10 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ January 1, 1897.' 
supersedes all other old-established varieties of Cabbage Lettuces grown 
for market, either for spring, summer, or autumn use, and in hot dry 
weather lasting longer than any variety I ever grew before bolting- 
It is a crumpled-leaved variety in the way of the Old Neapolitan, not 
so large as that variety, but larger than a full-developed specimen of 
All the Year Round, of a light yellowish green in colour, without the 
slightest trace of bitterness, and is extremely crisp and refreshing. It 
is grown extensively by the leading market growers, and commands as 
much as 4d. to Cd. per dozen more than such varieties as the Grand 
Admiral, All the Year Round, &c. The Ilorniman, being so highly 
appreciated by all classes of society, is taken in preference. These are 
facts which have frequently come before my notice during the past 
three years. I have grown it extensively myself for private use, but I 
have never seen any variety of Lettuce sell so freely and profitably as 
this one. The land is well dressed with good manure before planting, 
and the plants are grown 1 foot apart each way. I have not sufficiently 
proved the Ilorniman for winter use, but hope to do so in the future, 
at present relying upon the old standards, as Grand Admiral, All the 
Year Round, Hicks’ Hardy, and Bath Cos.—J. T. Ebbutt, Winslade 
Gardens. 
- Clerodexdox fallax seedlings. —This fine old stove plant 
is now seldom met with in good character, and many can look back to 
the old Chiswick and Regent’s Park days when fair specimen plants 
were seen at the exhibitions. Mr. Pritchard, gardener to G. A. Muntz, 
Esq., Umberslade Hall, near Birmingham, each year raises a batch of 
young plants from seeds he himself saves, sowing it in February or 
early in March, and warmth, and growing them on in a warm house, 
and a good supply of strong young plants with large heads of bright 
orange-scarlet flowers are always to be met with there from July 
onwards. It is a most valuable decorative plant, and Mr. Pritchard 
finds it most useful. Umberslade is a fine old place, the gardening 
there of a good all-round order, and amongst other things the old 
Tritonia aurea is cultivated in pots, some four to six bulbs in a large 48 
or 36 pot, and grown on for conservatory decoration in the latter part cf 
the summer, and this plant and the Clerodendron also would be found 
valuable acquisitions to those who exhibit groups at the August and 
September exhibitions.—W. D. 
-- Southport and Birkdale Gardeners’ Friendly 
Society. —The annual meeting of the Southport and Birkdale Gar¬ 
deners’ Friendly Society was held recently at the Cocoa Rooms in King 
Street. Mr. T. Smith presided, andr there was a very large attendance 
of members. The minutes of the last meeting were read and confirmed. 
The Secretary read the annual report, which set forth that the Society 
was still progressing both financially and numerically. This Society 
was formed about three years ago, and during this year twenty new 
members had been elected, bringing up the membership to fifty-four. 
The officers and Committee had worked harmoniously together, which 
accounted in a very great measure for the success that had attended the 
operations of the Society. The Treasurer’s statement showed that after 
meeting all expenses and paying a dividend of 27s. 6d. to each of the 
members (being Is. Gd. more than the total amount of the contributions) 
there remained a balance in the bank of £24 93. 3d. Mr. Wintle 
moved the adoption of the report and the financial statement, Mr. 
Gilchrist seconding. The Chairman in supporting the motion, said. 
Unity was strength, and the success achieved by the Society proved the 
truth of that saying. He hoped its prosperity w'ould continue, and that 
in a short time they would not be able to find a single gardener in 
Southport or Birkdale who was not a member of that Society. The 
motion was carried unanimously. The election of members for the 
ensuing year followed. T. Smith. Esq., avas re-elected as President ; 
kir. T. Tomkins as Secretary ; and Mr. A. Francis was re-appointed 
Treasurer ; Messrs. H. R. Goddard and W. Spencer were elected Cash 
Stewards : and Messrs. W. Morloy and W. Wintle Auditors; the 
following being elected as the Committee—Massrs. W. Breeze, H. Turner, 
J, Campbell, .J. Royle, H. Blackhurst, and J. Garlick. Several new 
members having been enrolled, a vote of thanks was accorded to the 
Chairman for his services, and the proceedings terminated.—W. S. 
- The Richmond (Surrey) Horticultural Society. —The 
annual meeting of this Society was held recently at the Greyhound 
Hotel. Sir J. Whittaker Ellis presided. The Committee in its sixteenth 
annual report states that it has the satisfaction of being able to refer to 
the very favourable results of its labours during the past year, and to 
the present position of the Society. The summer Exhibition has this 
year been well maintained, both in the quantity and quality of the 
exhibits. The number of entries for Roses exceeded all previous years, 
and it was acknowledged by competent judges to be the best Show yet 
held by the Society. The Committee note with pleasure the continued 
interest which the ladies of Richmond and district take in the Society, 
as demonstrated by the exceptionally large number of entries made for 
table decorations and bouquets. The Committee congratulate them¬ 
selves on the fact that the list of this year’s subscribers shows an 
increase of forty-three names. The Committee tenders its best thanks 
to the subscribers and donors of special prizes for the support given to 
the Society during the year, and would urge upon all the necessity for 
a continuance of pecuniary support in order that the Society may be 
maintained in the highly satisfactory position it now occupies among 
the horticultural institutions of the country. The Committee also begs 
to offer an expression of its thanks to the Honorary Auditor (Arthur 
Cooper, Eiq ), and to the Honorary Secretary (J. H. Ford, Esq.), for 
their gratuitous and valuable services. Votes of thanks were accorded 
to the Committee, to the Chairman (Mr. Skewes-Cox), the Vice-Chair¬ 
man (Mr. Nicholson), and the Hon. Sec. Mr. Ford, in acknow¬ 
ledging the compliment, said that the Society had done very well during 
the past year. Though they had had two Shows, they had not had to 
ask a single subscriber for a second subscription. The retiring members 
of the Committee were re-elected. A letter was read from the Baroness 
von Hagen, stating that she would be very glad to become a patroness 
of the Society. Mr. G. Cave moved a vote of thanks to the Chairman, 
and remarked that some money was coming to the Surrey County 
Council for technical education. Richmond was entitled to a share of 
this, and if that Society thought it could do anything in the way of 
giving technical education in the matter of gardening now was the 
time to speak, and he thought the County Council would consider any 
application that might be made to it. The vote of thanks was heartily 
passed, and suitably acknowledged by Sir Whittaker Ellis.— QSttrre]/ 
Comet.') 
- The Illustrated London Almanack. —We have received 
a copy of the above almanack from the office of the Illustrated London 
News, 198, Strand, London. It is large, useful, and beautifully illus¬ 
trated, the six coloured plates of flowers alone being worth more than 
the cost of the work. They are well worthy of being framed for the 
homes of gardeners, and the size, 9 by 6 inches, would only involve a 
trifling cost. The almanack also contains woodcuts of high artistic 
merit, and at the commencement of each month the “ Feathered Friends 
and Foes of Farmer and Gardener” are represented in miniature. It is 
an excellent production throughout. 
- Excessive Frost in November. —In Mr. G. J. Symons’s 
“ Meteorological Magazine ” for last month a full report is given 
of the low temperatures registered in November at different places, 
accompanied by the following general introductory remarks :—“ This 
November frost was an extremely remarkable one ; (1) because it 
occurred in the daytime ; (2) because it was so local. As will be seen 
further on, the temperature fell much lower at other places than it did 
at Greenwich, or at Camden Square, but as long records are available at 
those places, it will be well first to examine what occurred at them. 
Greenwich.—November 23rd was quite exceptionally warm ; the average 
was .54 9°, which was higher than on any day in the third decade of 
November during the sixty years, 1814 to 1873. Then a rapid fall of 
temperature set in, and on the 28th the maximum was 26 9°, the 
minimum was 18 3°, and the mean 21 8°, which is nearly 2° colder than 
any other day in November during the above-named long period of sixty 
years. Camden Square.—Out of the thirty-two Novembers ending with 
that of 1889 there has been one—1838—in which there was no frost ; 
there have been fourteen in which the temperature fell below 27°, and 
four in which it fell below 23°, these cases being as follows :—Air 
temperatures in November below 23°.—1838, 20'1° on the 24th ; 1861, 
21 8° on the 19th ; 1871, 21 0° on the 19th ; 1887, 22-1° on the 17th. In 
1890 it fell below all these, excepting 1838—viz., to 20'8° on the 29th. 
It is necessary to explain why the minimum at Greenwich is stated to 
be on the 23th and at Camden Square on the 29Lh. The minimum— 
as will be further explained subsequently—occurred nearly at the same 
time (4 to 5 P.M.) on the 28th at both places, but at Greenwich for many 
years it has been the custom to record the temperatures as they would 
have been if read off at midnight. We believe that no readings are now 
really taken at that hour, but the theory has survived the practice. This 
minimum was therefore on the Greenwich system correctly set down to 
the 23th. The rule, however, for climatological stations is that the 
maximum read on any morning is to be entered to the day before, but 
the minimum to the day on which it is read, because in an overwhelming 
