January 14, 1893. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
25 
General Skelcb,” by Mr. George Gordon ; February 2Gth, “ The Ad¬ 
vancement of Gardeners and Gardening,” by Mr. Lewis Castle ; March 
25th, “Gloxinias and Their Cu ture,” by Mr. C. Nunn, gardener to 
J. Soames, Esq., Maze Hill, Greenwich. The reading of each paper will 
commence at 8 30 P.M., after which a discussion will take place, in 
which all present are cordially invited to join. Gardeners are invited to 
bring rare specimens of p'ants, flowers, or fruit, in order to make the 
meetings as interesting as possible. 
_ Sumach as Manure. —A case of fraud came on for trial at 
the Northampton Assizes recently, from which it appears that two men 
had devised a rather elaborate scheme for the disposal of this refuse as 
artificial manure. The opening statement of counsel describes sumach 
as a worthless article, which tanners were glad to get rid of to anyone 
willing to take it off their hands, and some large tanners at Bermondsey 
had been accustomed to pay £200 a year to get the stuff oflf their premises. 
One of the men being aware of that fact had some cards printed, which 
were headed “Smith & Masters, Artificial Manure Manufacturers, 
Goldsmith Boad, Beckham, London.” On the card was a list of manures, 
and among them one called blood and rape manure. On September 
30th about 10 tons of this spent sumach was carted to the railway 
station, one truck load being sent to Blisworth and another to Roade. 
Some was sold to the amount of £9, but upon examination by a 
chemist its true nature was discovered, the fraud was exposed, and the 
men captured. 
-Aralia Sieboldi. —This fine old plant has long been a fami¬ 
liar object in greenhouses, and its bold aspect is not likely to be for¬ 
gotten by those who have seen large masses of the plant in the gardens 
of the milder portions of England and Ireland. It is seen at its best 
when grown outside, where it develops into a bush from 5 to 6 feet high 
and as many through, amply supplied with palmate, leathery, deep 
green, glossy leaves, 12 inches across, on stout petioles of a similar 
length. It bears in summer numerous large clusters of small creamy 
white blossoms. In some places, however, A. Sieboldi is essentially a 
greenhouse plant, and with abundant space and liberal treatment it 
deve'ops into a highly decorative specimen under glass. Where green¬ 
house space is limited small young specimens are the most useful. 
These are usually raised from seeds sown in heat, or young plants are 
obtained by cuttings from the half-ripened stems. Seedlings, however, 
make the most attractive specimens, but the seeds are not always easy 
to obtain. When grown from a single stem from 1 to 3 feet in height, 
and furnished to the ground, few pot plants of such simple requirements 
are more elegant. Repotting is not a frequent necessity, unless it is 
desirable to increase the size of a specimen. Root-bound plants are 
easily kept healthy by the occasional use of weak liquid manure, but 
the soil should never become soddened nor thoroughly dry. A. Sieboldi 
is an admirable plant for the dwelling house, the thick texture and 
close surface of the leaves enabling them to withstand the dry air of 
such situations. Such plants derive fresh strength from out of door 
exposure during the summer. A. Sieboldi is a native of Japan, and was 
first introduced to Europe in 1858. It is most generally known under 
the name given here or A. japonica, but the botanists now call it Fatsia 
japonica, Fatsia being the Japanese name of the plant. There are two 
distinct varieties of the species—variegata, with leaves bearing con¬ 
spicuous blotches of white ; and aurea, which has a yellow variegation. 
—(The American Garden and Forest.') 
- The following leaflet is issued with the Royal Horticultural 
Society’s schedule for 1892 :— “Proposed Scheme foe Technical 
Education in Gardening and Spade Industry. Attention has 
lately been directed to the importance of more extended fruit culture, 
and to the further development of gardening as a means for the better 
utilisation of the land ; and many of the highest authorities on matters 
agricultural have considered that smaller holdings, more carefully and 
scientifically treated by spade industry, form the best and likeliest 
solution of the present land problem in this country. In order to 
promote these objects in the near future, as well as to improve the 
education of working gardeners in general, the Worshipful Company of 
Gardeners, acting in co-operation with the Royal Horticultural Society 
of Great Britain, propose to establish a British School of Gardening, 
where lads of from fifteen to eighteen years of age may receive a 
thoroughly practical training in all the details of their craft, together 
with such simple elementary scientific instruction as may be sufficient 
to enable them to take an intelligent interest in, and gain some little 
real insight into, the manifold operations of Nature with which they 
will, in their after life, be concerned. The Worshipful Company of 
Gardeners proposes to furnish a house at Chiswick (in the immediate 
neighbourhood of the Royal Horticultural Society’s Gardens) for the 
reception of students, and to appoint fitting persons to act as instructors 
and lecturers, and to establish classes for the practical teaching of the 
craft of gardening and spade industry in the Society’s Gardens. The 
cost for a lad living at the School would be about £45 per annum, 
inclusive of everything except clothing, and for a lad attending the 
classes only, £10 or £15. To carry out this project an initial sum of 
£1000 is required, and a further income of £250 will be wanted for 
three years, after which time the School should become self-supporting. 
It is proposed to raise the necessary money by subscription, the 
Worshipful Company of Gardeners heading the list with a donation 
of £250. Subscriptions for this purpose should be kept quite distinct 
from those to the R.H.S., and should be made payable to the Rev. W. 
Wilks, 117, Victoria Street, Westminster, by whom they will be gladly 
received, and most gratefully acknowledged.” 
-The Yorkshire Gala.—A t the annual meeting of the 
guarantors and life members of the Yorkshire Gala, held under the 
presidency of the Chairman of the Committee, Sir Joseph Terry, the 
election of officers. Committee, &c., took place. The Chairman said it 
was usually the custom to refer to their success at the annual meeting, 
and it was especially pleasant to do so on that occasion, because he 
found that last year, owing possibly to the revised management of the 
Committee by which everyone had something to do, they had obtained 
the largest profit they had ever had since the commencement of the 
Gala. They desired to perpetuate the Gala in the same manner as in 
past years, not only for the enjoyment which it afforded to a large 
number of people both in the city and in the country, but also on 
account of the great pleasure it afforded them to distribute the money 
they received as profit amongst the various charities of the city. 
According to their desire he had, in company with Alderman Rooke, 
Councillor Milward, and the Secretary, waited upon the Bootham 
Asylum authorities, and arranged that the field should be made over to 
them upon the same conditions as in former years. He also had to 
announce that the Lord Mayor had consented to become President for 
the year, and his generosity had not rested there, for, in addition, he 
had offered to give a donation of £5 to be divided into two prizes of 
£2 10s. for twelve distinct varieties of Roses, cut blooms, and twelve 
distinct varieties of Fancy Pansies, all open to amateurs in the City of 
York, and within a radius of five miles. He proposed the election of 
the Lord Mayor as President. Mr. Alderman Rooke seconded, and 
the resolution was unanimously adopted. The Vice-Chairman, Mr. 
Alderman Rooke, the Treasurer, Mr. Joseph Wilkinson, the Secretary, 
Mr. Chas. W. Simmons, and the Auditor, Mr. J. Pearson, were also 
re-elected. The voting for the election of the Committee of Manage¬ 
ment then took place, with the result that the following were elected 
Messrs. R. Anderson, G. Balmford, J. Blenkin, S. Border, J. Biscomb, 
G. Browne, H. Chapman, J. W. Craven, M. Cooper, A. Dunkley, 
L. Foster, G. Garbutt, T. G. Hodgson, J. J. Hunt, G. Kirby, T. M. 
Lambert, C. A. Milward, J. Rotherwood, H. Scott, G. Seller, W. S. 
Sharpe, J. B. Sampson, and J. E. Wilson. The following grants were 
made for the Gala Floral Show, £550 ; music, £120 ; balloons, £70 ; 
fireworks, £100 ; entertainments and amusements, £150. Mr. James 
Backhouse, who had promised a special prize of £5, was elected a life 
member. The various working Committees were then elected, and the 
meeting concluded with votes of thanks to the Chairman,!Vice-Chairman 
and Chairmen of the various Committees. A circular sent out to all 
the life members and guarantors states that the total number of visitors 
to the Gala from the year of its foundation, 1859, to 1891, inclusive, is 
1,103,813, and the total amount paid for floral prizes £15,254 Is., while 
a total sum of £1447 10s. has been dispensed to the York charities out 
of the profits. 
PRUNING VINES. 
The remarks of “ H. S.” on page 6, wherein he attempts a criticism 
of my recent notes on this subject, are somewhat wide of the mark, and 
that portion which refers to my having advised the retention of shoots 
2 feet in length on Black Hamburghs is misleading, for the simple 
reason that readers who may not have seen my original remarks would 
form an incorrect opinion of the real facts and the actual conditions 
under which that practice was advocated. I was at the time dealing 
with the care of Vines in a very unsatisfactory state, which required a 
departure from the ordinary methods of pruning to secure a crop the 
following season. In such instances, even if a promising bud could 
not be formed within 3 feet from the base of the spur, the cultivator 
who could not find “room” to train the young shoots must indeed be 
