March 10,1881. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 193 
Fark, on the 2nd'inst., in his eighty-eighth year. Mr. Nesfield 
was the son of the late Rev. William Nesfield, Rector of Brance- 
peth, in the county of Durham ; he was educated at Winchester, 
and Trinity College, Cambridge ; was cadet at Woolwich in 1809, 
and joined in the Peninsula, and was engaged in the operations 
in the Pyrenees. After leaving the army his taste for painting 
led him to become one of the earliest members of the old Water 
Colour Society, of which he was for thirty years an active ex¬ 
hibiting member, his contemporaries and friends being Turner, 
Copley, Fielding, Cox, Prout, and Stanfield. Later in life he 
took up landscape gardening as a profession, which his education 
as an engineer at Woolwich and his talent as an artist (as quoted 
in Ruskin’s “ Modern Painters ”) well qualified him to fulfil. In 
this capacity he was constantly consulted in the improvements 
and alterations of the London parks and Kew Gardens, and he 
planned the Horticultural Gardens at Kensington. 
- Relative to the weather in North Durham 
Mr. P. Ferguson of Monkwearmouth sends the following note : 
“ A week ago we had two or three fine days, and would fain have 
suug with that genial Scot—‘ Gloomy winter’s noo awa.’ ’ But 
no such luck; ever since Saturday, the 2Gth February, we have 
had an almost continuous fall of snow or sleet, with an increasing 
wind that ultimately developed into one of the most disastrous 
and terrific gales that have made the present winter so memorable. 
At the time of writing (5th March) this hurricane of wind and 
blinding snowstorm has been raging for forty-eight hours without 
the slightest sign of abatement. With scarcely a furrow turned 
or a grain of seed sown, with the root crops spoiled in the fields 
and stock having been hand-fed for over three months, agricul¬ 
tural prospects are indeed miserable in this district. Garden 
work is also at a complete standstill.” Another correspondent 
writes—“ The oldest man living does not remember such an 
extraordinary beginning of the month of March. The damage 
done by the frost, snow, and rain has been very great, nearly all 
kinds of vegetation having been seriously injured ; spring-flower¬ 
ing plants are nearly destroyed, and much loss has occurred from 
damping'to Cucumbers and Melons in dung-heated frames, as no 
ventilation could be given for several days owing to the violence 
of the wind and the drifting snow. The weather is now milder, 
a change_having occurred on Monday.” 
SNOWDROPS. 
Snowdrops are now in full beauty, and are to be found near 
almost every country dwelling. Various methods are adopted in 
planting them, some as if in a wild state, others bordering shrubs. 
There is another way worth notice, that is planting them in geo¬ 
metrical designs. Under large trees is a very suitable position. A 
beautiful flower garden could be easily established in the dead of 
winter. Snowdrops are also useful for table decoration. For a 
small table a tin about 2 feet 6 inches across should be provided ; 
a round block should be placed in the centre on which to stand 
the chandelier, or if there is gas a Palm or Dracaena may occupy 
the centre ; the tin should be then filled with tufts of well- 
flowered Snowdrops. They must have spaces between them filled 
with moss, which still more improve their appearance. This 
simple mode of table decoration when tastefully executed cannot 
fail to give satisfaction.—A. G. 
ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
March 8th. 
The advancing season was well shown at Kensington on Tuesday, 
for the exhibits had so far increased in numbers that, besides several 
small groups in the Council-room, an unusually fine display of Cycla¬ 
mens, Amaryllises, Orchids, and miscellaneous plants was provided 
in the conservatory, the attractions being still further increased by a 
lecture from the Rev. G. Henslow, and a selection of music by a 
military band. There was a remarkably large attendance of the 
members of the Floral Committee, and the Fruit Committee was also 
well represented, the meeting altogether proving eminently satis¬ 
factory, and notwithstanding the showery weather visitors were 
fairly numerous. 
Fruit Committee. —H. J. Veitch, Esq., in the chair. Mr. Sidney 
Ford sent a dish of a seedling Apple, Margaret Henrietta, a pretty 
Apple but without flavour. Mr. Mclndoe, The Gardens, Hutton 
Hall, sent a seedling Cucumber called Verdant Green, but the internal 
colour was so green as to disqualify it. Mr. Douglas, Loxford Hall 
Gardens, sent a seedling Cucumber from Tender and True, which 
was considered not quite so good as its parent. Messrs. Cutbush and 
Son, Highgate, sent samples of Nuneham Park Onion of very fine 
quality, to which a cultural commendation was awarded. Mr. 
Strachan, The Gardens, Bulwick Park, near Wansford, sent speci¬ 
mens of Giant Zittau Onion, a fine brown-skinned Onion, to which a 
cultural commendation was awarded. Mr. Sage, gardener to Earl 
Brownlow, Ashridge, sent a dish of Musa Cavendishii, remarkably 
well grown. The bunch had 235 fruits upon it. A cultural com¬ 
mendation was awarded. Mr. Cox of Redleaf Gardens exhibited 
fruit of Lemons and Oranges from Cyprus, for which a letter of 
thanks was awarded. Mr. Green, gardener to Sir George Macleay, 
Pendell Court, Bletchingley, Surrey, sent a branch of Coffea arabica 
var. angustifolia, laden with fruit and showing great luxuriance of 
growth and superior, cultivation. A cultural commendation was 
awarded. 
Floral Committee. —Dr. Denny in the chair. In the Council-room 
Mr. B. S. Williams, Upper Holloway, exhibited a group of new plants, 
very noticeable among them being the magnificent Imantophyllum 
Martha Reimers, which is described below. A specimen of the new 
Azalea Mrs. Gerard Leigh was shown, respecting which a note will be 
found in another column. Several plants of Primula sinensis fimbriata 
alba magnifica were staged, the blooms being of great size and good 
form. Actiniopteris radiata var. australis was represented by a speci¬ 
men in excellent condition, for which a cultural commendation was 
awarded. The species is a pretty little Fern very much in the way of 
Rhipidopteris peltata, and the variety appeared to differ very slightly 
if at all from the type. The fronds are divided in a fan-shaped 
manner into linear dark green segments, the stipes varying in height 
from 3 to 6 inches. Mr. C. Edmonds, Hillingdon, Middlesex, sent 
plants of Cyclamens, several of which were very fine, especially one 
named Mrs. Harry Veitch, white with a purple throat, the petals being 
broad and the flowers numerous. Purple King had flowers of smaller 
size, of good rich colour, also abundant; good white varieties being 
Miss Lilian Cox and Charming Bride, for which certificates were 
awarded. Mr. F. Moore, gardener to C. Pickersgill, Esq., Blandon 
Hall, Bexley, exhibited a specimen of Lycaste Skinneri giganteum 
superbum in a 32-size pot, and bearing six large handsome flowers, 
the sepals broad, and the petals with a rich crimson tinge. The plant 
was in excellent condition. The same exhibitor also sent a flower of 
Lycaste Skinneri virginalis, the beautiful white variety of this well- 
known Orchid. A vote of thanks was accorded. G. F. Wilson, Esq. 
Heatherbank, Weybridge, sent two cut spikes of Odontoglossum 
Alexandra, one bearing thirteen and the other sixteen flowers, which 
were large, of good form, and with a fine purplish tinge in the sepals. 
A vote of thanks was accorded. 
Mr. C. Green, gardener to Sir George Macleay, Pendell Court, 
Bletchingley, sent flowers of Canna iridiflora var. Ehemanni of great 
size and deep crimson colour. A note appended stated that the plant 
from which the flowers had been gathered had been in bloom for the 
past seven months treated as a sub-aquatic—namely, planted with 
the crown about 9 inches above the surface of the water in a warm 
tank devoted to Nymphmas. It is not rested during the winter like 
other Cannas, and is still flowering, having eight growths about 
7 feet high. Fine flowers of the beautiful Vanda Cathcartii were 
also sent, and a vote of thanks was accorded. Mr. W. Masson, 
gai-dener to Dr. Alfred Meadows, Poyle Park, Colnbrook, Bucks, 
obtained a cultural commendation for a [number of large Cinerarias, 
with flowers of great size and excellent colour, but very loose and of 
bad form, the plants also being rather coarse. Mr. R. H. Vertegans, 
Chad Valley Nurseries, Birmingham, obtained a vote of thanks for a 
basket of double Cinerarias with flowers of good form, chiefly purple 
and crimson in colour, some having the colours mixed. Mr. James, 
gardener to Mrs. Watson, Redlees, Isleworth, exhibited a box of ex¬ 
tremely fine Cineraria blooms such as he is noted for. They were 
very handsome in shape, and comprised some rich and varied 
colours. Two plants were also shown—one, Mr. H. Little, for 
which a certificate was awarded, and the other Mrs. Little, with 
flowers of excellent form but of rather peculiar pale purplish 
tint, or no doubt that would have received a similar award. 
Messrs. John Laing & Co., The Nurseries, Forest Hill, sent a plant 
of Begonia Roezli with its small bright coral-coloured flowers. Mr. 
H.Gohn of the Springwell Nursery, Middlesex, sent plants of Crimson 
Beauty Primula, the flowers of good colour but rather poor in shape. 
Messrs. Wm. Paul & Son, Waltham Cross, obtained a vote of thanks 
for a basket of Primrose Scott Wilson, the plants being in good con¬ 
dition and bearing their purplish blue flowers profusely. J. T. D. 
Llewellyn, Esq. of Penllergare, Swansea, sent a pot of the diminutive 
Crocus Sieberi collected at Florence thirteen years ago. The flowers 
are of a lilac purple tint, and rise about 2 inches above the soil. 
In the conservatory as noted above the display was unusually 
bright, the stage along one side of the entire path being entirely 
