January 12, 1893. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
29 
- Weather at Liverpool. —We have agaia had a very severe 
week with a heavy fall of snow, the whole country being completely 
covered in its wintry garb. The weather has been intensely cold. A 
slight thaw took place on Saturday, and continued over Sunday. A 
change will be eagerly welcomed.—R. P. R. 
- Mr. G. A. Dickson. —We are pleased to learn that Mr. 
George A, Dickson, sen., of the old and well known Chester firm, now 
trading as Dicksons, Limited, has been placed on the Commission of the 
Peace for the county of Cheshire. For some years Mr. Dickson has been 
a, magistrate for Chester, and was Mayor in 1885-1886. 
- London Pansy Society. — This newly formed Society will 
hold its first Exhibition at the Drill Hall, James Street, Westminster, 
cn June 6th, in conjunction with the meeting of the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society. The schedule, which is included in the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society’s arrangements for the current year, is comprehensive, 
there being no less than twenty-eight classes. 
- Horticultural Exhibition at Islington. — A large 
Exhibition of plants, flowers, vegetables, fruit, plant houses, heating 
appliances, and horticultural sundries will be held, under the auspices 
of the Royal Horticultural Society, at the Agricultural Hall, 
Islington, N., on August the 29th and the three following days. Prizes 
to the amount of £400 are to be offered, and the schedule will be 
issued by the Society about the end of March. 
- Royal Meteorological Society. — The annual general 
meeting of this Society will be held at 25, Great George Street, West¬ 
minster, on Wednesday, the 18th inst., at 7.15 p.m., when the report of 
the Council will be read, the election of officers and Council for the 
ensuing year will take place, and the President (Dr. C. Theodore 
Williams) will deliver an address on “ The High Altitudes of Colorado and 
Their Climates,” which will be illustrated by a number of lantern slides. 
- The Large Bunch of Grapes. —A correspondent writes :— 
Allow me to state that Mr. Dickson’s bunch of Grapes, shown in your 
issue of December 29th (page 572), not only weighed 26 lbs. 8 ozs. 
when cut, but would have weighed that at the Show had someone not 
cut one of the leading points of the bunch the night previously ; there¬ 
fore I have no hesitation in saying that the Arkleton bunch was not 
only the largest, but the heaviest single bunch on record. I had charge 
of the vineries at Arkleton, and know what I say is true.” 
- The Weather in Stirlingshire. —Another week of very 
wintry weather; the mean maxima 32°, the mean minima 18°. The 
frost of Thursday afternoon was very intense. At 3.30 the mercury 
indicated 21° of frost; it continued falling until about 6.30, when 29° of 
frost were recorded. Afterwards it gradually rose until next morning 
when the maxima thermometer was standing at 24°, the highest for the 
twenty-four hours. A good deal of snow fell on Friday and Saturday, 
but a thaw set in on Saturday night, and is still continuing, so that by 
Monday afternoon the snow had nearly disappeared.—G. McDougall, 
Stirling. 
- The North Gallery. —The fifth edition of the official 
guide to the “ North Gallery ” at the Royal Gardens, Kew, has just 
been issued, and a copy should be in the hands of all who are interested 
in the magnificent collection of beautiful paintings, executed by the 
late Miss Marianne North. The gallery contains upwards of 
800 pictures representing plants, trees, and flowers of nearly the whole 
civilised world. Detailed botanical and historical descriptions of the 
paintings are given in the Guide, as well as notes referring to the woods 
forming the panelled wainscot below the pictures. In addition there is 
a biographical notice of Miss North, and much matter of interest to 
gardeners, forming in all a neat volume of 160 pages for the modest sum 
of sixpence. 
- The Weather Last Month. —December was a cold month 
with much frost, especially during the last week, but with a fair 
amount of sunshine, fourteen days being bright, and two of them 
were also clear. Barometer—highest reading 30 30 at 9 a.m. on the 
16th and 28th ; lowest 29-34 at 9 p.m. on 11th. Total rainfall was 
1-03 inch, which fell on thirteen days ; this is 1 30 inch below the 
average for the month. The greatest daily fall was 0-28 inch as snow 
on the 8th. Highest shade temperature, 54° on 15th ; lowest, 13° on 
26th. Lowest on grass, 7° on 26th and 27th. Mean daily maximum, 
40 29° ; mean daily minimum, 27-87°. Mean temperature of the month, 
34-08°. Wind was in a westerly direction twenty-one days. The 
garden spring ran 20 gallons per minute on the 31st.— W. H. Divers, 
Ketton Hall Gardens. Stamford, 
- The Californian Sequoias. —The United States Govern¬ 
ment is taking measures to save the remaining giant trees of California, 
the majestic Sequoias. Some of these are believed to be upwards of a 
thousand years old. 
- Cotoneasters. —In the gardens at Holly Lodge, Highgate, 
I recently noticed some fine bushes of Cotoneasters that were covered 
with red berries. The branches were laden with hoar frost, and this 
formed a striking contrast to the fruit.—H. 
-Lee, Blackheath, and Lewisham Horticultural 
Society. —The annual meeting of the above Society was held at the 
Working Men’s Institute, Old Road, Lee, on Monday, January 9th, 1893. 
The chair was occupied by John Penn, Esq , M.P., the President, 
- Double Primulas. —Messrs. John Laing & Sons, Forest Hill, 
send us blooms of Marchioness of Exeter (white). A, F. Barron (pink), 
Annie Hillier (blush), double Primulas. They are full and symmetrical, 
but the prolonged fogs, we are told, are fast despoiling the plants of 
their beauty. 
- Primroses and Polyanthus. —These succeed best with me, 
whether in the open ground or in pots, if they receive a rich surface 
dressing of well decayed manure, and those persons who find that 
manure dug in the ground injures the plants might try the top-dressing. 
—An Old Grower. 
- Lychnis vespertina flore-pleno.—S ome people fail entirely 
to strike cuttings of this beautiful Lychnis. I am successful by taking 
cuttings early in May with a heel, or close from the stem, and inserting 
them in the open ground, protecting them with a cylinder of glass ; a 
bottomless honey jar or lamp chimney answering the purpose well.— 
W. T. 
- Old People’s Gathering. —The Astwood Amateur Gardeners’ 
Society were instrumental in carrying out a most successful gathering of 
the aged and widows of the neighbourhood on the 30th ult., this being 
the third annual gathering. About one hundred sat down to a 
substantial meat tea, and a large quantity of “fragments” were 
distributed on the following day to the needy. These gatherings are 
looked forward to as the happy day of the year, when all combine to 
make it a success. Addresses, music, songs, recitations, and a dance to 
finish were included in the programme. May the example become 
contagious through other localities.—J. HiAM. 
- Woodford Horticultural Society. —A meeting of this 
Society was held on Tuesday, 9th inst., at the Wilfred Lawson, 
Andrew Johnston, Esq., J.P., presiding. A paper was read by Mr. 
G. Laing Paul of Cheshunt, entitled “ Apples for Private Gardens.” 
The essay proved very interesting, and was much appreciated by the 
numerous audience present. An interesting discussion ensued, to which 
Mr. Paul ably replied. A collection of Apples, staged by the members, 
added to the interest of the meeting. The essayist was accorded a 
hearty vote of thanks for his paper, and a similar compliment to the 
Chairman terminated the meeting.—J. B. Riding. 
-The International Horticultural Exhibition of 
1892.—I am sorry to find that very unwillingly I did an injustice to a 
very energetic worker in all horticultural matters—Mr. Richard Dean— 
for wherever there is work to be done that affects horticulture he is sure 
to be found. In mentioning, then, Mr. Marshall as the moving spirit 
in these Exhibitions, I found that I only looked at one side of the 
question. Mr. Marshall had everything to do with regard to the judges, 
and as I was a judge and not an exhibitor 1 unthinkingly regarded him 
as “ boss,” but as Mr. Dean had the very arduous work of arranging 
the Exhibition, and all can testify to the admirable manner in which it 
was carried out, making one wish that on some occasions we might have 
the benefit of his long experience.—D., Deal, 
_ Devon and Exeter Gardeners’ Association.—T he first 
of what it is proposed to make an annual supper of the Devon and Exeter 
Gardeners’Association took place on Friday evening, January 6th, at the 
Turk’s Head Hotel. There were about fifty members present. The 
chair was occupied by Mr. Hope (Messrs. Veitch & Son), the vice-chairs 
being filled by Mr. T. C Bartlett (head gardener to Lady Duckworth) 
and Mr. G. C. Crabbe (representing the amateur gardener section of the 
Society). A very pleasant evening was spent, and the meeting was 
acknowledged to be a most agreeable break in the winter programme of 
the Society. The affairs of the Association were stated to be in a most 
flourishing condition, and everything in connection with it in as satis¬ 
factory a state as could be wished. 
