January 6,1881. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 9 
- We are informed that the Annual Dinner of the Horti¬ 
cultural Club will take place at the Club House on Tuesday 
next the 11th inst., John Lee, Esq., in the chair. We are pleased 
to hear that the Club is prospering, many new members having 
joined during the past year. 
- We are informed by Mr. D. Thomson that the year 1880 
was the driest on record at Drumlanrig, Dumfriesshire, the total 
rainfall being only 33.1 inches, and 15 inches below the average 
of twenty-two years. 
- Respecting the weather in Northumberland, Mr. 
E. Fister, The Gardens, Blenkinsopp Hall, writes as follows :— 
“ Snow fell here on the 2Sth ult., but the weather appears to have 
changed, and we are more likely to have rain. Until the date 
mentioned we had dry weather with frequent frosts. During 
October frosts occurred on three days, the lowest temperature 
being 19’ Fahr. ; in November on fourteen days, the lowest being 
10° ; in December nine days, the lowest 17°.” 
- We have been favoured with a sight of advance sheets of 
a NEW WORK ON HORTICULTURAL BUILDINGS by Mr. F. A. 
Fawkes. This will be of a very comprehensive character, and 
the subject will be treated in a way which has not hitherto been 
attempted. We shall merely mention a few of the heads, so a 3 
to give some idea of the manner in which the author intends to 
produce the work. We find such heads as “ Astronomical ” in refer¬ 
ence to the Sun’s Orbit, the Sun’s Rays, Plant Life, Light Rays, 
Heat Rays, and Chemical Rays. Then the more practical work 
is treated upon—Inclination of Roofs, Transmission of Solar 
Rays, Aspect and Site, Levelling, Drainage, &c. The work will 
be ready in about a month, and will be entitled— Horticultural 
Buildings; their Construction, Heating, Interior Fittings, Sfc., 
with Notes on some of the Principles Involved. 
- We clip the following extraordinary advertisement 
from the lauceston Examiner (Tasmania), of October 20th, 1880: 
— “ Notice. —The undersigned having the largest and best stock 
of stove and greenhouse plants in Tasmania, for which he has paid 
cash for some four times their weight in gold. New and rare 
seeds I pay yearly to J. Carter & Co., London, the largest seed 
firm in the world, four times their weight in gold, from whom 
other seeds and plants are on the way from England. Being in 
debt I will not refuse any reasonable offer.—J. Allen, Florist, 
Longford." 
- Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, announce that 
“ A Manual op the Conifer.® ” is in preparation, and will 
be published in March. It will be fully illustrated, and contain 
a general review of the natural order, a synopsis of the genera, 
species, and varieties suitable for the climate of Great Britain, 
and the culture of Coniferce. That much valuable instruction 
will be given under each head we have no doubt, and the work is 
likely to prove one of considerable general utility. 
- Mr. J. M. Coventry, lately with Messrs. Waite, Burnell, 
Huggins, & Co., has commenced business as seedsman and florist 
at 111, Gray’s Inn Road, London, W.C. 
- During the ensuing year Messrs. Sutton & Sons will offer 
a large number of special prizes for Vegetables, Melons, 
and Cucumbers at some of the chief horticultural exhibitions. 
At the Royal Horticultural Society’s shows and meetings the 
most important will be the following—On June the 3rd nine 
prizes, including two first prizes of £3 3 s. or a silver medal and 
£5 5s. or a gold medal, the latter for Melons and Cucumbers. 
On June the 28th six prizes, with a first of £6 6s. or gold medal. 
On August the 5th and on November the 8th twenty-five prizes, 
including a £5 5s. first. At Manchester on August the 24th nine 
prizes will be offered, with one of £5 5s. At the International 
Potato Exhibition twenty-two prizes, the chief being £7 Is. 
Messrs. Dickson, Brown, & Tait will also offer nine special prizes 
for Cauliflowers, Tomatoes, and Melons at the Manchester Exhi¬ 
bition in August. 
- Nature has the following communication from one of its 
corrrespondents relative to the movements of leaves :—“ A year 
ago we had in our conservatory a healthy young plant of Acacia 
mollissima. It bore no flowers, but consisted of a simple axis 
adorned with the soft feathery leaves of its genus, which closed 
up at night. Our gardener, however, thought it would improve 
in appearance if it could be made to bear a few branches, and 
with that view he cut it back. His end was achieved: a new 
stem shot up from the section, and graceful limbs were thrown 
out in turn by it. But along with this a strange result followed : 
the fresh leaves borne by the new stem and by the branches now 
closed at night, while the old leaves below the section ceased to 
do so. These lower leaves have long since fallen off, but the 
upper ones kept to their habit, and at the present time all fold up 
at dusk save a few of the very oldest, which only partially shut, 
or, in one case, do not shut at all.” 
- The Scientific American has the following in reference 
to A NEW OIL FROM Grape stones M. T. Fleury of Bor¬ 
deaux, France, has explained the method by which a very valu¬ 
able oil is obtained from the kernels of the Grape. The refuse 
left after distilling brandy or making verdigris is dried and 
ground fine in an ordinary mill, the yield of oil being in direct 
proportion to the fineness of the grinding. Some manufacturers 
first press without heat, obtaining about 5 per cent, of oil; after¬ 
wards the stuff is heated and pressed, with a yield of 10 or 15 per 
cent, more oil. The oil is of a light yellow colour, and in course 
of time obtains a density of 0.9202, at 59° Fahrenheit, and solidi¬ 
fies at about 3° Fahrenheit. Although it does not congeal so soon 
as other oils it becomes rancid and viscid when exposed to air, 
and, although it saponifies readily, the soap produced lacks hard¬ 
ness and density. Black Grapes contain much more oil than 
white Grapes, and the kernels of Grapes from Vines in full vigour 
yield more oil than those from very young or very old Vines. 
Generally black Grapes give from 15 to 18 per cent, of oil, white 
Grapes 10 to 14 per cent. It is probable that American Vines, 
especially those of California, yield more oil than French Vines. 
In the south of France 25 lbs. of kernels are allowed for 25 gallons 
of wine. It is easy to estimate the quantity of oil that is annually 
lost in Grape-producing countries. The extraction of oil from 
Grape kernels is by no means new. M. Fleury says that in 1800 
there was a Grape oil factory at Olby which had been long in 
operation. Bergamo, Italy, produced the oil in 1770, and Rome 
and the vicinity of Ancona before 1782. It was also made in 
Naples on a commercial scale in 1818, and in Germany before 
1787. The oil is sweeter than nut oil, and remains fluid at a 
lower temperature. When burned in lamps it gives a bright, 
smokeless, and odourless flame.” 
FLORISTS’ FLOWERS. 
In commencing with the new year a series of seasonable notes 
on florists’ flowers it may be well to take a retrospect of the past 
and ask this question, Are not florists’ flowers faster gaining popu¬ 
larity than formerly ? We answer in the affirmative. The pro¬ 
minence with which certain societies have during the past few 
years brought them before the general public is doing much to 
popularise them. The Auricula, Carnation, Chrysanthemum, 
Dahlia, Pansy, Pelargonium, and Rose Societies are all engaged 
in the same worthy object—the improvement and encouragement 
of an art that offers repose to many whose daily occupations are 
not perhaps amongst flowers. Where a few years since florists’ 
flowers were almost unknown collections are now grown. Again, 
let us compare the Rose, Pelargonium, or Chrysanthemum of the 
