May 1, 1884. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
843 
have been lately introduced, about winch I hope to pen a few 
note8 at some future time. 
Another old and useful plant which seems to try and outstrip 
its neighbour we have in the same border in Begonia manicata. 
Although quite distinct in habit and growth, it will succeed well 
with the same treatment. It has just produced thirty-five erect 
branching panicles of light pink flowers. The leaves are large 
.and fleshy, the footstalks of which bear pretty red frill-like 
fringes. I find the flowers very useful for epergnes or trumpet 
vases. Begonia manicata is also very valuable grown in pots 
for table decoration or for the conservatory. We take cuttings 
from the old plants in May for this purpose, and when well 
■established in 5-inch pots they are removed to a cold frame, 
and with careful attention will make useful plants by September, 
when they are taken into wanner quarters and brought into 
bloom as required. They continue in bloom for several months, 
but the foliage is liable to damp off in spots if too much water 
be used. It is a native of Brazil.— Foreman. 
The Health Exhibition. —We are glad to state that by per¬ 
mission of the Council of the Royal Horticultural Society, Mr. J. 
Douglas Dick has been enabled to accept the appointment of super¬ 
intendent of the turnstiles during the Health Exhibition, for which such 
-extensive preparations are now being made in the gardens at South 
Kensington. The importance of this charge may be understood when 
St is stated that it involves the responsibility of accounting for all the 
money taken at the entrances, which last year, on the occasion of the 
Fisheries Exhibition, amounted, we believe, to about £80,000. The 
satisfactory manner in which Mr. Dick discharged his duties on that 
■occasion has undoubtedly led to his present appointment, and the action 
of the Council in the matter is a graceful mode of acknowledging the 
services of an old and diligent official of the Royal Horticultural Society. 
Mr. Dick’s staff numbers about forty men, the extremely wide scope of the 
Exhibition and its corresponding diversity being expected to prove 
much more attractive than the event of last year, and provision is being 
made for a greater influx of visitors. 
- Improving the Gardens. —The gardens in which the Exhi¬ 
bition just referred to will be held are undergoing a complete trans¬ 
formation, the work of restoring and remodelling being conducted by 
Mr. Barron, the Royal Horticultural Society’s garden superintendent 
under the direction of the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, who is 
working with the same zeal that Mr. Birkbeck displayed last year as 
the chairman of the Fisheries Committee. His Grace has entered 
spiritedly into the work of garden renovation, and new lawns and 
walks are being made, shrubs planted, and everything possible is being 
■done to render the grounds in the highest degree attractive when the 
Exhibition is opened. The arrangements made for holding the Shows 
of the Royal Horticultural Society are much more favourable than last 
year, when the space allotted was in an out-of-the-way corner in the 
lower portions of the grounds. This year the upper and more attractive 
•portion, with the conservatory, is secured under stipulations mutually 
advantageous both to the Society and the Health Committee. An 
active season at South Kensington is anticipated, and the Health 
Exhibition (with its accessories) is expected to prove a brilliant success. 
- Mr. G. W. Cummins writes that “ Rhododendron Countess 
■OP Haddington (in company with the grand R. Aucklandii) is now a 
mass of bloom at Cromwell House, Croydon. A plant more than 8 feet 
•through is bearing hundreds of beautiful large blush-white flowers. 
Himalayan Rhododendrons and Cactese are the great features of this place, 
and quantities of both are showing well for bloom, although many other 
plants are grown well' besides under the able management of the 
gardener, Mr. W. Wright.” 
-The Stoke Bishop and Sneyd Park Rose and Fruit Show 
will be held this year in the grounds of W. E. George, Esq,, Downside, 
Stoke Bishop, on Tuesday, July 1st. Twelve classes, open to all amateurs, 
the remaining thirty-six being confined to residents of the district. 
- Messrs. Barr & Son, Covent Garden, send us a flower of a 
pretty and distinct double Anemone stellata from seed. The petals are 
narrow and very numerous, the outer half is bright crimson, then a broad 
ring of white, and shaded with crimson at the centre. It is very neat 
and attractive. 
- “ C. W.” writes that “Rose The Earl of Pembroke as an 
early-forcing variety is simply magnificent, producing, as it does most 
freely, its deep-petalled intense crimson flowers on very small plants, 
which are not only very distinct in colour from any other Rose, but they 
also possess a delicious perfume, which makes them doubly valuable. If 
Mr. Bennett had not raised any other Rose this alone would be sufficient 
to perpetuate his Tame as the most successful English hybridiser of the 
queen of flowers.” 
- Mr. A. J. Sanders, gardener to Viscountess Chewton, Book- 
ham Lodge, Cobham, sends us blooms of his double Cineraria Rosy 
Morn, for which a vote of ^thanks was accorded at the last meeting of 
the Royal Horticultural Society. They are very full, oE good form, and 
of a very bright rosy-crimson colour ; very showy and distinct. 
- Mr. J. MacDonald, The Gardens, Angeston, Dursley, sends 
us blooms of the Tea Rose Adam, from a plant of which he states 
they have been cutting since Christmas. The blooms are of wonderful 
size, beautifully formed, of a soft rose tint, and the foliage is 
similarly vigorous, proving most generous culture. This variety is 
very pretty in the bud stage, but rather loose when fully expanded. 
- One of the most attractive hardy Heaths that has come under 
our notice is Erica australis. Growing with some others in the 
Royal Horticultural Society’s Gardens at Chiswick, it surpasses them 
all in effectiveness at the present time. It appears to be a free grower 
of compact habit, but not low and dense, the plant now flowering 
being about 18 inches high and half that in diameter. Every spray 
is closely covered with dark pink blooms, rendering the plant not 
only the prettiest Heath in the bed, but the most attractive hardy 
plant in the Gardens at the present time. Persons intending to plant 
a collection of hardy Heaths should make a note of Erica australis, 
with the view of including the species in their collections. 
- The first number of the “ Little Journal,” a new shilling 
monthly publication, devotes several pages to “ Enterprises at Home 
and Abroad,” and to “ Workers in all Fields.” The field of horti¬ 
culture is not overlooked, as we find brief and highly commendatory 
biographical notices of Mr. F. W. Burbidge, F.L.S., and Mr. George 
Maw, F.S.A. The reference to Mr. Burbidge is brief, amounting 
simply to an enumeration of his literary works, which are very 
superior to many that have been prepared during the past few years, 
and an estimate of his character, and we believe a very fair and 
accurate one, from the Nonconformist newspaper. The article on 
Mr. Maw is more elaborate; his industry in collecting plants, his 
scientific attainments and their successful application, his mansion 
and garden at Bentham Hall, and his literary work being all brought 
under review in six or seven pages of the work. Under “Enterprises” 
we find an article by John Arden, entitled “Trees in their Cradle,” 
which consists, we are bound to say, of a rather meagre description 
of the nurseries of Messrs. F. & A. Dickson of Chester. The “ Little 
Journal ” (Elliot Stock & Co.) is a sober work of 128 pages, well 
printed, variedly interesting, and will be acceptable to those who desire 
something more than the “ light reading ” that so largely prevails at 
the present day. It is stated that portraits would have accompanied the 
biographical notices, but the “ workmen failed ” in having them ready. 
FRUIT PROSPECTS—EFFECTS OF FROST. 
The prospect of a bountiful crop of fruit has never been better in 
this district; and although the north and east winds with rather severe 
drought have prevailed, also severe frosts (7° were registered on one 
morning last week) the Plum, Pear, and Cherry have and are setting 
well outside, and Apples have begun to open their blooms. I observe 
much mildew and blight on the expanding leaves and flowers, also 
vermin, which will be very troublesome if some heavy rain does not 
come soon, or the syringe be brought into service with softsoap and 
petroleum, or, what is still more useful and safer, Hudson’s dry soap. 
It is both better to syringe before and after with pure water, as it 
wets nearly all the foliage, so that when the more expensive application 
is used any injury from careless mixing is avoided, and any sediment left 
on the trees or foliage, if strong, is rendered harmless. 
Except one shower we have had no rain for some weeks, and not 
much sun either. We have had thunder and lightning more or less for 
