January 3, 1895. 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER, 
7 
The Weather in London. —Chrigtmas has come and gone since 
our last issue was prepared for press, and until last Saturday the 
weather was very mild. On that day, however, a little snow fell, this 
being also the case on Sunday. Monday and Tuesday were bright and 
cold, while in the early hours of Wednesday there was a slight fall of 
snow. At the time of going to press the weather is somewhat dull and 
cold. One or two degrees of frost have been registered in the City, but 
in the suburbs it has been more severe, 10° having been experienced. 
- The Weather in the North. —With the gale of Friday 
night, almost equalling in violence that of the morning of the 22ad, 
the weather has undergone a seasonable change. In some of the 
northern districts much snow has fallen, and roads have been blocked 
up. While the higher hills have been heavily covered the lower ground 
in S. Perthshire is but slightly whitened, and for the last three days, 
up to Tuesday morning, frost of from 4° to 7° has been registered. 
—B. D., (S'. Perthshire, 
- Messrs. James Veitch & Sons of the Royal Exotic Nursery, 
Chelsea, have given their procuration to Mr, James Herbert Veitch (who 
has been with them for several years) and to Mr. John Gould Veitch, 
sons of their late partner Mr. John Gould Veitch. The training of the 
two gentlemen named fits them admirably for sharing in the conduct of 
the great business with which they are now formally identified. 
- Death of Mr. John Carter. —We learn with much regret 
that Mr. John Carter of Keighley died on Monday, December 24th, 
after a very short illness, being in his sixty-ninth year. Mr. Carter was 
an active and genial man—a thorough nurseryman, having special 
knowledge on hardy trees and shrubs. He was the introducer of the 
excellent Raspberry Carter’s Prolific. The business will be carried on 
by Mr. Edward Carter, but under the name by which it has so long been 
known in the horticultural world. 
-The National Amateur Gardeners’ Association.—T he 
Committee in carrying out the suggestion made at the last monthly 
meeting, have arranged for the first meeting in 1895 to take place at 
the Memorial Hall, K.C., on Tuesday, January 8th, at seven o’clock 
instead of New Year’s Day. In coming to this decision they believe the 
general convenience of the members is being studied. On this occasion 
Mr. H. A. Smith will give a paper on hardy annuals, and this promises 
to be a very useful one. 
- Forestry Honours. —The “ honours diploma” for the science 
and practice of forestry has been granted by the Grand Ducal Forestry 
College at Eisenach, in the Duchy of Saxe-Weimar, to Mr. James 
William Watt, in which Government Academy of Forestry he has been 
studying. As his name indicates, this dux of the Government Academy 
of Forestry is the eldest son of Mr. James Watt, J.P., Knowefield Nur¬ 
series, Carlisle. Prior to taking his course of study at Eisenach Mr. 
James William Watt had worked for one season at a large seed estab¬ 
lishment at Erfurt, in Germany. Having now taken his degree in 
forestry he will henceforth be associated with his father, who is widely 
known to agriculturists as the head of the eminent seed and nursery 
firm of Messrs. Little & Ballantyne, Carlisle. 
- Veitch Memorial Fund.—A t a meeting of the Trustees, 
held on the 19th ult., it was resolved that £10 be granted to the 
Lindley Library Fund ; that silver medals be presented to James 
Bateman, Esq., F.R.S., “the father of amateur Orchid culture; ” to 
Mr. F. W. Moore, Curator of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, 
in recognition of his valuable services to botany and horticulture ; 
and to M. Victor Lemoine of Nancy, for his services as a hybridist, 
and that a Veitch medal and prize of £5 be placed at the disposal of each 
of the following horticultural societies—viz., the Royal Caledonian, the 
West of Scotland, York Gala, and Worksop, for products to be competed 
for at their respective shows, subject to the approval of the Trustees. 
It is particularly requested that all communications respecting the 
Veitch medals and prizes should be addressed to the Secretary, 
Mr. A. H. Kent, 44, Doria Road, Fulham, S.W. 
- Mr. Edward L. Greene, Assistant Professor of Botany in 
the University of California, has been appointed Profe6.sor of Botany in 
the new Catholic University of America, in the city of Washington. 
-The Mild Weather.—A s showing the mildness of the season, 
a Long Sutton (Lincolnshire) correspondent reports that a few days ago 
there was a swarm of bees on the farm of Mr. H. M. Proctor of 
Spalding, at Sutton Crosses. Such an event in December is believed to 
be unparalleled. 
- We regret to record the death on the 19th ult. of Professor 
Allen Harker, of the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, at the 
age of forty-six. Mr. Harker was a popular and successful teacher, and 
did good work, not only at the College but in connection with County 
Council Technical Education schemes both in Gloucestershire and 
Bedfordshire. 
-Where Kew Men Go.—T he influence of the Royal Gardens 
at Kew on other botanic gardens is strikingly shown in a list of the 
staffs of botanical departments and establishments at home, and in 
India and the colonies, given in the “ Kew Bulletin,” Appendix HI. 
Disciples have gone from Kew to the ends of the world to become 
directors or curators of botanic gardens; indeed, almost every garden 
seems to have on its staff someone trained at Kew, or recommended by 
the Director there. 
- Kitchen Garden Walks. — My thanks are due to Mr. 
C. Foxon (page 561) for supplementing my recent remarks on edgings. 
Without going so far as to consider concrete strips the best “edgings 
obtainable,” I fully agree that they are good in every way, and must 
admit that it was quite an oversight on my part not to have recom¬ 
mended them in my previous article on this subject. In my younger 
days I served in two extensive gardens in which concrete strips were 
in use as edgings, and in both cases they were entirely satisfactory.— 
Kentish Man. 
-The Form of Miniature Violas. —The Viola Conference, 
in deciding that miniature Violas, in order to be regarded as belonging 
to that section, should not exceed 1^ inch in diameter, of course meant 
in width, as was readily understood by everyone present. It was not 
regarded as a necessity that all blooms should be absolutely circular, 
although recognising form as a great point; still, in some of the 
varieties perfection of form is closely attained already. It is a very 
wise rule and laid down as law just in time, for we should otherwise see 
the two sections, the large flowered and the miniatures, get hope¬ 
lessly mixed in the numerous seedlings which have come under 
notice. I hope to see the “Violetta” type of growth and flowers 
preserved as much as possible in the miniatures, and that we shall 
also as much as possible keep out the Pansy blood from our large 
flowering Violas. We want them of the type of Bullion, Countess of 
Hopetoun, Sylvia, True Blue, and others of the same habit.—W. Dean, 
ffon. See. of the Viola Conference. 
_ Passiflora Pfordti. —As far as I know only two kinds of 
hardy Passion Flowers are now in general cultivation in British gardens 
—namely, the well known P. coerulea and the more recently introduced 
white flowered form known as Constance Elliott, A third variety 
under the above name is now being distributed by a leading London 
nursery firm. The name, however, I believe to be merely an 
unauthorised synonym for a beautiful hybrid, raised about seventy 
years ago in Mr. Masters’ garden at Canterbury, by fertilising the 
flowers of a fine West Indian species named P. alata (the Winged) 
figured in the second volume of the “ Botanical Magazine,” on plate 66 
as far back as 1788, with the pollen of the common hardy variety 
P. coerulea. This hybrid when it bloomed showed the characteristic 
features of both parents, and was named P. alato-coerulea. It is well 
figured on plate 848 of the tenth volume of “ Lindley’s Botanical 
Register,” which was published in 1824, and is there said to be nearly 
if not quite hardy, having withstood the frosts of that winter in the 
open air trained to a wall without injury. My reason for believing that 
the plant now offered as P. Pfordti is merely P. alato-coerulea under 
another name, is that in the new edition of “ Johnson’s Gardeners’ 
Dictionary,” published last year by Messrs. Wright and Dewar, 
P. Pfordti is given as a synonym of P. alato-coerulea. I have reason to 
know that the authority for this statement is Dr. Maxwell T. Masters, 
F.R.S., the greatest living authority on the family of the Passion 
Flowers. I think the name of P. Pfordti should certainly be dropped, 
as it is unrecognised at Kew.—W. E. Gumbleton. 
