April 13, 1893. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
295 
- WISTAHIA 0HINEN8IS.—“ G. F., Scdishury," writes :—“ This 
beautiful climber is now opening its long clusters of bloom freely 
on my cottage. It is a month earlier than last ;sea8on, when it was 
cut off by frost on the 7th of May.” 
- Cape Fbtjit. —The Cape Fruit Syndicate have forwarded by 
the Royal Mail steamer " Norham Castle,” which arrived in England 
last week, some boxes of Grapes addressed to the Prince of Wales and 
to Mr. Gladstone. This fruit has been sent as a gift from Sir Henry 
Loch, Governor of the Cape Colony. It would be interesting to know 
in what condition the Grapes arrived. 
- Sunderland Gardeners’ Society. —The fifty-second general 
meeting of the Society was held recently, the Chairman (Mr. Bolam) 
presiding. The Treasurer’s report was read and adopted. Mr. Hall 
read an interesting paper on the culture of double Violets in frames 
and pots. A discussion followed, in which several members took part. 
A hearty vote of thanks was given Mr. Hall for his instructive and 
interesting paper, 
- Royal Horticultural Society op Ireland. —It is stated 
that the following list of Exhibitions will be held under the auspices 
of this Society iluring the current year :—Spring Show, Royal Univer¬ 
sity Buildings, Earlsfort Terrace, Thursday, April 20th ; Summer Show, 
Lord Iveagh’s Grounds, Thursday, July 6th ; Autumn Show, Lord 
Iveagh’s Grounds. Friday, August 25th ; Winter Show, Royal Dublin 
Society’s Buildings, Ball’s Bridge, Thursday and Friday, November 16th 
and 17 th. 
- Royal Meteorological Society. —At the ordinary meeting 
of the Society, to be held at 25, Great George Street, Westminster, on 
Wednesday, the 19th instant, at 7 P.M., the following papers will be 
read ;—“ The Direction of the Wind over the British Isles, 1876-80,’ 
■by F. Campbell Bayard, LL.M., F.R Met.Soc. “Notes on Photographs’ 
of Lightning taken at Sydney Observatory, December 7th, 1892,” by 
H. C. Russell, B.A., F.R.S. “Notes oh Lightning Discharges in the 
Neighbourhood of Bristol, 1892,” by Ernest H. Cook, D.Sc. “ Con¬ 
structive Errors in some Hygrometers,” by W. W. Midgley, F.R.Met.Soc^ 
The above papers will be illustrated by lantern slides. 
- Testimonial to Mr. J. R. S. Clifford. —We are glad t® 
learn that our entomological, and what we may also term our historica 
oorrespondent, Mr. J. R. 8. Clifford, the author of “ Gravesend and its 
Neighbourhood,” “ Homes and Home Life in Bible Lands,” &c., &c., has 
‘been presented with a testimonial in recognition of the various efforts 
he has made for the intellectual advancement of Gravesend during 
many years’ residence, and also of his general literary labours for the 
past twenty-five years, which have been largely of a philanthropic 
nature. The list of subscribers was headed by the Earl of Darnley, and 
A sum of £50 was speedily contributed towards the object in view. We 
•oongratulate our excellent coadjutor on this mark of esteem conferred 
on him by his friends and neighbours. , 
- Spring Flowers at Hampton Court. — Although the 
Tulips planted amidst the Polyanthuses here are, because of the 
recent sharp frosts and continuous dry weather, hardly so fine as 
usual, yet where the Polyanthus grounds are white or yellow-flowered, 
and Tulips of dark hues, the effects are very charming. How well 
they do Polyanthuses at this favourite resort the thousands of 
plants put out into the beds show. There must be at least 5000 trans¬ 
planted, mostly large clumps, and blooming profusely. The soil here, 
because so often worked and prepared for summer flowers, is perhaps 
lighter than is desirable for plants that have a preference for firm 
deep ground, but there is plenty of water at hand. From the present 
time till the end of the month the Hampton Court spring flowers should 
be very attractive.—D. 
- The Spring of 1893.—Mr. R. Maher, Yattendon Court 
Newbury, writes :—“The splendid spell of bright sunshine, and perhaps 
the finest month of March on record, has shown some features of 
gardening interest worth recording. It has struck me that most of the 
early flowering hardy shrubs, such as Andromeda floribunda,Laurustinu8^ 
Daphne laureola, Prunus californica, Ribes sanguinea, and Berberis 
aquifolium, have never to my memory been so fine. The bloom of 
Plums, Cherries, and Pears are also a splendid sight at this time, and 
the promise is c rtainly very bright. On one occasion we had 12° of 
frost in March, but everything being so dry nothing seemed to suffer. 
All that seems wanting at present are showers to make a fine fruitful 
season. We had but very little rain during the month of March, and 
so far we have not had an April shower.” 
- Torquay District Gardeners’ Association.—T he first 
annual meeting of this Association was held on March 28th. The Secre¬ 
tary reported a membership of 120, several new names being promised 
for the ensuing session. The financial statement shows a balance of 
over £10 in hand. Several new features are contemplated, including 
the formation of a library, prizes for essays, &c. The summer outing 
will probably be to Taunton Flower Show on August 10th. W, Lavers, 
Esq., is President, and Mr. F. C. Smale Hon. Sec. 
- Devon and Exeter Gardeners’ Association.—M embers 
of the Devon and Exeter Gardeners’ Association held a meeting at the 
Guildhall on the 5th inst., when Mr. Stoneman, Teacher of Botany at 
the Exeter Science Schools, read a paper, “ The Coniferae of Drop- 
more,” on behalf of Mr. Cecil Bartlett of Dropmore. As illustrative of 
the paper read, a large number of branches were exhibited to show the 
characteristics of the trees referred to in the essay. A cordial vote of 
thanks was passed to Mr. Cecil Bartlett for the paper, to Mr. Stoneman 
for reading it, as also to Mr. Powell for presiding. 
-- The Young Gardeners of Falkirk.—“ A. G.” writes 
“ It may be interesting to some of your readers to know that the young 
gardeners of Falkirk and district formed themselves into an association 
for the purpose of petitioning their employers for a half-holiday on 
the Saturday afternoon. Most of the gentlemen conceded the holiday, 
but some have not as yet sent any reply to the circular that was sent to 
them on the subject. It is now proposed to form a Gardeners’ Mutual 
Improvement Society in the district.” [A head gardener to whom we 
mentioned the action and proposals above referred to replied ;—“ I 
think it is time an improvement society was established at Falkirk, and 
I hope my assistants have more respect for me than to run off enjoying 
themselves and leave me to do the necessary Saturday afternoon’s 
work.”] 
- The Weather at Swanmore.—T he heat during the day 
has gradually increased through the present week. On the 7th inst. 
76° were registered in the shade, or 7° in excess of last year, and 24° 
in excess of the temperature on the same day in 1891. The wealth 
of fruit blossom is as yet apparently unharmed ; the petals from the 
Plum trees are whitening the ground. Pears and Cherries are fully 
expanded. The first Apple—Irish Peach—has opened its blossoms, 
followed by Lord Grosvenor. As yet we have not experienced frost, 
nor has any rain fallen since March 3rd. In strong land farming 
operations are much hindered owing to the want of moisture, and 
unless rain comes soon the hay crop will be light. Last year we had 
only 0 03 inch of rain from March 15th to April 13th, a long spell 
of drought.—E. M. 
- Fruit from Australia. — A consignment of fruit from 
Victoria was opened on Tuesday morning in the Potato Market, Covent 
Garden, and was found to consist of Plums, Grapes, Pears, Tomatoes, 
and Apples. The Apples, magnificent in size, form, and colour, had 
travelled splendidly, and found a ready sale at a good price. The softer 
fruits had not fared so well, many of the Pears having lost their firm¬ 
ness, while few of the Plums had retained their freshness. Some of the 
Grapes were fresh with the bloom on them, but some of the contents of 
the boxes were quite soft and discoloured. The Tomatoes were pro¬ 
nounced to be first-rate in quality by a well-known authority in Covent 
Garden Market, and of these about a third were sound and fresh. The 
fruit left Melbourne on the 25th of February, having been stored in the 
cooling chambers of the ss. “ Britannia ” on the previous day. 
— — The Weather Last Month.— March was remarkable for 
the small quantity of rain during the month, the last fourteen days being 
quite dry ; also for the large amount of sunshine, the seven consecu¬ 
tive days (19th to 25th) being quite clear, and not a cloud seen during 
the whole time. We had a little snow on 16th and 17th. The wind was 
in a westerly direction twenty-two days, but was only rough on one 
day, the Ist. The total rainfall was 0 24 inch, which fell on seven days, 
and is 1‘21 inch below the average for the month, the greatest daily 
fall being 0-08 inch on the Ist. The barometer was highest (30'48) at 9 A.M. 
on 25th, lowest (29 42) at noon on Ist. Temperature varied much ; 
highest in the shade was 67° on 30th, lowest 20° on 19th ; lowest on 
grass, 13° on 19’h and 29th ; mean daily maximum, 57 96° ; mean daily 
minimum, 30‘19° ; mean temperature of the month, 45 19°. Mean 
relative humidity (saturation = 100) taken at 9 A.M. was 76 29. The 
garden spring ran 24 gallons per minute on the fllst. The frost has 
been very severe at times, but the fruit blossom in the open here is not 
enough advanced to be damaged, and the pro-pects for all kinds are very 
good.—W. H. Divers, Ketton Hall Gardens, Stamford. 
