JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
July 13, 1882. ] 
83 
- Some fine examples of Carter’s Leviathan Bean 
have been sent to us. The shortest pod was 11 inches in length, 
and the longest exceeded a foot. This indicates that the variety 
is an excellent one for exhibition purposes. The beans were also 
of good size and quality. 
- The first attempt of the Royal Agricultural Society at an 
exhibition of market-garden produce was not encouraging 
if we may judge by what was shown at Reading on Monday last. 
In a tent set apart for the purpose, and which had a table round 
the two sides, we found as many vegetables as would have fur¬ 
nished a greengrocer’s stall in any good market town in England. 
There were about a dozen half sieves of Potatoes and some Cab¬ 
bages, a round basket full of Cauliflower, three baskets of Peas, a 
heap of young Onions, a few more Cabbage, and about a couple 
ot dozen of Cabbage and Cos Lettuce. The fruit consisted of 
three boxes of Apples, two baskets of Cherries, one basket of Red 
Currants, two of Black, and one of Gooseberries. It was a relief 
to linger over the splendid exhibitions of seeds and roots that were 
made by Messrs. Sutton & Sons, Messrs. James Carter & Co., and 
Messrs. Webb of Wordsley. 
-We are gratified to hear that His Grace the Duke of 
Northumberland has promoted Mr. John Woodbridge, who has 
for so many years acted as gardener, to the office of Steward of 
the estate at Syon. This mark of confidence in one who has so 
well fulfilled his trust reflects great credit on His Grace, while he 
honours his faithful servant. Mr. Woodbridge still retains the 
superintendence of the gardens in connection with his new officei 
which we wish him long life to enjoy, for we do not wish to see 
for many years inscribed on his tombstone, as there is on that of 
Mr. Thomas Hoy, a former gardener at Syon, “ Here lies an honest 
man.” 
-An excellent sermon by the Rev. William Brown Keer 
of Heyvvood, Wilts, has been sent to us. The subject is “ The 
Tillage of the Poor.” We can appropriately cite one 
passage. 
“ By the expression ‘ tillage of the poor,’ we may understand those 
small holdings, or plots of ground, which in the East are cultivated 
as vineyards and Olive yards, or gardens of Maize or Cucumbers ; 
and among ourselves as gardens or allotments for the growth of 
corn, fruits, roots, or vegetables. ‘ I cannot afford to grow weeds, I 
have too little land and too many mouths to feed,’ said a labourer 
to me the other day, when I complimented him on the cleanliness of 
his allotment; and he added, ‘ I want all the corn, the roots, and the 
vegetables, and more than I can grow.’ He was right. It is un¬ 
profitable, in more senses than one, to grow weeds ; they exhaust the 
soil, choke the crop, and yield pernicious seed. Two or three, or 
even four crops a year, in well-chosen succession may be had in the 
same garden plot, while the large and wealthy farmer grows but one. 
What farm, indeed, on a large scale can be cared for half so diligently 
or effectually ? And then, what of the result ? A rod or perch of 
ground, commonly called here a ‘ lug,’ or the IGOth part of an acre, 
has, I am told, been known to produce a yield of nearly if not quite 
half a bushel of Wheat, or at the rate of very nearly twenty sacks an 
acre. Verily, ‘ Much food is in the tillage of the poor.’ There is an 
old rhyme to this effect— 
“ Plow deep, while sluggards sleep, 
And thou shalt have corn to sell and to keep.” 
Nothing is said to repay diligent labour so well as the soil. Here, 
if anywhere, the proverb is true, ‘ He becometh poor that dealeth 
with a slack hand ; but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.’ ” 
- At the National Rose Society’s Show held last week 
at South Kensington, Mr. T. Hobbs, Lower Easton, Bristol, was 
awarded an equal third prize with Mr. Evans in the amateurs’ 
class for twenty-four blooms, this award not being included in 
our report of the Exhibition. 
- Mr. James McIntosh has sent us from Duneevan flower¬ 
ing sprays of the charming Rosa Brunonii. Now that single 
flowers are so popular for decorative purposes this Rose might 
with advantage be more freely grown. Its white flowers are 
produced in large bunches ; and a plant, or tree as at Duneevan, 
when laden with flowers is very beautiful, and the perfume it 
diffuses is delicious. It is classed as a climbing Rose, but it shows 
to greater advantage when grown as the wild Rose grows in the 
hedges, as severe pruning is not promotive of free blooming. We 
do not know whether this Rose is hardy in the north of England, 
ft is a native of Nepal, whence it was introduced by Dr. Wallich 
in 1822. 
- The tenth annual Show of the Wimbledon Horticul¬ 
tural Society, held on the 5th inst., was, we are informed, 
an excellent one. Messrs. Veitch exhibited a hundred Roses 
in pots and splendid boxes of cut blooms, the chief prizes in the 
Rose classes being won by Mr. Wilkins of Sutton and Mr. Moor¬ 
man of Coombe Bank, who were respectively placed first with 
twenty-four and twelve varieties. Iu the open class for miscel¬ 
laneous groups of plants, open to all, Mr. Runnacles, gardener to 
Mrs. Schuster, was the premier winner, Mr. Bridger, gardener to 
L. Walker, Esq., being first in the members’ class. Mr. Bentley, 
gardener to Sir T. Gabriel, was the most successful exhibitor in 
the specimen-plant classes ; Messrs. Davis, Bentley, Dove, and 
Cole were among the chief prizewinners in the fruit classes ; and 
Messrs. Star and Bentley were awarded first honours for collec¬ 
tions of vegetables. Among the several donors of special prize 
were Lady Peek and Sir Trevor Lawrence, and thus under the 
encouragement that is given the excellent character of the horti¬ 
culture of the district is likely to be maintained. 
- A cone-bearing branchlet of Abies WebbiANA has been 
sent us, and it is so extremely beautiful that it is a pity this fine 
Silver Fir is so liable to injury by spring frosts. The cone is 
large, cylindrical, purplish black in colour, and contrasts effec¬ 
tively with the silver under surfaces of the foliage. An excellent 
and characteristic figure of a cone and spray of this Conifer is 
given on page 109 of Messrs. Veitch’s valuable work on the 
Coniferse, from which we cite the following :—“ A. Webbiana is 
considered tender in many parts of England ; it begins to grow 
early in spring, and this early growth is often cut off by frosts 
later in the season ; but if young plants are protected by a slight 
covering at the time these frosts occur—and so small an amount 
of trouble is well worth taking to preserve so beautiful a tree— 
the injury may be prevented, and as the plants become established 
by age they also become more acclimatised. Many fine speci¬ 
mens growing in various parts of England attest*this ; the lower 
branches of the largest of these have attained lengths of from 15 
to 18 feet, so that in selecting a situation for this tree a space 
having a radius greater than these dimensions should be allowed 
for it. The specific name was given by Dr. Wallich in compli¬ 
ment to Captain W. S. Webb, ‘a distinguished traveller and 
zealous investigator of natural history,’ who first discovered it in 
the Himalayas.” A beautiful violet dye is said to be extracted 
from the cones. 
- The circular appended has been issued to the Fellows 
of the Royal Horticultural Society “ In their circular 
to the Fellows of the 27th March last, the Council stated they 
were endeavouring to enter into negotiations with the Commis¬ 
sioners for the Exhibition of 1851, with the object of effecting an 
arrangement which would be in strict accordance with the tiusts 
upon which the Commissioners hold their property, mutually 
advantageous to the Commissioners and the Society, and bene¬ 
ficial to the public. With this view the Council proposed that a 
joint committee of the two corporations should be formed to con¬ 
sider their future relations. This proposal was accepted by the 
Commissioners, but the Committee which has been appointed 
to give effect to it has not yet met, as it was found necessary, 
before such a meeting could be usefully held, to settle terms 
between the Society and the Executive Committee of the Great 
International Fisheries Exhibition, 1883, to whom the Commis¬ 
sioners had granted the use of part of the South Kensington 
