December 14, 1893. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
533 
- “ Kew Bulletin.”—W e have received a copy of the “ Kev? 
Bulletin,” Appendix 1894, which contains a list of such hardy herbaceous 
annual and perennial plants as well as of such trees and shrubs that have 
matured seeds under cultivation in the Royal Gardens, Kew, during the 
year 1893. These seeds are available for exchange with colonial, Indian, 
and foreign botanic gardens, as well as with regular correspondents of 
Kew. The seeds are only available in moderate quantity, and are not 
sold to the general public. It is desirable to add that no application, 
nxcept from remote colonial possessions, can be received for seeds after 
the end of March. 
- Royal Botanic Society.—A t a meeting of this Society, held 
on Saturday last, in the gardens at Regent’s Park, Mr. Arthur Rigg in 
the chair, it was reported that the donations received since the last 
meeting included specimens of the peculiar tropical ants inhabiting 
Myrmecodia Beccari, living plants of which are already in the gardens. 
These plants are remarkable as affording food and shelter to certain 
genera of ants in return for the protection they are able to give against 
the attacks of injurious animals or insects. It is stated that H.R.H. the 
Duke of York has been made a Fellow of this Society. 
- A transatlantic contemporary states :—Three of the largest 
■Japanese Maples in America are now standing in Prospect Park, 
Brooklyn. They are said to be among the first of these trees sent there 
by the late Mr. Thomas Hogg, and are now, perhaps, 35 feet high, with 
a corresponding trunk circumference. Although they are beginning 
to be crowded they are fine trees, and during the late autumn they are 
especially beautiful. This late retention of foliage is a peculiarity of 
East Asian plants, and it should be taken advantage of when planting 
for autumn effect. 
- Stapelia gigantea. —This wonderful species, according to 
Mr, W. Watson, in the “Garden and Forest,” has recently flowered 
freely in a stove at Kew, and some of the star-shaped flowers measured 
a foot in diameter. While it may be taken as a general rule that 
Stapelias prefer a dry atmosphere with plenty of sunlight and warmth, 
there are exceptions, and S. gigantea is one of them. Until this plant 
was placed in a moist stove along with the Palms and Aroids, where it 
had shade in bright weather and plenty of water at all times, except 
for a few weeks in midwinter, it never flowered. There is something 
fascinating about the flowers of Stapelias, dull though they are in 
colour as a rule, and disagreeable, too, in odour, but when these flowers 
are a foot across, tawny-red in colour, hairy, and not too disagreeable in 
odour, they are worth a place in every stove collection. S. gigantea 
is as interesting in its way as Aristolochia gigas Sturtevanti or Victoria 
regia. 
- Lilies and theib Culture.—T his was the title of an able 
lecture delivered before the members of the Wakefield Paxton Society 
at their ordinary weekly meeting on Saturday, December 2nd. The 
lecturer was Dr. Clarke, M.A., of Headingley, Leeds, Professor in the 
Agricultural Department at the Yorkshire College, Leeds. Dr. Clarke 
is an authority on horticultural and agricultural matters. He has a 
hobby in the culture of Japanese Lilies. The lecturer named many of 
the best varieties of Lilies suitable for ^indoor and outdoor cultivation 
in this country, and by means of chalk illustrations on a black board 
he showed the best mode of planting Lilies in pots, strongly recom¬ 
mending the use of peat, sandy compost, and rape dust. He depre¬ 
cated the practice of plunging pots of Lilies and other bulbs in ashes, 
saying that the rain frequently washed sulphurous matter out of the 
ashes into the bulbs, and this had a damaging effect. He preferred 
clean and dry straw to either ashes or cocoa fibre dust, this being a safer 
material for the purpose in question. 
- Missouri Botanical Garden. —We have received a pamphlet 
containing the fifth announcement of the pupils at the Missouri 
Botanical Gardens, St. Louis, U.S.A. Previous to entering the garden 
the pupils must pass a preliminary examination. Pupils are lodged in 
comfortable rooms in a spacious dwelling adjoining the garden, under 
the charge of a competent employ6 of the garden. The lodging-house 
includes a reading-room supplied with horticultural and agricultural 
papers, and also with a collection of books on the same subjects, of 
which the pupils have free use. So far as possible, the surroundings 
of pupils are made home-like, and without assuming any responsibility 
for their behaviour, an effort is made to subject them to influences 
calculated to insure for them habits of industry and investigation. 
During the first year of their scholarship the pupils work at the 
practical duties of the garden nine or ten hours daily. After the first 
year, one-half of each day is given to manual work, the remainder being 
devoted to class work. 
- A Botanic Garden for Cardiff. —It is reported that the 
Parks Committee of the Cardiff County Council recently passed a 
resolution to the effect that £500 be voted for the purpose of erecting a 
glass house, and for buying a collection of herbaceous plants to form 
a botanic garden in connection with the Roath Public Park. 
- Presentation to Mr. W. Bailey. —We learn that on the 
6th inst. the employes at Southwark Park, S.E., presented Mr. Bailey, 
until recently superintendent of the park, and now of Dulwich Park, 
with a handsome electro-plated cruet stand. The foreman, Mr. F. 
Bright, made the presentation on behalf of the men, and wished Mr. 
Bailey success in his new appointment. 
- The Watford Chrysanthemum Show.— I was somewhat 
surprised to read in your last issue (page 512) that Mr. Gleeson, The 
Warren House Gardens, Stanmore, had been awarded a set of fish 
carvers for the best exhibit in the Show. Mr. Colchester offered the 
above as a special prize for the best exhibit in the Show grown with a 
specified manure, but too late to appear in the schedule, consequently 
the Judges considered it would be wise to hold over the prize till next 
year, and did not award it to Mr. Gleeson, but I suppose Mr. Colchester 
has done so personally. I do not object to Mr. Gleeson having the prize 
in fact, I congratulate him on receiving it, but I do object to him saying 
it was for the best exhibit in the Show. The Judges alone should 
decide this.— One of the Committee. 
- Liverpool Horticultural Association. —On Saturday 
evening last the members of the above Association held their seventh 
annual dinner at the Adelphi Hotel, Lime Street; but in consequence 
of the large amount of sickness prevailing many old friends were missed, 
and the company, which numbered seventy-four, was only about half 
the usual strength. Mr, W. Tunnington, in proposing the toast of the 
Association, spoke of the great difference of the exhibits of sixteen years 
ago and the present time, more particularly the Chrysanthemums. He 
referred to the good work the Association had done in disseminating 
knowledge in horticulture amongst the young gardeners, and hoped it 
would go on prospering in its work. Mr. T. White, the Chairman of 
the Association, briefly responded, and regretted that their splendid 
exhibitions were not more patronised by the public.—R. P. R. 
- Doyenne du Comice Pear from a North Wall, —Very 
good samples of fruit of this fine Pear so produced were shown by a 
local gardener at Limpsfield, Surrey, on the occasion of a lecture on 
fruit culture by one of the County Council lecturers last week. The 
fruits were larger than what are often found on wall trees on a warm 
aspect, but even so late as November 22nd were far from being ripe, and 
would be probably be at their best a month later, whilst the flesh was 
excellent. It lacked softness and the flne flavour which so characterises 
this grand Pear. That such fruit would be produced on a north wall 
in ordinary seasons is doubtful, indeed in this case the tree had not 
borne before the present year. It is very obvious all the same that 
some good Pears will and do produce good fruit on a north wall, and it 
may be with a view to prolong the Pear season, all too short this year; 
to also grow more on north walls than is at present the case. 
- Birmingham Amateur Gardeners’ Association.— The 
present session of this Association was brought to a close on Wednesday, 
6th inst., when Mr. Alderman Wm. White, T.P., gave his Presidential 
address at the Temperance Institute. There was a good attendance, but 
not so many as there should have been to hear such an enthusiast in 
gardening matters, who as Chairman of the Parks Committee is 
Birmingham’s “head gardener.” He chose for his subject “Gardens, 
Gardeners, and Gardening,” His connection with a garden commenced 
fifty years ago, when he used to enjoy many a chat with his father’s 
gardener. As to gardeners, he had always found them a very genial 
class of men; hut he thought rather addicted somewhat to calling their 
employers’ plants and fruit “my this” or “ my that.” In the case of 
his own gardener (for he said he was only an under gardener now) he 
held that he had a right to style them as partly his own, and when the 
gardener spoke of “ my Grapes,” he turned and said, “ Oh I they are not 
yours entirely, for they partly belong to me.” However, to turn to 
gardening, he said that times had greatly altered when he was a youth ; 
very few at that time had a greenhouse. At the conclusion of his 
address, Mr. Griffin proposed and Mr, Roe seconded a vote of thanks to 
the President for his very interesting address. Messrs. E, D, Clarke, 
Gosling, W. B. Griffin, and R. F. Rees exhibited plants^and flowers, and 
the usual awards were made. The silver medal for the highest number 
of points during the year has been won by Mr. Gosling, the bronze 
medal by Mr. W. B, Griffin. 
