Jaauary 10, 1895. 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
29 
Events. —At thig season of the year the horticultural world, so far 
>a3 shows are concerned, is not very busy. The Royal Horticultural 
Society hold a meeting at the Drill Hall on Tuesday next, while on 
Thursday, 17th inst., the fifth-sixth annual general meeting of the 
Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent willjbe held at Simpson’s Hotel, 101, 
Strand, commencing at 3 p.m, 
- The Weather in London. —The weather in London during 
the past week has been very different from that in the northern counties 
of England and Scotland, where heavy snow storms have prevailed. 
Though there has been practically no snow here the weather has been 
clear and frosty all the week, but no severe frosts have been experienced. 
Two or three degrees in the town and slightly more in the suburbs is 
about the average. On Monday it was 4° warmer in London than 
at Nice, in the south of France. At the time of going to press the 
weather is dull, cold, and foggy. 
- The Weather in the North. —The year opened with a 
beautiful winter day, and, with the exception of a slight thaw on the 
2 ad, the first week has been seasonable throughout; frost of from 7° to 
13° on Tuesday morning having been recorded. The country is under 
a thin covering of snow, and occasionally the northerly winds have 
been piercingly cold.—B. D., S. Perthshire. 
- The Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent Institution. —The 
fifty-sixth annual general meeting of the members of this Institution 
will take place at Simpson’s, 101, Strand, London, on Thursday, 
January 17th, 1895, when fourteen pensioners will be added to the 
funds—eight by resolution under Rule 3, and six by the votes of 
subscribers. The poll will open at 3 P.M., and close at 4.30 P.M. 
precisely. The voting papers have all been issued. Any subscriber 
who has not received a copy will oblige by communicating with the 
Secretary. After the annual meeting, and at the same place at 6 pm., 
the usual friendly supper will be held, presided over by Mr. George 
A. Dickson, of Chester. The Committee will heartily welcome to this 
gathering any friends and supporters of the Institution who may desire 
to be present, tickets for which may be obtained on application to the 
■Secretary, George J. Ingram, 50, Parliament Street, London, S.W. 
-The Gardens of the Royal Botanic Society. —At the 
meeting of the Fellows to be held on the 12th inst. the opening of these 
Gardens to the public will be discussed. In August last a resolution 
was carried at the annual meeting recommending the Council to con¬ 
sider the expediency of admitting the public to the Gardens on week 
days on payment at the gates. The Council has since decided to so 
open r.nt'm on Whit-Monday, a concession which many of the Fellows 
deem quite inadequate, and Mr. Rubinstein, the mover of the original 
resolution, and for some years Honorary Auditor, has given notice that 
at the general meeting to be held on the above date he will move that 
after March Ist the Gardens be opened on Monday, Thursday, Friday, 
and Saturday in each week on payment of 6d., and other days Is. 
- Too Many Apples. —We are sorry to hear, says the “ Field,” 
that a proposition made at the Horticultural Society by Mr. Rivers, to 
limit the great number of dishes shown by nurserymen to fifty kinds, 
was defeated. That number is fully twice too many, and we regret 
that nurserymen will continue in their own way showing huge collec¬ 
tions of Apples, instead of fixing their attention on the really essential 
kinds, and giving us good stocks of them in all shapes for real fruit¬ 
growing, as distinguished from making collections of Apples—the two 
.things being wholly different. We mean good stocks of Apples that are 
of first quality in all ways. While our growers are confused by a 
medley of varieties, the American grower is quietly pouring into our 
markets thousands of barrels of Newtowns and Baldwins. Many English 
growers have Apples about them which they do not even know the 
names of, and half the Apples described as first-rate in the catalogues are 
second-rate or inferior. We feel sure that it would be the best service to 
the trade to pursue that course which would enable growers, landowners, 
planters, and all connected with land to get a stock of healthy trees of 
the best quality for our country. By far the greatest obstacle to that is 
the bulky catalogue, as, owing to its influence, the worthless fruits are 
grown everywhere. [We think Mr. Rivers’ proposition was not defeated, 
but carried by a large majority of votes 'oy the Fruit Committee."! 
- The Ice Harvest at Windsor Castle. — At Windsor 
Castle a number of the Crown labourers have been engaged in filling 
a great well under the north terrace near the Winchester tower with 
thick ice which had been collected from the Royal skating pond. The 
well holds about 200 tons. The ice therein, and in another receptacle 
under the east terrace, is stored for the use of the Lord Steward’s 
department. 
- Cleaning Vines. —Probably many of your readers, like 
myself, would be glad to see the above subject well thrashed out in 
your columns, for when doctors differ, who is to decide ? Mr. J. J. 
Craven’s success as a Grape grower and exhibitor evidently shows that 
his method is not far wrong. Still we should like to see other noted 
Grape growers’ opinions on the subject. Will they oblige us? — 
H. ChaRMAN, Irusthorpe Manor, Mahlethor^e. 
- Gardening Appointments. —Mr. George Jordan, till lately 
gardener to Rev. H. A. Berners, Harkstead Rectory, Ipswich, has been 
appointed head gardener at Shortgrove, near Newport, in Essex, by 
J. Bailey, Esq. Those who are acquainted with Mr. Jordan feel confi¬ 
dent that he will give a thoroughly good account of himself in this 
extended sphere of action and greater responsibility. Mr. Stuart 
Compton has been appointed head gardener to T. D. Eden, Esq., 
Beamish Park, Chester-le-Street, Durham. 
- Royal Horticultural Society’s Meetings in 1895.— 
A correspondent desires to know the dates of the above meetings, and 
rather chides us for not publishing them, especially as he “ casually saw 
a list in another gardening paper some weeks ago.” We can only 
presume that there has been either a mistake or miscarriage, as we were 
informed by the officials of the Royal Horticultural Society early last 
year that it is the “ custom of the office to post matter for the press on 
Mondays, so that all the papers receive announcements the same week.” 
This is a good and fair custom, but we have not yet received the list 
desired. 
- The Kew Temperate House.— The great Temperate House, 
or Winter Garden, at Kew, was commenced in 1860. In 1861 the 
I octagons were finished. In 1862 the centre block was completed. The 
original design included two wings. These, however, were never 
erected, though the raised terrace was prepared for them. The Treasury 
has now sanctioned the erection of the southern wing, and the proposed 
works are being already taken in hand. It is proposed to maintain in 
this a warm greenhouse temperature, so as to allow an adequate 
cultivation of many economic and large succulent plants, of which the 
existing accommodation afforded them at Kew does not permit the 
satisfactory development. 
- A Foreign Flower Market for Covent Garden.— 
There is a shed approaching completion in the open space abutting on 
Tavistock Street, which will accommodate when finished the stands of 
the dealers in foreign flowers. Hitherto these dealers bavj had no 
portion of Covent Garden Market set apart for the sale of their goods, 
and it has been considered that in many ways it will be an advantage 
to have this part of the trade carried on in a separate building. The 
building, which measures about 60 feet by 40 feet, and is perhaps 30 feet 
in height to the apex, is situated at the eastern end of the open market, 
therefore it is but a step or two from the fiower market—the centre of 
the honce flower trade of London. 
- Winter Tomatoes.—T here is no difficulty in having plenty 
of good Tomatoes from old plants that have set fruit well in September, 
ripening up to the end of November. Later they become very scarce, 
and it is difficult indeed to have good fruits from the middle of 
December until the end of March, even under the most favourable 
conditions. For that reason I was particularly pleased to see a nice 
crop of fair sized and handsome fruits on a dozen of plants that were 
growing close under the roof in a span house at Hackwooi Park on 
December 28th. These plants were raised from seed sown early in 
August, and now in 8-inch and 9-inch pots. Some good coloured 
fruits had been gathered, and there were on the plants a capital 
succession. As the plants were in the way of nothing, their growing 
cost hardly anything. The variety was one of the Perfection type, 
smooth and handsome. Happily it is now found easy to fruit in 
winter smooth-fruited strains, as it is the old deeply sutured forms 
that some gardeners still grow, and yet have so little value .—\, D. 
