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JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ Juac IS, 1391 
the Guildhall by the Fruiterers’ Company, when no less than 35,000 
Iversons visited it. This great fact points to a still greater fact—viz., that 
the people of England are becoming more interested in fruit culture, and 
at last are becoming alive to its possibilities and prospects. Much of the 
credit for this encouraging prospect is due to the efforts of an excellent 
Society that was formed some few years ago, and well known now as the 
British Fruit Growers’ Association, and it is with the greatest satisfaction 
that I observe that during the coming summer Cardiff will have the 
honour of a visit from members of that body, a discussion on Hardy Fruit 
for Profit being held under the auspices of Cardiff Horticultural Society. 
We need enlightening on this subject, for around Cardiff fruit is not 
grown very largely; outside the boundaries of private gardens it is a 
barren waste as far as fruit trees go, while of orchards I have met wdth 
but few ; at least, after residing in the district for eight years, such is 
the impression left on my mind. 
Our market gardeners appear to rely solely on vegetable?, except in 
rare instances, to obtain their livelihood. The fact is the natural 
di.sinclination of the owners of the land to grant leases on anything like 
reasonable terms is an effectual bar to fruit cultivation, because no sane 
man would lay out his capital on other people’s land with no prospect of 
seeing it return. But this excuse will not hold with respect to the 
smaller fruits, such as Currants, Gooseberries, Strawberries, Easp- 
berries, &c., however forcibly it may apply to the larger fruits, such as 
Apples and Pears, for the former arrive at maturity quickly, and deserve a 
trial, especially Strawberries, and any efforts to promote such would be of 
material value to the community at large and to gardeners in particular. 
I sincerely trust that the Cardiff Horticultural Society will go to some 
trouble to get the market gardeners of the district more interested in 
fruit culture in the future than they seem to have been in the past by 
inviting them to the Conference. It is also to be hoped that all those 
who are in a position to afford facilities for the culture of fruit—such as 
farmers (leasehold and freehold), owners, &c.—will have their attention 
drawn to the Conference. It is quite possible that they may be able to see 
that Glamorganshire may be able to produce something else besides coal, 
strikes, and trade unions, the one thing necessary being to excite public 
attention. I may say we have the trees, we have the men, we have the 
money too ; but they are separate, and need drawing together to act in 
unison, and then we may hope to march, and not merely mark time. 
[This excellent paper was read by Mr. Charles Lewis, gardener to 
Alderman Fulton, Park Place, Cardiff, but we did not receive his name 
in time for publication with the first instalment of his extremely 
practical address.] 
Events of the Week. —The Koyal Horticultural Society’s Fruit, 
Floral, and Orchid Committees will meet at the Drill Hall, James 
■Street, Westminster, on Tuesday, June 23rd, when a silver challenge 
cup wdll be offered for the best collection of herbaceous Pseonies from 
amateurs. Silver-gilt and silver Kelway medals are also offered for 
Paeonies and Delphiniums, while prizes are provided for laced and 
border Pinks. Besides these attractions the National Eose Society wdll 
have an exhibition of Eoses, good prizes being offered for Teas and 
Noisette.?. Mr. T. W. Girdlestone will deliver a lecture on Tea Eoses 
at 3 P.M. At G.30 P.M. the same evening the Eoyal Horticultural 
Society’s dinner will be held in the Whitehall Eooms, Hotel M^tropole. 
A Eose and Begonia Show' is announced to be held at the Eoyal 
Aquarium, Westminster, on Wednesday and Thursday, June 24th and 
25th, and in connection with this Exhibition it has been arranged to 
have a Eose fair for the benefit of the Gardeners’ Orphan Fund. 
The Eichmond (Surrey) Horticultural Society will also hold their 
annual Show in the Old Deer Park, on June 24th. Messrs. Protheroe 
and Morris announce sales of Orchids for Friday next, June 19th, and 
Tuesday, June 23rd. 
- The sale of the late Mr. Shirley Hibberd’s Library is 
announced by Messrs. Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge, 13, Wellington 
Street, Strand, to take place on Monday, June 29th, and Tuesday, 
June 30th, at 1 p.m. each day. A great number of rare and valuable 
horticultural and botanical works are included, with complete sets of 
the “Botanical Magazine” and “Botanical Eegister.” There are 
Cll lots in all. 
- The Weather in the Metropolitan District has been 
warm and summer-like during the past few' days, a most agreeable and 
long expected change. The fruit prospects generally are better than 
were anticipated after the frost at Whitsuntide. Low temperatures 
have been experienced on several occasions since, and we hear that on 
June 10th near Eingwood Potatoes a foot high w'ere extensively killed 
by frost. 
- National Chrysanthemum Society. — The date of the 
annual picnic of the members, previously mentioned, has been fixed 
for Monday, July 20th. 
- Fruit Prospects in Kent. —Strawberries look very w'ell 
indeed, also Apples ; Gooseberries thin, but growing out w'ell. Black 
Currants almost nil, the frost at the end of April having cut them off ; 
Eed Currants are short. Cherries a light crop. Plums are satisfactory 
at present.—W. K., Maidstone. 
- Weather in Liverpool. —The w'eather on the whole has 
much improved during the past week. The sunshine has been nearly 
continuous, but the evenings are cool ; and on two evenings the 
thermometer had been below freezing point, and we have had some 
strong wind from W. and N.W. 
- Mr. G. Foster, Teignmouth, sends us five handsome fruits of 
Straw'berry Waterloo, from plants grow'n in a Peach house. One of 
the fruits weighed exactly 1| oz., two others were nearly as much, and 
two w'eighed a litile over 1 oz. each, making a total for the five fruits of 
04 ozs. They w’cre of the usual dark colour, and the flavour was very 
satisfactory. 
- Of all the spring flowering trees none appears to give more 
satisfaction than Magnolia conspicua, or its purple-tinted form 
w'hich is named purpurea. The former variety flow'ers the more freely 
of the tw'o, but I think the latter is the more appreciated. I think, too, 
that it lasts longer in bloom than the pare w'hite sort. In any case both 
deserve to be seen more frequently. Any good garden soil which has 
been deeply moved will suit these Magnolias w'ell.—E. 
- Mr. a. a. Bennett, Ashford Gardens, Cobham, Surrey, 
writes :—“ In answ'er to numerous inquiries respecting my Mushroom 
Experience let me say time w'ill not allow me to answ'er each indi- 
vidua’ly by post. The best advice I can give to those who have failed is 
to read ‘ Mushrooms for the Million ’ carefully, and try again. I am 
glad to hear from some old grow'ers of better success than I had, so may 
I suppose hope for even better crops as w'e gain experience.” 
- The second quarterly meeting of the Sheffield, Hallam- 
shire, and West Eiding United Chry'santhemum Society was 
held on Wednesday evening, June 10th, when there was a large attend¬ 
ance of members, and a paper w'as read by Mr. W. K. Woodcock, 
Barkby Eoad Nurseries, Syston, Leicester, on “ Various Modes of 
Chrysanthemum Culture, with the Best Varieties.” Mr. Jno. Haigh 
took the chair, and a useful discussion followed the reading of the 
paper. Some very choice table plants — Crotons, Palms, Pandanus, 
and Dracaenas—occupied a central table in the large room, being 
exhibited by the members in competition for several small prizes 
offered. 
- Begonia manicata is one of the best winter flowering 
Begonias, and is rendered much more useful by the small amount of 
heat required to have it in good condition. In a temperature of 45° by 
night vrith a rise of 10° during the day with sun heat it flowers profusely 
and lasts a long time. We have plants of it now in good order whicli 
commenced unfolding their blooms at the end of February. In a cut 
state the blooms last fresh much longer than the majority of Begonias, 
and being light they associate well with other flowers and greenery. 
Cuttings strike freely in a gentle bottom heat at the present time. By 
groM'ing them in the greenhouse during the summer, and not overpotting 
them, good plants will be obtained by the following autumn.—M. 
-r Early Strawberries.— We are ten days later in commencing 
to gather Strawberries than we were last season. Then we picked a good 
dish on^June 2nd, and this year a small gathering of extra fine fruit was 
ready on June 11th. The variety is Laxton’s Noble and the position 
sheltered, too mueh so probably, and sunny. Once more, the young 
plants, or those put out early last August, are the first to give us ripe 
fruit, and that by about five days ; and seeing that the few old plants 
left were adjoining the young ones, the fruit on the latter being also 
the finest, this is another proof, if such be needed, of the general 
superiority of youngsters when properly managed. James Veitch will 
be earlier than Sir J. Paxton, both having the same position and 
treatment.—W. I., Somerset, 
