—and this is founded upon experience and 
